How much gain is normal after adding a new workout?

rjdunn87
rjdunn87 Posts: 385 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Okay, let me preface this by saying I'm a daily weigh-er, and I told myself when I decided to weigh daily that I wouldn't let myself get panicked or discouraged if I saw the scale go up occasionally because it's normal. That being said, I started my 4th week of T25 today, and as of Friday/Saturday, I was down to 173 from the 180.5 I was when I started the program. Since then, my weight has been steadily creeping up every day to the point where tonight, I got on the scale and it was reading 180.5 again. Just seeing that number again is really discouraging!

So, the only thing I've done differently over the past few days is I've done Jillian Michael's No More Trouble Zones workout twice, which is primarily a strength training workout (low weights, high reps). Prior to doing those two work outs, I hadn't done any strength training with weights since starting T25. Is that amount of weight gain normal? I just feel like it's a ton. When I started the 30 Day Shred my weight did shoot up about 5 pounds, but this is even more than that was.

Other stuff: I do measure and weigh all of my food. I was high on sodium today but generally am way under MFP's recommendation and drink at least 8 cups of water daily.

Replies

  • rjdunn87
    rjdunn87 Posts: 385 Member
    bump!
  • cookiealbright
    cookiealbright Posts: 605 Member
    That does seem a bit high, but if you calorie count is accurate try drinking more water today. You are on the right path, just keep at it! :flowerforyou:
  • foremant86
    foremant86 Posts: 1,115 Member
    do you use an hrm for your workouts or are you going by mfp?

    A gain is normal, it is discouraging to see but it does happen when we do new workouts because our muscles usually are sore and we retain more water.

    Using before/after pictures are far more important as well as taking measurements. That is your best way to know if you are actually gaining/losing.

    The most i've gained with a new workout is 2 or 3 pounds but i know that everyone is different.
  • rjdunn87
    rjdunn87 Posts: 385 Member
    do you use an hrm for your workouts or are you going by mfp?

    A gain is normal, it is discouraging to see but it does happen when we do new workouts because our muscles usually are sore and we retain more water.

    Using before/after pictures are far more important as well as taking measurements. That is your best way to know if you are actually gaining/losing.

    The most i've gained with a new workout is 2 or 3 pounds but i know that everyone is different.

    I use a HRM and very rarely eat all of my workout calories back. I try to stick to 50% or less.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    It's going to be different for everyone. When I take a rest week...no lifting and only walking and/or easy cycling to let my body rest and recover, I'll drop down to around 177/178...the following week when I get back into my lifting routine, I'll usually jump up to around 186...and throughout my four week mesocycle things will regulate and I'll average around 182 or so

    I'm maintaining and have been for about 8 months or so with those kind of fluctuations being pretty normal...and again, I average around 182ish which is what I consider my weight to be despite those fluctuations. Just like losing weight, you'll have to view this as a trend over time. I personally pay far more attention to the waste band of my pants, my shirts, etc than I do the scale.
  • Hellbent_Heidi
    Hellbent_Heidi Posts: 3,669 Member
    Could be muscles retaining water for repair after the added strength training....or it could be that you just had too much sodium lately (did you eat in restaurants over the weekend?)

    Give it a little time to see if it levels off. Its very unlikely to be any kind of real gain....

    also...it could just be a hormonal water retention thing too :ohwell:
  • rjdunn87
    rjdunn87 Posts: 385 Member
    Thanks :) Yeah, I prepared myself for fluctuations and know that it will be a long process and I didn't put it on in three weeks so it won't come off in three weeks, etc. etc. I guess I was just prepared for fluctuations of two or three pounds, but not seven or eight.
  • rjdunn87
    rjdunn87 Posts: 385 Member
    Could be muscles retaining water for repair after the added strength training....or it could be that you just had too much sodium lately (did you eat in restaurants over the weekend?)

    Give it a little time to see if it levels off. Its very unlikely to be any kind of real gain....

    Thanks, yeah, I'm hoping that by Saturday when I "officially" weight and measure again it will start coming back off. I did not eat in any restaurants, no. I had some extra sodium last night because we used packaged gnocchi in a meal but other than that, I've been way under my sodium every day.
  • ataylorgardner
    ataylorgardner Posts: 203 Member
    I read an article a few weeks ago that talked about this very subject. It said that when introducing a new workout routine or just increase your workout intensity it is normal to gain a bit of weight around the 3rd week. They didnt specify how much weight and I assume that is because, as the others have already said, everyone reacts differently. The reason behind this gain is that the new routine causes the body to go into a short term stress state in which it begins producing cortisol. Cortisol causes the body to retain water which results in the weight gain. It can take anywhere from 1-3 weeks for the body to adjust to the new routine and stop producing the cortisol. At this point it will start flushing out all the excess water and you should start noticing a weight drop again. If you know that you are maintaining the same diet you were before I wouldnt worry about it too much. Keep drinking lots of water to help flush your system and be a little patient. Give it a week or two and see if things start to balance back out. Good luck
  • rjdunn87
    rjdunn87 Posts: 385 Member
    I read an article a few weeks ago that talked about this very subject. It said that when introducing a new workout routine or just increase your workout intensity it is normal to gain a bit of weight around the 3rd week. They didnt specify how much weight and I assume that is because, as the others have already said, everyone reacts differently. The reason behind this gain is that the new routine causes the body to go into a short term stress state in which it begins producing cortisol. Cortisol causes the body to retain water which results in the weight gain. It can take anywhere from 1-3 weeks for the body to adjust to the new routine and stop producing the cortisol. At this point it will start flushing out all the excess water and you should start noticing a weight drop again. If you know that you are maintaining the same diet you were before I wouldnt worry about it too much. Keep drinking lots of water to help flush your system and be a little patient. Give it a week or two and see if things start to balance back out. Good luck

    Thank you, that's encouraging :)

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