Weight gain after exercise
trish2016
Posts: 156 Member
Can someone explain to me why after an intense work out you weigh more for about 2 days? I am doing a bootcamp a very intense workout and when I weighed myself this morning I was 2lbs up when I had just lost 9lbs last week on the first week of my healthy eating plan.
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Replies
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Can someone explain to me why after an intense work out you weigh more for about 2 days? I am doing a bootcamp a very intense workout and when I weighed myself this morning I was 2lbs up when I had just lost 9lbs last week on the first week of my healthy eating plan.
It's water weight ... very normal.
You exercise more than usual ... your body retains water to help repair the muscles ... and then 2-3 days later you make tracks in the carpet to the toilet, and it's gone.
Happens to me every single weekend.
Electrolytes can help a bit.10 -
Good for you for getting started. I’m not an expert. But I’m happy to share what I’ve learned.
This is a journey with lots of ups and downs and many variables. Losing the 9 was great. However, you might have been a little dehydrated. Therefore, when you weighed yourself later you may have been more hydrated. Thus up 2.
But in the aggregate, you are down 7. And that’s my point. Focus on the long term trend. Don’t let the near term ups and downs discourage you. It can drive you crazy.
Stay strong and keep working at it. I’m sure by the time you are 30 Days in you will see your trend line of results. That’s going to feel very good.3 -
Yes I understand my first week was gluten free and dairy free 70% of the time with 1700 kals per day which I am comfortable with so prob a shock to the body as I was eating so much before due to having thyroid issues which leave me hungry all the time. Hopefully Monday will show I have lost even 2-3lbs3
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The reason why you are up is because you didn't lose 9lbs of fat the first week. You lost a bit of fat and mostly water and glycogen. Your body eventually recovers the glycogen and the associated water and note that 1lb of glycogen adds another 4bls of water.
Just keep up the good work and note the trend and not the fluctuations as you can go up and down several pounds just by water weight etc that has nothing to do with how much fat you are losing.8 -
Going to start measuring myself this week, at weigh in Sat I lost 3lbs so that sounds more realistic then a huge amount the first week. Thanks all2
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Measuring yourself is great. Remember that muscle weighs more than fat; and especially with intense workouts, you’re burning fat and building muscle. I think before & after pics are important too.. especially when those muscles really start defining!11
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FatNFlabtoFit wrote: »Measuring yourself is great. Remember that muscle weighs more than fat; and especially with intense workouts, you’re burning fat and building muscle. I think before & after pics are important too.. especially when those muscles really start defining!
A woman builds muscle at the rate of 1/2 to 1 lb per month under ideal conditions. In a calorie deficit less. It is a biological impossibility to swap fat loss for muscle gain on anything near a 1to1 basis. FTR9 -
Thanks all this is a 2 year plan to get to my goal weight, I did the bootcamp challenge class last night it nearly killed me it was so intense I was pushing myself but it was non stop plus I was very tired as with the graves disorder you can be extremely tired all the time but I am just going to push myself each week.1
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FatNFlabtoFit wrote: »Measuring yourself is great. Remember that muscle weighs more than fat; and especially with intense workouts, you’re burning fat and building muscle. I think before & after pics are important too.. especially when those muscles really start defining!
um - no. she is not putting on 2 lbs of muscle overnight from bootcamp. as others said, it is water weight.6 -
Muscleflex79 wrote: »FatNFlabtoFit wrote: »Measuring yourself is great. Remember that muscle weighs more than fat; and especially with intense workouts, you’re burning fat and building muscle. I think before & after pics are important too.. especially when those muscles really start defining!
um - no. she is not putting on 2 lbs of muscle overnight from bootcamp. as others said, it is water weight.
That would be a bootcamp I would sign up for if I could gain 2lbs of muscle like that!
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Your scale number will fluctuate with water weight/inflammation/glycogen stores/salt/bowel movements. I regularly see a 5 lb jump up after a day of heavy lifting and salty food. I suggest getting an app that shows weight trends- I like Happy Scale, Libra, and there are more. You can still weigh in every day but it gives you a better perspective on change over time. Also, take pictures and measure. Pictures are important because you may not see much change in the regular tape measure spots. My waist measurement never changes much, but in a picture I can see a dramatic change from a few years ago in how my midsection looks. Overall, be patient!2
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you retain water to aid in repair of muscle...this means your body is functioning as it should.2
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Wheelhouse15 wrote: »Muscleflex79 wrote: »FatNFlabtoFit wrote: »Measuring yourself is great. Remember that muscle weighs more than fat; and especially with intense workouts, you’re burning fat and building muscle. I think before & after pics are important too.. especially when those muscles really start defining!
um - no. she is not putting on 2 lbs of muscle overnight from bootcamp. as others said, it is water weight.
That would be a bootcamp I would sign up for if I could gain 2lbs of muscle like that!
Yeah, if I could gain 2 Lbs of muscle in a week, sign me up...I'll look like a competition body builder in a matter of weeks...4 -
Happens to me all the time after lifting.
Lift away my dear and look at the scale as "some info" not "all the info"
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I get this jump after lifting, learned to ignore it. If you are in a defilict it is not fat and helping build muscle. Hopefully some noob gains.
Which in turn will hopefully mean I reach how I want to look before reaching goal weight.
Amount of fat needed to burn remains the same.
Annoying in the head yes.1 -
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I get this jump after lifting, learned to ignore it. If you are in a defilict it is not fat and helping build muscle. Hopefully some noob gains.
Which in turn will hopefully mean I reach how I want to look before reaching goal weight.
Amount of fat needed to burn remains the same.
Annoying in the head yes.
Take that scale and throw it away, or at least take the batteries out. Weight is a poor measure of fitness, especially when beginning. You will gain muscle, especially if you’ve not exercised in awhile.
Measure your success by your clothes and how you feel.
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nkovacs53804 wrote: »I get this jump after lifting, learned to ignore it. If you are in a defilict it is not fat and helping build muscle. Hopefully some noob gains.
Which in turn will hopefully mean I reach how I want to look before reaching goal weight.
Amount of fat needed to burn remains the same.
Annoying in the head yes.
Take that scale and throw it away, or at least take the batteries out. Weight is a poor measure of fitness, especially when beginning. You will gain muscle, especially if you’ve not exercised in awhile.
Measure your success by your clothes and how you feel.
Na it doesn't really bother me I'm going to gain max a few pounds of muscle in 5 months max.
On a cut.1 -
nkovacs53804 wrote: »I get this jump after lifting, learned to ignore it. If you are in a defilict it is not fat and helping build muscle. Hopefully some noob gains.
Which in turn will hopefully mean I reach how I want to look before reaching goal weight.
Amount of fat needed to burn remains the same.
Annoying in the head yes.
Take that scale and throw it away, or at least take the batteries out. Weight is a poor measure of fitness, especially when beginning. You will gain muscle, especially if you’ve not exercised in awhile.
Measure your success by your clothes and how you feel.
she is not gaining muscle at a rate that would out pace fat loss.3 -
Going to start measuring myself this week, at weigh in Sat I lost 3lbs so that sounds more realistic then a huge amount the first week. Thanks all
You're getting some good advice here. My weight fluctuations with exercise, high sodium, and TOM. At most I've had as much as a 10lb change overnight. The fluctuations are frustrating, until you learn to just watch them with amusement. Trending apps are a blessing.
I quoted this post to say that even 3lbs/week is not realistic long-term. It may be fine for a while (assuming over 300lbs), but that kind of ongoing weight loss if you have less to lose, indicates not eating enough. It can be a fine balance between getting enough to fuel your workouts and the rest of life, and losing that weight. Higher losses are common in the first couple weeks, but it should start to settle after a while. Don't be disappointed with that. Keep moving toward the goal, It's a long game.2 -
I have a fairly intense exercise regimen, including free weights. As I increase weights or do a hard work out, I'll gain a few pounds (has been up to 4.5lbs) of water weight, it is quite usual.1
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