Does having a cold cause water retention?

ebouchie

I have had a cold for the past week and a half. Not debilitating but minor cough and congestion. I have kept everything the same. Same diet and excercise but scale has not budged except slightly up. Someone at the gym told me that when you have a cold your body retains water to "heal" itself. Is this true?

nordlead2005

does it matter? Even if you didn't have a cold the same exact thing could have happened on the scale. I have had multiple +10 day streaks where my weight didn't drop despite the fact that I knew I was eating for at least a 1lb/week loss.

Annie_01

If you are taking any meds for your cold they could be causing water retention.

Usually when your body is healing it requires extra energy so hypothetically you should have burned a handful of extra calories...

RodaRose

It is possible that, when the body is fighting an infection, there is water weight.
Remember not to eat at too low a deficit because your body needs to be nurtured.