5x5 strong lift, cardio, deficit and logging.....help?

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  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    is there anything I can do about the water retention other than drinking lots of water?

    My suggestion would be to not worry about it and stay off the scale for a few weeks.
  • rsimoneau1
    rsimoneau1 Posts: 35 Member
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    I know its not linear. I have already stated that I know its not, but this is a significant gain in 5 days. Its a months worth of weight loss for me and its frustrating.

    Check your sodium intake.

    Relax. I can gain 10 pounds over a weekend, but its gone and then some by Friday.

    Let it roll a few weeks. I started heavy lifting recently, and my weight is just hanging out above my max loss. I have water retention as well, but it's not concerning me at this point.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
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    is there anything I can do about the water retention other than drinking lots of water?

    It's water, not fat. Stop being such a slave to the scale
  • Four_Leaf_Clover
    Four_Leaf_Clover Posts: 332 Member
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    avoid high sodium levels and keep drinking - it will come off
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
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    is there anything I can do about the water retention other than drinking lots of water?

    Why do you care? Do you have to weigh in for a wrestling or boxing match or something? If you didn't gain 7lbs of fat then you haven't reversed a month's worth of weight loss. If anything, the extra water retention in your muscles gives them a larger appearance, improving your aesthetics.
  • peeaanuut
    peeaanuut Posts: 359 Member
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    is there anything I can do about the water retention other than drinking lots of water?

    Why do you care? Do you have to weigh in for a wrestling or boxing match or something? If you didn't gain 7lbs of fat then you haven't reversed a month's worth of weight loss. If anything, the extra water retention in your muscles gives them a larger appearance, improving your aesthetics.

    i care because I cannot see any other results. measurements havent changed. Even after losing the 30lbs before starting the weights my measurements havent changed. The scale has been the only number to change. So now that that is going in the wrong direction, I have no other matrix to mark improvement.
  • ArroganceInStep
    ArroganceInStep Posts: 6,239 Member
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    is there anything I can do about the water retention other than drinking lots of water?

    Why do you care? Do you have to weigh in for a wrestling or boxing match or something? If you didn't gain 7lbs of fat then you haven't reversed a month's worth of weight loss. If anything, the extra water retention in your muscles gives them a larger appearance, improving your aesthetics.

    i care because I cannot see any other results. measurements havent changed. Even after losing the 30lbs before starting the weights my measurements havent changed. The scale has been the only number to change. So now that that is going in the wrong direction, I have no other matrix to mark improvement.

    How much are you eating per day?

    How confident are you that the number is accurate?
  • peeaanuut
    peeaanuut Posts: 359 Member
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    MFP puts me at 2260 for food. I am pretty confident it is correct as I have been weighing everything. I might even been slightly overestimating on some stuff but only by a small bit. I would say I am +/- 150 calories as far as accurate. I don't log any weight lifting calories, only cardio. I try to stay around that range but some days when my cardio is more intense I end up with about 1000 calories net left over.
  • brower47
    brower47 Posts: 16,356 Member
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    ok fine, make fun of me if you want, but im seriously wonder whats going on here? Why would I gain 7 lbs in a week? If I am at a deficit, why am I gaining? If you dont have an answer just say so.

    Water. Muscles need water to repair themselves. After they repair themselves, you get stronger and they shed the water. No one's making fun though some are less than impressed with your dedication to following a routine that takes far longer than a week to see results.

    Anything worth doing takes longer than a week. Good luck.
  • ArroganceInStep
    ArroganceInStep Posts: 6,239 Member
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    MFP puts me at 2260 for food. I am pretty confident it is correct as I have been weighing everything. I might even been slightly overestimating on some stuff but only by a small bit. I would say I am +/- 150 calories as far as accurate. I don't log any weight lifting calories, only cardio. I try to stay around that range but some days when my cardio is more intense I end up with about 1000 calories net left over.

    How much do you burn daily?

    At 370, 2300 cals would definitely have you losing.
  • JTick
    JTick Posts: 2,131 Member
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    I'm also doing 5x5, and feel your pain about the scale. I started when I weighed about 194, and had just broken under 200 for the first time in years. My weight plateaued for at least a month while doing some crazy fluctuations...193, up to 195, to 192, to 198. It was very frustrating especially since I never wanted to see 200 again. I stuck with it, kept lifting, and stayed in a deficit. All of a sudden, boom, 188 and dropping. Hang in there, it really is just your muscles trying to adjust, and you should probably expect it to be that way for about a month.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
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    is there anything I can do about the water retention other than drinking lots of water?

    Why do you care? Do you have to weigh in for a wrestling or boxing match or something? If you didn't gain 7lbs of fat then you haven't reversed a month's worth of weight loss. If anything, the extra water retention in your muscles gives them a larger appearance, improving your aesthetics.

    i care because I cannot see any other results. measurements havent changed. Even after losing the 30lbs before starting the weights my measurements havent changed. The scale has been the only number to change. So now that that is going in the wrong direction, I have no other matrix to mark improvement.

    Results? It's been a week. You're not supposed to be seeing any results
  • peeaanuut
    peeaanuut Posts: 359 Member
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    2,632 is what the BMR calculator on MFP has. I have it set to sedentary as I sit at a desk all day. I do go to the gym about 6 days a week, but that is my only workout time as of now.

    I just redid the numbers and it says 2290 now and set at 2 lbs a week loss.

    For cardio, I burn between 400 and 1000 depending on the day. For example. I rode my bike to the gym last night. 4.5 miles and my HRM said 603 calories burned for 35 minutes or riding. I know that that is probably a little bit high, but it was a tough ride for me on the mountian bike. Other workouts like swimming for 45 minutes says about 800 calories at a pretty steady consistance rate. Others would be walking on the treadmill, rowing or biking in the gym.
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
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    is there anything I can do about the water retention other than drinking lots of water?

    Why do you care? Do you have to weigh in for a wrestling or boxing match or something? If you didn't gain 7lbs of fat then you haven't reversed a month's worth of weight loss. If anything, the extra water retention in your muscles gives them a larger appearance, improving your aesthetics.

    i care because I cannot see any other results. measurements havent changed. Even after losing the 30lbs before starting the weights my measurements havent changed. The scale has been the only number to change. So now that that is going in the wrong direction, I have no other matrix to mark improvement.

    Take measurements in 2 months from now and see how you feel about the results. A week is a drop in the bucket - not much, if anything is going to happen in that time period.
  • peeaanuut
    peeaanuut Posts: 359 Member
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    is there anything I can do about the water retention other than drinking lots of water?

    Why do you care? Do you have to weigh in for a wrestling or boxing match or something? If you didn't gain 7lbs of fat then you haven't reversed a month's worth of weight loss. If anything, the extra water retention in your muscles gives them a larger appearance, improving your aesthetics.

    i care because I cannot see any other results. measurements havent changed. Even after losing the 30lbs before starting the weights my measurements havent changed. The scale has been the only number to change. So now that that is going in the wrong direction, I have no other matrix to mark improvement.

    Results? It's been a week. You're not supposed to be seeing any results

    I worded it incorrectly. I know the numbers isnt going to go down dramatically, im worried because the number is going up. If I stayed stagnant or went up a lb I would be fine, but 7lbs is significant in 4-5 days.
  • peeaanuut
    peeaanuut Posts: 359 Member
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    I'm also doing 5x5, and feel your pain about the scale. I started when I weighed about 194, and had just broken under 200 for the first time in years. My weight plateaued for at least a month while doing some crazy fluctuations...193, up to 195, to 192, to 198. It was very frustrating especially since I never wanted to see 200 again. I stuck with it, kept lifting, and stayed in a deficit. All of a sudden, boom, 188 and dropping. Hang in there, it really is just your muscles trying to adjust, and you should probably expect it to be that way for about a month.

    pretty much what is going to have to happen for now. Im just gonna have to ride it out I guess. But if I hit 400lbs again, im gonna jump off a bridge or you know, eat a few hamburgers.
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
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    I'm also doing 5x5, and feel your pain about the scale. I started when I weighed about 194, and had just broken under 200 for the first time in years. My weight plateaued for at least a month while doing some crazy fluctuations...193, up to 195, to 192, to 198. It was very frustrating especially since I never wanted to see 200 again. I stuck with it, kept lifting, and stayed in a deficit. All of a sudden, boom, 188 and dropping. Hang in there, it really is just your muscles trying to adjust, and you should probably expect it to be that way for about a month.

    pretty much what is going to have to happen for now. Im just gonna have to ride it out I guess. But if I hit 400lbs again, im gonna jump off a bridge or you know, eat a few hamburgers.

    +1 for patience.

    And for what it's worth, I'm a relatively lean guy and my weight has fluctuated as much as six pounds in a 24 hour period. Scale weight it ridiculously volatile. Don't put so much reliance on that number and give what sounds like a reasonably solid approach a chance to work its magic. Months, not weeks and especially not days.
  • BeachGingerOnTheRocks
    BeachGingerOnTheRocks Posts: 3,927 Member
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    I have to chime in with the time thing and the necessity for the water retention.

    You want the water retention right now. Repeat. You WANT the water retention right now. You want your muscles to repair. You want to develop/hold on to that lean mass. You want strength gains. You want to gain 7-10 pounds of water weight on the scale because it means your muscles are doing what they should be doing and that you are serious with your workouts.

    A month from now, you'll start having the losses kick in. It might be a pound here or there, or you might drop 10 pounds in 2 days and have it not come back.

    Being slow, methodical, and comprehending what the combination of strength and cardio is going to do for you is far more important than an immediate decrease in the scale.

    If you keep eating at 2240 plus cardio, and be consistent, there is no way you're going to see that scale keep crawling up after this initial month. The key is consistency.

    Lock your scale in the trunk of your car until September 15.
  • ArroganceInStep
    ArroganceInStep Posts: 6,239 Member
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    2,632 is what the BMR calculator on MFP has. I have it set to sedentary as I sit at a desk all day. I do go to the gym about 6 days a week, but that is my only workout time as of now.

    I just redid the numbers and it says 2290 now and set at 2 lbs a week loss.

    For cardio, I burn between 400 and 1000 depending on the day. For example. I rode my bike to the gym last night. 4.5 miles and my HRM said 603 calories burned for 35 minutes or riding. I know that that is probably a little bit high, but it was a tough ride for me on the mountian bike. Other workouts like swimming for 45 minutes says about 800 calories at a pretty steady consistance rate. Others would be walking on the treadmill, rowing or biking in the gym.

    Stick with what you're doing for 3 more weeks. If you see no changes try changing your activity level to moderate activity and not eating back your exercise calories.

    Wait the full 3 weeks though.
  • khloee1
    khloee1 Posts: 90 Member
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    Hang in there! I too started strong 5x5 about 4 weeks ago. And at first...the damn scale said I gained weight! So I got upset, frustrated and was lacking motivation. But I stuck it out and guess what.....I see muscle! My clothes fit better, I feel better and the scale dropped a few pounds. Not as much as I would like but I look leaner (which is what matters). I do step on the scale every day (bad habit) but I don't let it run or ruin my journey. Lifting ROCKS!! I love it! I know I will be Strong, Fit and Healthy...Even if the scale says otherwise. Just hang in there! :drinker:

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