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

Hey OP, hang tough! Seriously, keep up the cardio and lifting, both. I am much smaller than you, about 5'8" and 195. I started lifting 2 weeks ago. Actually, changed my entire routine from what had been 5x week high intensity (Insanity, Focus T25, that kinda thing) to lifting 3x week, walking 5x week, sprints 1x week. I'm using New Rules of Lifting, not SL5x5, but that doesn't really matter. Point is, in my first week of that new regimen I gained 5 lbs. I was eating at a 400 cal/daily deficit and only eating back half my walking calories.

Physiologically it is impossible to gain 5 lbs of muscle and fat in one week. That would require that I ate roughly 15,000 calories in surplus. Instead, as folks have noted, you are seeing your body retain water.

This week I have now lost all those 5 lbs. I really should have never looked at the scale.

Here's what I learned:

- Eat carbs 30 min before lifting, preferably fruits and berries, gives you a boost of glycogen/glucose for best lifting energy
- Eat protein within 30-60 min after lifting, some sort of protein shake is probably the easiest/best choice. But chicken breast would be just fine too. This really helps with starting the muscle recovery.
- Increase your water and sodium intake, helps with not retaining so much water.
- eat consistently (that appears to be the case already for you)
- Be patient, you are doing the right things and they WILL have an effect

The comments made by others about water retention, glycogen storage, and muscle recovery are right on. That is almost certainly where the weight gain came from.

I learned my lesson, I'm staying off the scale until the end of NRoL Break-In. Will weigh and measure during rest week, then stay off the scale in the next phase, weigh and measure during rest week, etc.

I can understand your worry. I started lifting seriously about 4 months ago. During that time the scales have only dropped about 5 pounds, but, I have dropped inches and a dress size. I have had a lot of compliments re how I look now and cant wait to start the next stage. If your concern is purely the scales than give up the lifting and drop 2 pounds a week. BUT, you will have a lot of lose skin if you do this. I find it very frustrating that the scales are slow to shift and I drink masses of water. But, I feel a lot better. Stick at it for a month and see if you get results..... Good luck!

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.

It's been 7 days! Changes in routine and diet take about 4-6 weeks for your body to adjust to. And QUIT relying on the scale so much! It's been said a hundred thousand times and it's fact. the scale is so unreliable when it comes to tracking progress.

Oh and one other point. Your goal now is weight loss. You are lifting to prevent further muscle loss, so increasing your protein intake (cut some carbs out) to assist that. Protein after your workout and before bed, assuming you have the extra calories in your plan.

As you lose fat, your lifting will help prevent your body using your muscles as fuel, and that will help your metabolism as you get leaner over the next several months.