Is this right?!

Asarsfield15
Asarsfield15 Posts: 16
in Health and Weight Loss
I've been working out and logging for a month but working out before that. Wasn't losing weight but finally lost 5 lbs. that was Monday. I started an intense crossfit class mon, tues, and wed. I ate really well. Weighed myself today and I'm up 6 lbs. how is this possible? Is my body in shock from the workouts? It can't be "muscle". Can it?

Replies

  • yopeeps025
    yopeeps025 Posts: 8,680 Member
    Depending on your diet you could be losing weight. In a perfect world people would be able to losing weight and gain muscle. Diet has to be perfect for that but it is doable.
  • krystina_letitia9
    krystina_letitia9 Posts: 697 Member
    Probably your body holding on to fluids after starting Crossfit. Don't worry about it. Your body will adjust.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    no, its not muscle, its just water retention.
  • Jenn_Lyn1102
    Jenn_Lyn1102 Posts: 219 Member
    Water retention..
  • alexuh
    alexuh Posts: 108 Member
    As others have said - any dramatic increases in weight over a small period of time is very likely to be water retention. I can go up and down 5lbs... Sometimes even 10lbs :noway: depending on how much water I'm retaining. Take it with a pinch of salt. :flowerforyou:
  • tiggerhammon
    tiggerhammon Posts: 2,211 Member
    Yes, water retention. If it drives you crazy to see these weight fluctuations, you should only weight like once a week or every two weeks. Weight fluctuations are totally normal, don't let them bother you.
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
    Yup, very likely water retention. When you start exercising and/or increase the intesity of your workouts (more weight, more sets, faster run, longer bike ride, etc) your muscles retain glycogen and water as part of the natural healing process. It's kind of like when you twist your ankle and it swells - only not as visible as it's spread over a larger area.

    However - when you say you "ate well" - what does that mean exactly. Have you been staying within your daily calorie goal? Eating back earned calories? Drinking plenty of water?
  • cebreisch
    cebreisch Posts: 1,340 Member
    Quit weighing in every day. Your weight is going to fluctuate from day to day due to a variety of things - salt intake, water intake, hormones could be causing you to bloat, the exercise regimen could be freaking your body out.....

    Once a week is plenty to weigh in.
  • Asarsfield15
    Asarsfield15 Posts: 16
    Ok thank you everyone. Just wanted to check. 6lbs just seemed like a lot. Another question. How much of the calories from working out do I eat back?
  • yopeeps025
    yopeeps025 Posts: 8,680 Member
    I recommend you should if you put it in MFP the weight loss goal of whatever per week. If you net calories too low you will actually gain weight.
  • maidentl
    maidentl Posts: 3,203 Member
    I recommend you should if you put it in MFP the weight loss goal of whatever per week. If you net calories too low you will actually gain weight.

    Yes, that's why people in third world countries are so fat.
  • yopeeps025
    yopeeps025 Posts: 8,680 Member
    I recommend you should if you put it in MFP the weight loss goal of whatever per week. If you net calories too low you will actually gain weight.

    Yes, that's why people in third world countries are so fat.

    Third world countries do way more exercising in daily life without transportation. Their bodies are starving. Also they do not get all the nutrients need hence for so many health related deaths that the bigger stable countries do not see in reports.
  • yopeeps025
    yopeeps025 Posts: 8,680 Member
    Also eating too less make your metabolism shoot so low that you gain everything and more back when you stop your diet.
  • Asarsfield15
    Asarsfield15 Posts: 16
    So how much should I eat? I start with 1570 the days I workout I wear a heart monitor and burn between 300-800 calories. How much should I eat on those days?
  • aliwhalen
    aliwhalen Posts: 150 Member
    Most commonly I hear on here that you should only eat back half of your exercise calories.
  • bwogilvie
    bwogilvie Posts: 2,130 Member
    Ok thank you everyone. Just wanted to check. 6lbs just seemed like a lot. Another question. How much of the calories from working out do I eat back?

    That depends on how accurate your method of estimating them is. I eat back 100% of my calories, but I use Garmin Edge and ForeRunner HRMs that have complicated algorithms for estimating energy expenditure, and my results have matched their estimates to within 10%. My old Sigma and Timex HRMs overestimated energy expenditure by 40-50%; with those, I ate back only about two thirds of calories.

    A good rule of thumb would be to eat back 75%. If you lose faster than you want, then eat back more. If your loss is slower than your goal, then eat back less. Adjust every 2-3 weeks until you find the right percentage.

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