Well ain't that a kick in the pants!

lrbassmom

So I'm taking a week off from lifting because I haven't really taken any time off from any kind of exercise in a long time. I figured that the weekend was good enough of a break... Plus, all of a sudden I wasn't able to lift as much, I felt weak and just not in the mood to throw heavy stuff around.

So I've been a slacker this week. I've stayed somewhat active, 30 minute walk, a bike ride here and there but nothing that I would call "exercise". So out of curiosity and because I was SURE I had gained weight I stepped on the scale. Lost a 1.5 lbs.! :noway: :noway: So I did it again. Yep, 168.5 but the body fat % went up 2%. :laugh: I figure that's just a water balance thing.

So, does anyone have any good explanations for this phenomena?

1brokegal44

Sometimes it takes our bodies a while to catch up. That's why clothes often feel looser before the scale says anything. Nice going!

stealthq

Possible you overworked last week and had inflamed muscles (water stored)? Then you take a break and your muscles heal and the water is let go.

majope

Sore muscles retain water for repair. If you'd been lifting to the point where you felt too weak to keep doing it, chances are they were pretty stressed. So chances are, resting for a week let them heal up and you lost some water weight, which allowed you to see the fat loss the retained water had been masking.

lrbassmom

Good Answer! Good Answer! I like it. And that's what it felt like. I knew I was getting stronger, I can see it in the mirror and in my legs (which now have a flat side on them and starting a cut up the front, thank yew very much! :bigsmile: ), and in my arms and chest. And I was certain I was losing fat, as I was down 2% (37%) in the past couple of months. It just wasn't showing up on the scale. But like I said, when I weighed and did the body fat measurement it was up to 39%. ??? Any answers for that?