Water retention question (ladies only)

martina1606
martina1606 Posts: 22 Member
edited November 17 in Health and Weight Loss
Hello,
I am trying to lose the last 20 or so pounds,lost 40 already. A week ago I started lifting weights.
In this week I was also ovulating.
Could both these things make me retain water at the same time? The scale has not moved at all. I was exactly the same weight a week ago. Its so frustrating.
Any insights please?

Replies

  • Whitezombiegirl
    Whitezombiegirl Posts: 1,042 Member
    Yes, I think so. I usually gain 0.5lb of water when I first start exercising after a break- it takes about 3 days to go away. Once I'm used to the exercise - say by the 6th time- I stop getting the water retention. I get water retention and digestive issues around ovulation which do affect the scale. Stick with it and if if the scale doesn't move in another 2 weeks- review calorie accuracy (weight and options selected on the counter) and recorded exercise cals etc.

    I also eat more carbs at ovulation and TOM- and far less at other times- so the added carbs will hold more water in the body too- something to consider.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    Yep. I was up three pounds today due to restarting Stronglifts and ovulation. Be patient and it will disappear soon enough.
  • kpodaru
    kpodaru Posts: 133 Member
    YES. your body is wondering hey, what is this lifting business and why are my muscles sore? why are the muscle fibers under strain?? so it starts to retain water. water retention is your body's way of protecting itself from external "stress" since lifting is new to you. it will go away; continue lifting and your body will adapt. again, don't go by the scale if numbers make you crazy (go by inches lost for weight loss or gained for weight gain). eat right, exercise regularly and with intensity and you will see results in a few months. i say months because people expect to see a huge difference in a couple of weeks and that will not happen!

    FYI: when i started my journey in 2012, i didn't step on the scale for 2 years and only went by how my clothes fit, inches lost and how i felt.
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    yep. id stay away from the scales a week or so until your body is 'normal' again LOL
  • rachmawatyyulia
    rachmawatyyulia Posts: 38 Member
    Owhhh That's make sense to me.
    Thankyou girls Thank you OP
  • macgurlnet
    macgurlnet Posts: 1,946 Member
    My weight generally changes a little bit every 2-3 days - up or down about a half pound. If it's around TOM or I've started some new exercise, my weight will hold steady for 3 days at the very least. It's kind of cool to observe the pattern over time - makes it much easier for me to not get frustrated since the scale isn't going down.

    Weight loss isn't linear - some folks lose weekly; some will see barely any movement for 2-3 weeks or even more, then poof goes 4 pounds!

    Keep doing what you're doing, and make sure your food intake is logged accurately (MAYBE watching sodium intake as that can make you retain water also) and that you're eating back a consistent amount of your exercise burns - 50%-75% for 4-6 weeks - and the weight will come off!

    Water weight can EASILY mask fat loss - I've seen some folks here mention they can retain up to 10 pounds of water! That's weeks of losing fat that seemingly wouldn't have happened if the scale were to be believed.

    You've got this :)

    ~Lyssa
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