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Water Weight ?

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Mjsturg1
Mjsturg1 Posts: 16 Member
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Hello all, I have been lurking here for awhile now I have been working out for 6 weeks now trying to eat clean for the most part (weekends are my downfall and I have had 2 trips out of town) I started out eating the 1200 cals that MFP suggested and lost 4lbs in the first week then a few weeks ago came across this group so I upped my cals to 1650 per the spreadsheet :) I have been trying my best to eat all my cals. SO heres my question I have been losing and gaining the same 4-5 lbs...now I know this is water weight but at what point will that stabilize? Are my carbs too low I have them set for 40% but when I deviate on the weekends I gain back the dreaded water weight. I am in this for the long haul and am trying not to get to discouraged but would like to make changes now if needed so I'm not just spinning my wheels.

PS my body fat has went from 39.1 to 37.9 so I know good is happening :)

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  • kitka82
    kitka82 Posts: 350 Member
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    How often are you working out? Are you lifting?

    Lifting will cause you to retain water in your muscles, which tends to flush out after a break from lifting. If you are losing body fat and inches you are most likely on the right track.

    If you are bloated, there are a few things that help with that (i.e. asparagus, apple cider vinegar, etc).
  • Mjsturg1
    Mjsturg1 Posts: 16 Member
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    I am working out anywhere from 3-5 days a week 30 min cardio on elliptical and strength training I usually alternate between legs and arms etc
  • jyska
    jyska Posts: 728 Member
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    If your bf% is going down and the scale is just bouncing around like that, I wouldn't worry too much yet. Take pics and measurements. My guess is that things are shifting around and you're changing your body composition. Scales can be deceiving and make us think nothing is happening, when in fact big changes are actually occurring.

    By the way...water weight never stabilizes...it's like the wild card in our efforts to measure changes. Anything and everything seems to affect water weight. :wink:
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    Hello all, I have been lurking here for awhile now I have been working out for 6 weeks now trying to eat clean for the most part (weekends are my downfall and I have had 2 trips out of town) I started out eating the 1200 cals that MFP suggested and lost 4lbs in the first week then a few weeks ago came across this group so I upped my cals to 1650 per the spreadsheet :) I have been trying my best to eat all my cals. SO heres my question I have been losing and gaining the same 4-5 lbs...now I know this is water weight but at what point will that stabilize? Are my carbs too low I have them set for 40% but when I deviate on the weekends I gain back the dreaded water weight. I am in this for the long haul and am trying not to get to discouraged but would like to make changes now if needed so I'm not just spinning my wheels.

    PS my body fat has went from 39.1 to 37.9 so I know good is happening :)

    It's not dreaded water weight, it's required water weight.

    If you are doing cardio, then your body improvements are going to be increasing stores of glucose, which must store with water.

    If moving that much you are either weighing on invalid days which just highlights the false gains and losses and fluctuations.
    And / or you are eating too little carbs for the amount you are doing.

    Did you follow macro suggestion from spreadsheet?
    It confirms you'll meet protein and fat recommended amounts first, and the rest carbs. Can always eat more protein and fat while lowering carbs, but if that much variation on valid weigh-in days, you aren't eating enough.

    Of course, if weekends are bad sodium days too, extra there.
  • Mjsturg1
    Mjsturg1 Posts: 16 Member
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    Yes I am using the macros from the spreadsheet (which is awesome I must say ) On weekdays I have problems getting all my protein and usually am under on carbs by a lil bit and I just went back and looked at my weekends and I know my sodium was off the chart this past weekend because I had crabs covered with old bay Saturday night . I just changed protein shakes so that I can start hitting the protein and cals I need per day so maybe that will help.

    I'm tired of gaining and losing this 5 lbs every week even if it is water thats why I questioned the carbs I did Atkins years ago and am all too familiar with carbs and water weight but I guess as long as I'm doing the best I can to hit my macros that everything else will fall into place I just needed that reassurance :)
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    Yes I am using the macros from the spreadsheet (which is awesome I must say ) On weekdays I have problems getting all my protein and usually am under on carbs by a lil bit and I just went back and looked at my weekends and I know my sodium was off the chart this past weekend because I had crabs covered with old bay Saturday night . I just changed protein shakes so that I can start hitting the protein and cals I need per day so maybe that will help.

    I'm tired of gaining and losing this 5 lbs every week even if it is water thats why I questioned the carbs I did Atkins years ago and am all too familiar with carbs and water weight but I guess as long as I'm doing the best I can to hit my macros that everything else will fall into place I just needed that reassurance :)

    When it comes time to do a diet rest week, and you eat at TDEE all week long, usually that increase in carbs can help kick off a woosh effect of water actually retained in the fat cells. Like it's stored there because of big glucose fluctuations.
    Because you body wants to store carbs if available and room.
    But that requires water.
    But can't drop water volume in blood as that's no good either, so lower limit to that.
    So, start storing extra water in fat cells for when needed.

    Good stiff drink can do that too though, and may be funner. Hmmmmm. A drink, or pie.... Or both!

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