Water retention

jesspen91

I've been weight lifting for 3 weeks. The first week I was obviously very sore and the scale went up by 2lbs. I assumed this was water retention and didn't worry. Before this I was losing at .5lbs per week.

Now after week three the soreness has greatly reduced but my weight has stayed the same. I haven't gained any more weight but that gain hasn't shifted. I haven't changed my calorie consumption at all but I have fiddled a bit with my macros to get more protein.

My question is, how long does water retention from a new lifting routine last? Should I be expecting for my weight to be dropping again by this point if I am still in deficit or was that gain a genuine fat gain (I don't think so because it happened overnight).

TimothyFish

If you were losing before and eating the same amount then you haven't gained fat unless you did something like swap weight lifting for cardio, since cardio burns more calories. It can take three or four weeks sometimes.

jemhh

It varies from person to person. When I started lifting, my weight went up the first month by 3 pounds and then at the end of the second month I was back down those 3 pounds. From that point my normal weight loss resumed. Over that period of two months, though, I could see a difference and measure one with a measuring tape.

Luna3386

I usually hold onto a couple of pounds when lifting regularly. I just adjusted that as my new baseline.

Get out your measuring tape and camera and document your losses that way. You may be pleasantly surprised! And keep going.

jemhh

Luna3386 wrote: »

I usually hold onto a couple of pounds when lifting regularly. I just adjusted that as my new baseline.

Get out your measuring tape and camera and document your losses that way. You may be pleasantly surprised! And keep going.

That's a good point. You will likely find that if you don't lift for a week you may lose a couple of pounds due to losing some of that water. If you're on vacation and eating more sodium or carbs than normal it may all equal out but if you are eating pretty much how you always eat you may notice it.

earlnabby

I have had water retention from a new exercise routine last as much as a month.

ejsilvi

Drink more water also if u are training heavy you may look " thicker more blood in the muscles are u taken supplements? Like BCAA ? U might want to look into them ?

jesspen91

TimothyFish wrote: »

If you were losing before and eating the same amount then you haven't gained fat unless you did something like swap weight lifting for cardio, since cardio burns more calories. It can take three or four weeks sometimes.

I have definitely reduced my cardio but I usually eat back half of my cardio calories but none of my lifting calories because it's a smaller amount and too hard to estimate. So I've adjusted my calories accordingly. I guess I should just wait a bit longer.

jesspen91

Luna3386 wrote: »

I usually hold onto a couple of pounds when lifting regularly. I just adjusted that as my new baseline.

Get out your measuring tape and camera and document your losses that way. You may be pleasantly surprised! And keep going.

Thanks. I'm not stressing too much, just curious. I can already see some small changes particular in my arms but I'm waiting for the 4 week mark to take measurements so we will see!

jesspen91

ejsilvi wrote: »

Drink more water also if u are training heavy you may look " thicker more blood in the muscles are u taken supplements? Like BCAA ? U might want to look into them ?

I've been taking whey protein on lifting days and days where my protein is low but not tried BCAA yet. I don't know much about it tbh but may look into it, thanks.

not_a_runner

Luna3386 wrote: »

I usually hold onto a couple of pounds when lifting regularly. I just adjusted that as my new baseline.

Get out your measuring tape and camera and document your losses that way. You may be pleasantly surprised! And keep going.

Same here, if I'm lifting regularly my weight will stay a bit higher and drop if I have a few days off.
I still see regular scale losses though, sometimes I just hold steady for a week or have some ups and downs before I see a new low on the scale. (The "whoosh" has been my new norm.) Losing at a half pound per week could get lost in the shuffle, if you're carrying 2 lbs of water when lifting it could take a few weeks to level out and see new low weigh ins.

OP did you have any change in activity when you started lifting? I.E. replaced cardio with lifting or something like that? If not I wouldn't worry too much.