Water retention from working out?

samanthaannee2014
samanthaannee2014 Posts: 20 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I really keep my calories in check always under my calorie goal and I work out about 6 days a week five days I do about twenty minutes of jogging upstairs and strength training but I've noticed that my weight is fluctuating within three pounds... Is this water weight from working out so much?! I need help! I just want to know if I'm doing everything I am supposed to be doing and so I can stop stressing out about not being able to drop more weight!

Replies

  • gmallan
    gmallan Posts: 2,099 Member
    Yep, water rentention is normal after heavy exercise. Your muscles retain water to help them to repair (bigger and stronger hopefully). Don't be put off by it though as it's only temporary. I usually go up about a kilo (2.2lbs) the day after a heavy weights workout. Provided you're eating at a deficit you should notice a general downwards trend in your weight. If it bothers you try weighing less frequently and not the day after a heavy workout if possible.

    There are other factors that can make you retain water. TOM, hydration and salt levels to name a few common ones
  • StacyRenee77
    StacyRenee77 Posts: 2,732 Member
    Are you eating enough calories? Do you gain water weight a certain time of month, are you consuming a lot of salt?
  • PunkyDucky
    PunkyDucky Posts: 283 Member
    How long have you been doing this?
    Could be water retention from starting your new workout plan.
    It'll level out in a couple of weeks or less. :)
  • samanthaannee2014
    samanthaannee2014 Posts: 20 Member
    I don't think I'm consuming heavy amounts of sodium but I drink more than 8 cups of water a day which I thought should help flush out any extra sodium I intake? Is that wrong?
  • StacyRenee77
    StacyRenee77 Posts: 2,732 Member
    No I think it should
  • samanthaannee2014
    samanthaannee2014 Posts: 20 Member
    I've started working out about three weeks ago, will my body ever stop retaining water from a workout?? I started dieting and working out three weeks ago joined mfp a week ago
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    I've started working out about three weeks ago, will my body ever stop retaining water from a workout?? I started dieting and working out three weeks ago joined mfp a week ago

    The amount of water your body retains in your muscles is related to how taxed or overworked they are to some degree. As you get used to a given exercise routine the amount of water retained will decrease.

    That said I'm not sure why you care, its just water it isn't fat. I'm more concerned about your focus on your scale than about how much water your body retains at a given moment.
  • samanthaannee2014
    samanthaannee2014 Posts: 20 Member
    I guess it's just discouraging not seeing the scale move but being extremely dedicated to working out and eating right I would like to get a weight that isn't falsely higher because of water. Just making sure this is happening to other people not just me! Lol
  • StacyRenee77
    StacyRenee77 Posts: 2,732 Member
    See they all are smarter than I am, I didn't know this stuff
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    I guess it's just discouraging not seeing the scale move but being extremely dedicated to working out and eating right I would like to get a weight that isn't falsely higher because of water. Just making sure this is happening to other people not just me! Lol

    Just make sure you place your faith in the right place, in the idea that proper diet and exercise will get you what you want not that the scale must go down every week. If you keep up your routine for 2 months and the scale STILL hasn't gone down then yeah perhaps its time to evaluate your diet.

    If you want to see progress while exercising though I would recommend a tape measurer over a scale.

    Personally when I started dieting and exercising I dropped two inches around my waist before the scale budged.
  • Branstin
    Branstin Posts: 2,320 Member
    The number generated on a scale is overrated. It doesn't break down your body composition. I agree that as long as you keep making healthy choices, the weight will drop. It just takes time.
  • samanthaannee2014
    samanthaannee2014 Posts: 20 Member
    As much progress as I've see in three weeks ( 1.5 inches from hips, 1 inch from waist ) I still hope that I will lose some weight along with it! When is the best time to weigh yourself? How often do you measure?
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    As much progress as I've see in three weeks ( 1.5 inches from hips, 1 inch from waist ) I still hope that I will lose some weight along with it! When is the best time to weigh yourself? How often do you measure?

    I weigh myself every day, take tape measurements about once every two weeks. The water retention won't offset the fat loss forever, you will eventually see a decrease in your scale weight and once it starts it will likely continue until you hit your goal or you have to adjust your diet to compensate for your lower weight. Not sure how much weight you have to lose but from your profile pic I would guess not a whole lot.

    As I mentioned in my personal experience my first 5 weeks of diet and exercise I saw no change in my scale weight likely due to water retention but I saw inches dropped. Then eventually the fat loss overwhelmed the water retention and I began to see a fairly linear weight loss that I have continued for the last two months.

    Here is all my recorded scale weights.

    Weight.png

    Note how in the first 5 weeks not much happened:
    Weight.jpg

    Here is a moving average of the last two months of scale weights where my loss was linear.

    Moving_average.png

    I would suspect you are in that flat part before you actually see your weight loss on the scale. Just keep it up, if you are losing inches you are clearly losing fat and that is what is going to matter for your appearance and your health. Remember, unless you write your scale weight on your forehead every morning no one knows about it, they only know what you look like.
  • secretgirl4611
    secretgirl4611 Posts: 474 Member
    Your NOT the only one. ugh sadly I have also gained 2 pounds back in just a matter of days.
    I was SOOOO EXCITED a few days ago that I finally reached the 130's again I was 139.5 and well now
    today I am 141.5 it was discouraging yea but you need to just keep going. I know its water weight gain
    fluctuations because I am eating about 1200-1500 calories max. I have not been over eating at all and I
    have been drinking my 8 cups of water per day, if not sometimes more and I ONLY drink water.
    I notice when I workout some days I sweat alot and other days I dont.
    I am currently riding my bike 2 miles to school and back everyday and also doing my Focus T25 workout. So, Im
    contatntly on the move. Just keep going yep..

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