Question....weight coming off because of water?

AlbaAngel25

Hi Everyone!

I've had some decent success over the past year slowly losing weight and most definitely keeping it off. I had reached a plateau about 2 months ago, and have finally been able to break that plateau.
I started and completed 30DSHRED, although i didn't lose to much weight I lost about 10 inches total. (I completed it a week ago).

I have taken a week off of working out( just doing my casual walking), and I have noticed the scale and It seems as though I am losing weight again. I have cut out a lot of white carbs and have been trying to get healthy carbs in other areas. I also have been drinking MUCH more water than usual. At least 6-8 tall glasses a day, where before I wasn't drinking that much at all.

Just would like some opinions on what is happening here....., Is my body reacting to my rest week, or my intake of water..... or is it just having a mind of its own? lol Any advice would be great!
Thanks for reading!!

waldo56

When you did the 30DShread and didn't lose much, just losing inches, you were in fact losing fat. A lot of it.

But you were also in a calorie deficit. You weren't actually building muscle tissue. Your muscles were building up their internal fuel storage, which makes them appear larger and more firm, and causes them to weigh more. But this is only a transient state, the bodies reaction to intense training. Stop the intense training and your muscles will dump all this extra fuel, which is pretty much just water.

Then the fat loss will become visible on the scale finally, in addition to on the tape measure.

californiagirl2012

Hi Everyone!

I've had some decent success over the past year slowly losing weight and most definitely keeping it off. I had reached a plateau about 2 months ago, and have finally been able to break that plateau.
I started and completed 30DSHRED, although i didn't lose to much weight I lost about 10 inches total. (I completed it a week ago).

I have taken a week off of working out( just doing my casual walking), and I have noticed the scale and It seems as though I am losing weight again. I have cut out a lot of white carbs and have been trying to get healthy carbs in other areas. I also have been drinking MUCH more water than usual. At least 6-8 tall glasses a day, where before I wasn't drinking that much at all.

Just would like some opinions on what is happening here....., Is my body reacting to my rest week, or my intake of water..... or is it just having a mind of its own? lol Any advice would be great!
Thanks for reading!!

LOL it sort of does have a mind of it's own. When you drink a lot of water it actually helps your body release water, but there are many other factors. It's GOOD to drink the water, keep doing it and don't worry about the fluctuations.

Your body loses weight in chunks, not linear. I have found that you can do everything right and your weight loss seems to plateau but if you are patient and keep exercising and eating at a deficit (however slight) you will lose it, it will suddenly "whoosh". There are so many variables for the scale; water retention, digestion, hormones, allergies, sodium, carbs, water intake, DOMS, inflammation, the list goes on. People mistakenly think they lose or gain weight when they eat more or less because of these fluctuations.

Losing weight requires tremendous patience. You will not lose it when you want it or where you want it. The body does its thing. Some apparent plateaus can last a month or so. You cannot make it happen faster. You must focus on two things; calories and exercise. Nothing else matters. Scales and metrics don't matter. The day in and day out grind of exercise and calories are all that matters. It is not very exciting until things fall into place. You get your victories and you ride one victory to the next.

The scale is a trend tool. The scale is good but put it away and only check once a week and only use it as a trend tool. It will fluctuate, it does not matter. Take front side and back progress pictures at least once a month. You will see differences that the metrics won't tell you and it's that little bit of NSV that will keep you going until the next victory.

As far as calories...
To say eat more is wrong.

To say eat less is wrong.

If you plug in all your info (typically age, gender, height and weight) into one of those calculators what you get is the average metabolic rate of a group of people who share your age, sex, height and weight. What you DON’T get is YOUR EXACT calorie needs. It's a place to start.

To find the exact calories needed for YOU to be in a healthy sustainable calorie deficit is the right answer. Wait, if you need to adjust by 100 do it, wait, adjust, wait, adjust, wait. The tortoise wins this race.

All that matters is calories. A healthy balanced diet within a calorie budget for a deficit that is right for YOU is all that matters for weight loss. Don't make it complicated.

stofteland

A heavy workout schedule may cause you to gain weight. Your muscles like to hold on to water when they are being worked a lot. That's why you saw the inches go down but not the weight. Weight is just a number. I experienced this too when I started a intense pilates routine. I like diet cranberry juice or iced tea to rid my muscles of excess water. Diet cranberry juice has anti-inflammatory properties. This also helps with soreness. I see my weight stall when I have been doing a heavy walking routine(hills). I just keep going and don't pay attention to scale. You didn't mention how many calories you are taking in, keep to about 1400 to 1500 for heavier calorie burn. You body needs the nutrients. Keep it to good protein(greek yogurt) fruits and veggies. Make a smoothie of the yogurt, unsweetened almond milk, frozen spinach, and strawberries. This will give you vit C, iron, calcium and magnesium. All good for working out. An Omega 3-6-9 supplement would good, as well.

I had lost 30# and it stalled as well. Best of luck.