Heavy lifting and initial water weight

spaingirl2011

Hi all,

So, I started my TDEE reset back in June and did the full 8 weeks. During those weeks, I moved from Spain back to the United States (gained about 6 pounds) and so my exercising was sporadic.

I finally am hitting my cut and have started heavy lifting. I've noticed that I'm bloated and holding onto water like crazy. I'm not freaking out about it, but I'm curious how long people dealt with weight-lifting water weight before they started to shed it?

Thanks for all of your help!

~Allison

holleysings

At the beginning, I held onto maybe 3lbs of water weight, but now that my body is used to it I only go up 1lb the day after. Comes right off so I don't worry. I drink probably 120oz of water on days that I lift in order to counteract it though. I pee a lot.

MariaMariaM

I had to stop working out for about 3 weeks so when I resumed I gained about 3 - 4 pounds of water weight due to sore muscles. It toom me about a week to lose it. And now just like holleysings, I fluctuate around a pound or so.

spaingirl2011

Thanks, ladies! I'm sure it'll come off ... I was just curious how long it would take before I needed to rethink strategies and such!

Thanks again!

LuluProteinFueled

I puff up straight away after a heavy lifting session. I feel like I go from somewhat toned to puffy and chunky in about 40 minutes... it's not pretty LOL. I've been at this for weeks but it hasn't changed, so I just deal with it. If I've got somewhere important to go, I won't schedule a lifting session within the 8 hours before it.

However when I wake up the next morning, I am smaller again. I feel like the puffier I am the night before, the smaller I look in the morning. It's a bit ridiculous, but I guess it's all part of the process. I drink heaps of water too just to help with it all. Does anyone else go through this too? I've heard lots of people talk about water-weight fluctuations over a few days, but not many people from day to day like me.

I'm looking forward to a rest week soon, so I can really see my progress. I've heard that if you're lifting regularly, you'll always be carrying a little more water to heal those muscles, and a rest week is good for getting rid of this.

jenluvsushi

Totally normal for water retention after heavy lifting...it will pass, pun intended :laugh:

spaingirl2011

Thanks! Glad to know I won't always feel this puffy!

MariaMariaM

I puff up straight away after a heavy lifting session. I feel like I go from somewhat toned to puffy and chunky in about 40 minutes... it's not pretty LOL. I've been at this for weeks but it hasn't changed, so I just deal with it. If I've got somewhere important to go, I won't schedule a lifting session within the 8 hours before it.

However when I wake up the next morning, I am smaller again. I feel like the puffier I am the night before, the smaller I look in the morning. It's a bit ridiculous, but I guess it's all part of the process. I drink heaps of water too just to help with it all. Does anyone else go through this too? I've heard lots of people talk about water-weight fluctuations over a few days, but not many people from day to day like me.

I'm looking forward to a rest week soon, so I can really see my progress. I've heard that if you're lifting regularly, you'll always be carrying a little more water to heal those muscles, and a rest week is good for getting rid of this.

I did P90X and it was during the rest week where I saw the most improvement in both the scale and tape. After 3 weeks of hardcore workouts the rest week was welcomed!

LuluProteinFueled

I did P90X and it was during the rest week where I saw the most improvement in both the scale and tape. After 3 weeks of hardcore workouts the rest week was welcomed!

Yay!! I'm going on holiday in just under 3 weeks, so I'm going to persevere until then and really earn my rest

Thanks for sharing!

rr85114

I definitely carry extra water after I lift. It'll creep on a few hours after I've lifted and will hang around for the next day or two - at which point it's time to lift again, so yes, I agree with the others in this thread that you just need to keep it in mind, and take a good chunk of recovery time every now and then to really see changes

Good luck!

ladyace2078

I don't shed all the water weight until I take a rest week every 4-6 weeks.

Raynn1

I notice the water come off the most during a rest week in between my stages.. usualy during I have water retention no matter what I do