Water retention

Tshirt19

Hey guys!

Just wondering how many of you experienced water retention when first starting your workout plan? How long did it last? A day? A few days? A week? Is it something that can happen with just cardio? Or is it more from lifting?

Thanks!

earlnabby

It happens any time you push muscles past what they are used to so it can happen with any exercise. It can last anywhere from a couple of days to a week or more.

Tshirt19

Ok thanks! Its been a week of water retention so far for me, so good to know I shouldn’t be disappointed just yet 😊

successgal1

Me too. So tired of being bloated. Rings are tight. Scale is up over the week instead of down. I spent 2 hours yesterday spraying trees, sweating like a pig, still bloated. Drinking tons of water, taking herburetic at this point. Sigh.

shadow2soul

Yep. I think the worst case I had was back in Jan/Feb. I didn’t gain, but was maintaining my weight it seemed. It was about 4 weeks and then all of a sudden a large drop (5 lbs within a 2 day period).

Tshirt19

Yes!!! It’s soo frustrating! I haven’t worked out in years! So I decided to start this week. Worked out 6 days in a row, today is my only day off. Sweated my *kitten* off, ate 1200 calories & didn’t eat back any exercise calories, and I’m up 3 lbs! I am nowhere near goal weight, so I expected some kind of loss! 😡. I just took a water pill..had to cause I can just feel the bloat everywhere!

successgal1

My only consolation is that after 3 weeks of being back on my bike every other day is that my legs are getting their muscles back. I think I lost some fat, but it's hard to tell because clothing is still too tight with the bloat. I can't yet tell if I'm eating too much or not until the bloat goes away.

jemhh

When I started lifting I was up 3 lbs the first month, down 3 the second month. Never felt bloated though.

Nony_Mouse

Tshirt19 wrote: »

Yes!!! It’s soo frustrating! I haven’t worked out in years! So I decided to start this week. Worked out 6 days in a row, today is my only day off. Sweated my *kitten* off, ate 1200 calories & didn’t eat back any exercise calories, and I’m up 3 lbs! I am nowhere near goal weight, so I expected some kind of loss! 😡. I just took a water pill..had to cause I can just feel the bloat everywhere!

That's actually not a good approach if you're new to exercise. Ease into it and build up over a number of weeks. Also, eat at least 50% of your exercise calories. MFP is set up for you to use them, and if you don't you are not fuelling your activity or your recovery properly. And that will end up being counterproductive - higher risk of injury, high cortisol (which will cause fluid retention too)...Have a read of this: https://bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/why-big-caloric-deficits-and-lots-of-activity-can-hurt-fat-loss.html/

Tshirt19

Nony_Mouse wrote: »

Tshirt19 wrote: »

Yes!!! It’s soo frustrating! I haven’t worked out in years! So I decided to start this week. Worked out 6 days in a row, today is my only day off. Sweated my *kitten* off, ate 1200 calories & didn’t eat back any exercise calories, and I’m up 3 lbs! I am nowhere near goal weight, so I expected some kind of loss! 😡. I just took a water pill..had to cause I can just feel the bloat everywhere!

That's actually not a good approach if you're new to exercise. Ease into it and build up over a number of weeks. Also, eat at least 50% of your exercise calories. MFP is set up for you to use them, and if you don't you are not fuelling your activity or your recovery properly. And that will end up being counterproductive - higher risk of injury, high cortisol (which will cause fluid retention too)...Have a read of this: https://bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/why-big-caloric-deficits-and-lots-of-activity-can-hurt-fat-loss.html/

Aww ok, thank you so much!! I will def take a look at this! 😊😊😊

successgal1

Nony_Mouse wrote: »

Tshirt19 wrote: »

Yes!!! It’s soo frustrating! I haven’t worked out in years! So I decided to start this week. Worked out 6 days in a row, today is my only day off. Sweated my *kitten* off, ate 1200 calories & didn’t eat back any exercise calories, and I’m up 3 lbs! I am nowhere near goal weight, so I expected some kind of loss! 😡. I just took a water pill..had to cause I can just feel the bloat everywhere!

That's actually not a good approach if you're new to exercise. Ease into it and build up over a number of weeks. Also, eat at least 50% of your exercise calories. MFP is set up for you to use them, and if you don't you are not fuelling your activity or your recovery properly. And that will end up being counterproductive - higher risk of injury, high cortisol (which will cause fluid retention too)...Have a read of this: https://bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/why-big-caloric-deficits-and-lots-of-activity-can-hurt-fat-loss.html/

This is true and I did injure myself last time. High hamstring overuse, cramping, ugh. Never again. Put about 20 lbs back on and now starting over. That's why I'm eating more now and concerned about the bloat and if I'm losing actual fat. I just mentally won't know if on the right track until I see some pounds drop off.