Lifting and weight gain

yasmine334
yasmine334 Posts: 187 Member
edited November 11 in Fitness and Exercise
so, i have read about it a lot in the forums, once you start lift heavy your body mass will somehow increase due to water retention. I started lifting only 10 days ago and I have not lost one gram! on the contrary I gained almost 0.5 kg (1 pound).

how do you deal with that? I know most probably it is water, but how to get rid of this excess water? :(

Replies

  • Th3Ph03n1x
    Th3Ph03n1x Posts: 275 Member
    Hopefully someone more knowledgeable will come along but if I'm not mistaken it is due to water retention most likely and if so it will go away on it's own as your body adjusts to lifting.

    I'm sure someone might be able to give you idea about how long to wait before worrying that isn't the issue.
  • jimmykellems67
    jimmykellems67 Posts: 1
    I stay off the scale. I may weigh myself once every 3 weeks. Remember also that muscle weighs more than fat. If you are training muscle you may not lose "lbs" as fast as you desire. Make sure you are in a caloric deficit also.
  • yasmine334
    yasmine334 Posts: 187 Member
    Cheerios0392 wrote: »
    Just wanted to say I'm in the same position as you right now, I added heavier weights to my workouts and I've been averaging a loss of 1/2 a kg per week before this. Haven't done anything different calorie wise. Stepped on the scale yesterday and didn't lose anything but gained the exact same amount of weight you mentioned - 0.5 kg.

    I don't know why, but this made me relief :)

    I hope it is just water.
  • FitPhillygirl
    FitPhillygirl Posts: 7,124 Member
    jimmykellems67 wrote: »
    Remember also that muscle weighs more than fat. If you are training muscle you may not lose "lbs" as fast as you desire.

    Muscle does not weigh more than fat. One pound of fat weighs the same as one pound of muscle. One pound of muscle occupies less space (volume) within the body than one pound of fat.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    Just don't worry about it. If you're trying to lose fat, stick to your deficit while you lift. Strength training will help you keep your muscle mass. As long as you are in a deficit you'll see the scale drop soon.
  • CaseytCrawford498
    CaseytCrawford498 Posts: 1 Member
    Let the mirror and tape measurements show your progress. The water retention is vital to your muscles recovery from exercise.
  • AliceDark
    AliceDark Posts: 3,886 Member
    That's totally normal, assuming nothing else about your intake changed (as in, you didn't start eating more because exercise made you hungrier. That does tend to happen pretty often when people aren't tracking their intake). You just need to wait it out. Give it 2-3 weeks and just be patient. It'll go away.
  • SonyaCele
    SonyaCele Posts: 2,841 Member
    why do you wanna get rid of the excess water? that's your body healing your muscles that you just ripped. Its good for you, let your body do what its supposed to do. workout and eat right and don't worry about 1 pound this way or that.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    You don't get rid of it. Well, if you stop exercising, you'll probably see a drop. But since it's only water weight that's a little drastic.
    Eventually, it will even out, your weight loss will catch up and the scale will start to move again.
    For me it took about 4 weeks although it was clear from progress photos and measurements that I had lost over the 4 weeks.
  • yasmine334
    yasmine334 Posts: 187 Member
    3dogsrunning wrote: »
    You don't get rid of it. Well, if you stop exercising, you'll probably see a drop. But since it's only water weight that's a little drastic.
    Eventually, it will even out, your weight loss will catch up and the scale will start to move again.
    For me it took about 4 weeks although it was clear from progress photos and measurements that I had lost over the 4 weeks.

    5 weeks now, my body shape is changing verrryy slowly, my scale is still not moving!
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