For the New People: Exercise and Your Scale

MaraDiaz
MaraDiaz Posts: 4,604 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Starting a new exercise routine or intensifying your current routine can lead to several pounds of water weight gain. Your body retains the water to repair your muscles.

And believe me, it can hold onto that water for days or even weeks, then turn it loose seemingly at random.

So if you have dutifully started working out in your efforts to lose weight and find you didn't lose or gained this could be what is going on. Do not despair!

Replies

  • bearwith
    bearwith Posts: 525 Member
    91 pounds - well done
  • elisa123gal
    elisa123gal Posts: 4,333 Member
    Great post... i read an article on that long ago and it was enlightening. you are right..i recall it said that some people can weigh more for six weeks..but it is false weight gain. They get discouraged and quit. So it is good to remember your point.
  • barbiek999
    barbiek999 Posts: 176 Member
    Great post! I've done a lot of reading but I haven't seen this said so concisely before. Thanks very much for posting this!!!
  • MaraDiaz
    MaraDiaz Posts: 4,604 Member
    Great post... i read an article on that long ago and it was enlightening. you are right..i recall it said that some people can weigh more for six weeks..but it is false weight gain. They get discouraged and quit. So it is good to remember your point.

    Thanks all, I see it get asked a lot, thought this might help.

    And six weeks? Really? That's longer than even I thought it was! Blasted scales can't be trusted, take measurements!
  • nwachim
    nwachim Posts: 111 Member
    Starting a new exercise routine or intensifying your current routine can lead to several pounds of water weight gain. Your body retains the water to repair your muscles.

    And believe me, it can hold onto that water for days or even weeks, then turn it loose seemingly at random.

    So if you have dutifully started working out in your efforts to lose weight and find you didn't lose or gained this could be what is going on. Do not despair!


    this explains a lot! i almost gave up when i started exercising cz i noticed after all my efforts for about 3weeks,i lost nothing instead i gained 4pounds and i stopped weiging and after like another 3 weeks or a bit more i weighed again and i had lost about 16lbs so i kinda got scared if i lost too much in a little time so this actually explains to me that my body probably removed all the weight it had lost at once
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    Here's a link to a related thread which explains it fairly well:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/595473-why-the-scale-goes-up-with-a-new-workout-program-must-read
  • pamwhite712
    pamwhite712 Posts: 193 Member
    I am learning so much here. Thank you. I knew the initial weight I had lost was water weight mostly, but didn't know that it would continue to be a factor.
  • MaraDiaz
    MaraDiaz Posts: 4,604 Member
    Here's a link to a related thread which explains it fairly well:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/595473-why-the-scale-goes-up-with-a-new-workout-program-must-read

    Indeed, I have campaigned unsuccessfully to have this one stickied! :flowerforyou:
  • HandyASH
    HandyASH Posts: 109 Member
    Thank u for the advice, it really does help.
  • herebeeri
    herebeeri Posts: 39 Member
    Perfectly timed post for me - I was so disappointed when this scales didn't move this morning despite keeping within daily calorie allowance and walking for at least an hour every day. Thank you :)
  • sbro32
    sbro32 Posts: 130 Member
    Bless your heart for posting this!! I had heard this before, but it's a nice reminder from someone with experience. I gained two weeks in a row when I started my mini marathon training. The next week, I lost significantly and continue to steadily go down. So don't give up, everybody!

    Thanks again for the post!
  • Southernsass6885
    Southernsass6885 Posts: 100 Member
    Thank you so much. I wish I had this when I started- got so upset when I gained. Kept pushing through and this reminder helps a lot :D
  • fleerik
    fleerik Posts: 29 Member
    Thank you for posting. I have not seen the results I was expecting. I have improved my diet greatly, but have also stepped up my strength, cardio, and circuit training. There have been weeks where I haven't seen any weight loss. I need to get a tape measure.
  • mcflat29
    mcflat29 Posts: 2,159 Member
    The only reason I track my weight as often as I do is to monitor my water retention (I know it's an improper science but it's the only thing I've got) I have a disorder which can cause edema, especially in my legs, and I like seeing how diet and exercise helps with the water retention along with the medication. I'm not going to post my findings because everyone is different and anyone with a disorder should be working with a physician. BUT I will say that I've noticed certain exercises make it worse and some actually make it better.

    As far as progress in my healthy change- I trust my measurements which I take once a month, every thirty days. I don't get super excited about the changes on the scale because I realize it's almost all water shift. Thank you for this post though since I forgot at the start of a new workout my body would retain water as part of a "normal" process. Helps a lot! :flowerforyou:
  • Amanda21202
    Amanda21202 Posts: 210 Member
    I'm not new to exercise but I am doing Insanity at the moment which is obviously a lot more intense to what I was previously doing so I am experiencing the weight gain and measurements going up for no longer than a few weeks I hope! It is very discouraging though.

    Its nice to randomly come across posts like this no matter how many times its been said just to get it back into your head that it is only temporary :smile: thank you!
  • cejka96
    cejka96 Posts: 2 Member
    Thank you for posting this. I started my plan and lost 1lb the first week and thought this will work. Then I got a new workout and gained a lb and was like what the...... Thanks for telling me this.
  • zena92
    zena92 Posts: 128 Member
    great post...i wish someone had wrote this when I was starting out
  • KHUDASGAL
    KHUDASGAL Posts: 17
    As much yo-yo-ing as I've done you would think I would 'think' of this,,,,,,thank you! :)
  • Doodlewhopper
    Doodlewhopper Posts: 1,018 Member
    As a point to help stay motivated; think about the sudden 3-4 lb drop that will suddenly be revealed after your body adjusts! It's there, it's just waiting!
  • snowflakeheather
    snowflakeheather Posts: 37 Member
    Thank you! Your post timing is bang on. I've done two weeks of AMAZINGLY staying on program and working out and the scale certainly didn't reflect it. I won't be discouraged....it WILL show! :) Thanks.
  • NCchar130
    NCchar130 Posts: 955 Member
    Always a great reminder. My longest "plateau" was when I started weight training. Then I dropped 8 pounds over about a week and a half.
  • RobynMcGregor
    RobynMcGregor Posts: 44
    Having read this I don;t feel so bad now, I was losing doing no exercise and now that I am exercising nothing appears to be moving. New Mantra - "Patience, persistence, perseverance"
  • walkswithart
    walkswithart Posts: 23 Member
    Having read this I don;t feel so bad now, I was losing doing no exercise and now that I am exercising nothing appears to be moving. New Mantra - "Patience, persistence, perseverance"


    I totally agree: Patience, persistence, perserverance. Thanks for the reminder.
  • lvtruu1
    lvtruu1 Posts: 211 Member
    There is a theory floating around that fat cells once emptied of fat can take up water as well. They eventually release the water which can cause a whoosh as well. Weight loss isn't lineal anyway. If you are in a deficit, you are losing weight.
  • MaraDiaz
    MaraDiaz Posts: 4,604 Member
    Glad if I could help anybody! This drove me nuts before I realized what was happening.
  • LoriIone
    LoriIone Posts: 88 Member
    Thank you for this post! This is what has been happening to me, it was discouraging! But I'm just plowing through it, and will weigh myself in a week or so. Thanks!
  • evdenapoli
    evdenapoli Posts: 164 Member
    Thank you so much for that! I recently turned up th eintessity in my work outs (past 2 weeks) thinking could break a pleateau ...
    saw zero difference! So reading ths gves me hope. Thanks!!
  • lomins
    lomins Posts: 32 Member
    Thank you for posting. I hate my scale.
  • PaulFromEssex
    PaulFromEssex Posts: 245
    Ahh dammit! So the weight gains I have made recently may just be water ... which will disappear after a short while:huh:

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