No weight change/increase day after gym?

I was just wondering if anyone notices that the day after a workout they either have had no change in their weight or an increase.

This seems to be the case for me. I work out 3x a week for an hour and I weigh myself daily (for now). I've noticed a trend where days after the gym, I've stayed the same or had a slight (less than one pound increase.) Then the following morning I've gone down a pound or two.

Just to clarify, it doesn't bother me, I do not expect a change every day. I just think it's funny and was wondering if there was science behind that or if it's just a funny coincidence :)

Replies

  • schnarfo
    schnarfo Posts: 764 Member
    Muscles holding water and repairing :) happens to me too
  • CristinaL1983
    CristinaL1983 Posts: 1,119 Member
    Increased water while your body repairs the micro-tears in muscles that occur from working out.
  • DalekBrittany
    DalekBrittany Posts: 1,748 Member
    Oooh, that makes sense :) That probably explains why it is significantly lower on Mondays then, after 2 days of rest. :) Alright then! Clears that up! Thanks :)
  • amann1976
    amann1976 Posts: 742 Member
    do yourself a favor toss your scale out the window...
  • do yourself a favor toss your scale out the window...

    This. Get a measuring tape instead.
  • lina011
    lina011 Posts: 427 Member
    i agree....... i hate the scales
  • DalekBrittany
    DalekBrittany Posts: 1,748 Member
    Nope:) scales work for me. I am not one of those people that gets upset if I go a week and haven't lost anything or even gained. I have done this before, and I lost 35 pounds. I quit, but not because I was discouraged, I had a lot of issues going on and didn't have the willpower to deal with that and trying to lose weight. I intend to weigh myself daily until I notice a steady number rather than going down every day because of water weight, and then weigh myself every Monday like I did last time.

    I appreciate the advice, and I totally understand that the scale does not work for some people, but for me, it's okay. :)
  • dorothytd
    dorothytd Posts: 1,138 Member
    Nope:) scales work for me. I am not one of those people that gets upset if I go a week and haven't lost anything or even gained. I have done this before, and I lost 35 pounds. I quit, but not because I was discouraged, I had a lot of issues going on and didn't have the willpower to deal with that and trying to lose weight. I intend to weigh myself daily until I notice a steady number rather than going down every day because of water weight, and then weigh myself every Monday like I did last time.

    I appreciate the advice, and I totally understand that the scale does not work for some people, but for me, it's okay. :)

    I'm a scale person, too. And the gain after tough strength workouts frequently occurs for me as well - lasts 1-2 days.
  • NavyMommy
    NavyMommy Posts: 102 Member
    Yeah I did a step class and weights yesterday and this morning was up a pound. I am sure tomorrow it will go back to where it was, just in time for me to hit the weights again :)
  • CoderGal
    CoderGal Posts: 6,800 Member
    I was just wondering if anyone notices that the day after a workout they either have had no change in their weight or an increase.

    This seems to be the case for me. I work out 3x a week for an hour and I weigh myself daily (for now). I've noticed a trend where days after the gym, I've stayed the same or had a slight (less than one pound increase.) Then the following morning I've gone down a pound or two.

    Just to clarify, it doesn't bother me, I do not expect a change every day. I just think it's funny and waswondering if there was science behind that or if it's just a funny coincidence :)
    Yep, that's exactly what you want in the process of trying to look better. Exercise -> muscle repair = glyocgen = so many extra water molecules = weight gain.

    Glycogen is the key word you want to look up if you want to look into it :)
    http://www.justinowings.com/understanding-bodyweight-and-glycogen-de/

    I'm an obsessive weigher. I don't really care if I go up and down, I'm more interested in the data collection. Weight loss shouldn't be steady, there should be ups and down in a heathy person. After a particular 20km hike I went up 10lbs the next day. A few days later and it was all gone with then some.
  • SteveJWatson
    SteveJWatson Posts: 1,225 Member
    Also: weight loss is not linear, sorry.

    If you must weigh yourself, do it once every 2 weeks.
  • DalekBrittany
    DalekBrittany Posts: 1,748 Member
    Glycogen is the key word you want to look up if you want to look into it :)
    http://www.justinowings.com/understanding-bodyweight-and-glycogen-de/

    I actually know quite a bit about it, I'm in the medical field :) but I can always learn more! Thanks, I will read that.
  • DalekBrittany
    DalekBrittany Posts: 1,748 Member
    Also: weight loss is not linear, sorry.

    If you must weigh yourself, do it once every 2 weeks.

    Never said it was. I will continue doing exactly what I'm doing, but thanks for the advice.
  • DalekBrittany
    DalekBrittany Posts: 1,748 Member
    I'm an obsessive weigher. I don't really care if I go up and down, I'm more interested in the data collection. Weight loss shouldn't be steady, there should be ups and down in a healthy person. After a particular 20km hike I went up 10lbs the next day. A few days later and it was all gone with then some.

    Yeah, I'm the same! Not the ten pounds thing, but the data collection. I just like to know the numbers. I'm a big numbers person.
  • CristinaL1983
    CristinaL1983 Posts: 1,119 Member
    I'm an obsessive weigher. I don't really care if I go up and down, I'm more interested in the data collection. Weight loss shouldn't be steady, there should be ups and down in a healthy person. After a particular 20km hike I went up 10lbs the next day. A few days later and it was all gone with then some.

    Yeah, I'm the same! Not the ten pounds thing, but the data collection. I just like to know the numbers. I'm a big numbers person.

    I'm the same way. I weigh everyday and track everything. I have an excel spreadsheet with all my data tracked (as well as MFP, of course).
  • HSingMomto7Kids
    HSingMomto7Kids Posts: 345 Member
    I still weigh myself 1X a week. But in the beginning of my journey when I felt like the scale wasn't moving the measurements were. Try that and see if you feel better about it!!
  • I weight myself almost everyday, and always 100% naked. MY rule is to weight in after a #2 (and naked)...yup I poo and strip and weigh in....OR I weigh in right when I wake up after my morning pee, pre-shower, because I'm convinced wet hair would make me heavier on the scale. I almost always see the numbers going down following these really gross/weird rules. The only time it doesn't work is if, I haven't poo'd in a while, and sometimes before OR after OR during my period, I'll retain some water weight, but then I usually have a bigger loss when I pee that out.
    Ok. I'm done with all this sexy talk.
  • DalekBrittany
    DalekBrittany Posts: 1,748 Member
    I weight myself almost everyday, and always 100% naked. MY rule is to weight in after a #2 (and naked)...yup I poo and strip and weigh in....OR I weigh in right when I wake up after my morning pee, pre-shower, because I'm convinced wet hair would make me heavier on the scale. I almost always see the numbers going down following these really gross/weird rules. The only time it doesn't work is if, I haven't poo'd in a while, and sometimes before OR after OR during my period, I'll retain some water weight, but then I usually have a bigger loss when I pee that out.
    Ok. I'm done with all this sexy talk.

    This is a fantastic first post. i'm so glad we're friends now. lol
  • CoderGal
    CoderGal Posts: 6,800 Member
    I weight myself almost everyday, and always 100% naked. MY rule is to weight in after a #2 (and naked)...yup I poo and strip and weigh in....OR I weigh in right when I wake up after my morning pee, pre-shower, because I'm convinced wet hair would make me heavier on the scale. I almost always see the numbers going down following these really gross/weird rules. The only time it doesn't work is if, I haven't poo'd in a while, and sometimes before OR after OR during my period, I'll retain some water weight, but then I usually have a bigger loss when I pee that out.
    Ok. I'm done with all this sexy talk.
    I don't know why people are obsessed about doing their business before hand. Like I said I weigh allot, if I enter the bathroom chances are I step on the scale. I've weighed myself before and after out of curiosity and after getting rid of a lot of business it didn't go down not even a .1 percent. I thought mine was bad but man some of you must take some gigantic poos.

    After a shower has made me weigh more but only by a point or two, not a pound. Clothes is about the only thing that makes much of a difference and enters the pound range.
  • Textmessage
    Textmessage Posts: 387 Member
    I don't get the hate against scales. I think it's better to realize that daily weighing, or obsession with the numbers displayed is the issue.

    If people were to measure themselves every day and make threads wondering why the inches aren't coming off, should we throw away measuring tapes?
  • DalekBrittany
    DalekBrittany Posts: 1,748 Member
    I don't get the hate against scales. I think it's better to realize that daily weighing, or obsession with the numbers displayed is the issue.

    If people were to measure themselves every day and make threads wondering why the inches aren't coming off, should we throw away measuring tapes?

    This. If you don't obsess about the numbers, weigh yourself as much as you like. If you do, don't. Tada.
  • Smaller people = smaller poos.
    I've done before and after and there's a big diff.
    Yum
  • NovemberJune
    NovemberJune Posts: 2,525 Member
    I'm like you in that I like to weigh daily and think the fluctuations are interesting. But I haven't noticed what you said, my weight is just up and down, up and down, without any pattern related to workout/rest days. :smile:
  • mamosh81
    mamosh81 Posts: 409 Member
    I weight myself almost everyday, and always 100% naked. MY rule is to weight in after a #2 (and naked)...yup I poo and strip and weigh in....OR I weigh in right when I wake up after my morning pee, pre-shower, because I'm convinced wet hair would make me heavier on the scale. I almost always see the numbers going down following these really gross/weird rules. The only time it doesn't work is if, I haven't poo'd in a while, and sometimes before OR after OR during my period, I'll retain some water weight, but then I usually have a bigger loss when I pee that out.
    Ok. I'm done with all this sexy talk.

    haha we got the same routine
  • dorothytd
    dorothytd Posts: 1,138 Member
    Smaller people = smaller poos.
    I've done before and after and there's a big diff.
    Yum

    LOL!!! Not sure I agree with that - I'm fairly small these days but I can hang with the big boys!
  • johnhubbs
    johnhubbs Posts: 33 Member
    Same here
  • md804
    md804 Posts: 9 Member
    ALWAYS. And my boobies seem a bit bigger too! Now it's good to finally know why!
  • NJL13500
    NJL13500 Posts: 433 Member
    I weigh every day to see how different things affect my body and weight. I record once per week. I think weighing daily actually helped me understand more about how things like weight lifting and sodium can show a gain that is temporary. As many have said I think that not allowing the scale to dictate how you feel about things is the key. It's a great tool for data collection. I too have a spreadsheet. ;-)
  • lizibame
    lizibame Posts: 59 Member
    I weigh daily too and simply write them on my calendar looking for trends. I, like you, don't really care that the numbers fluctuate only that I know what's going on with my own body. I however have noticed about a 2 day recovery on average after a hard workout. My lightest day tends to be friday after I work out really hard Mon-Wed, pilates on thursday and weigh light on fridays.

    Oh and for whoever said wet hair doesn't weigh that much, i watched a friend of mine step on the scale with dry hair and back on with wet hair and there was a pound difference, it all depends on how much hair you have, long thick hair definitely holds water!