Weight gain after long walks

whitej1234
whitej1234 Posts: 263 Member
edited December 21 in Fitness and Exercise
Hi,
In short - How long and how much do you gain after slightly changing a routine?

I know this was discussed before but I started walking long distances/ attempting to start running (my own c25k program) lately and my weight is spiking up.

I know it could be water retention but 1. I am not going hard intensity 2. It wasn't a sudden change (I just increased the diatances i do daily for the past 2 weeks and try to run in between those). 3. I don't feel to exhausted after them so it is just light training. 4. I was walking quit a lot before as well so it is not sudden 5. This is not strength training

Could that be the source of me gaining almost a pound daily for the past week? I mean this is too abnormal to blame on food (yes I am being hungry but I don't eat anything too bad. Maitanace calories on a bad day. Maybe an extra banana or a slice of cheese. But that can't cause a pound a day) but this is also taking too long to be just "water retention".

Ideas?

Replies

  • MadisonMolly2017
    MadisonMolly2017 Posts: 11,157 Member
    Has it gotten hotter recently? I gain some when the weather shifts...
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,698 Member
    There are a number of reasons for water weight gain including hot weather (as mentioned above), sunburn, a dramatic increase in exercise, extra salt, flights/air travel, long car travel, surgery or accidents or any trauma to the body, female cycles, etc.

    So for example, on Mondays and Tuesdays I do a very brisk hilly 6-8 km walk. A year ago, that wouldn't have made any difference to my weight. This year, I'm more out of shape so I maintain my weight on those days, and then have a "toilet day" on Thursday or Friday to lose the water.

    Once that distance is "normal" for me again, it will take more than that for me to maintain or gain water weight because of exercise.

    But a pound a day is quite a lot.

  • Renkirtley
    Renkirtley Posts: 4 Member
    If I have had a day of hard exercise, enough to make my muscles ache the next day then I can gain anything up to 3 or 4 pounds, but it is water and does come off again.
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,142 Member
    My weight fluctuates as much as 6-7lbs as a consequence of any of the following:
    • Hormones
    • More intense or new exercise
    • Dehydration
    • Alcohol
    • Sodium
    • Carbs

    The only way you'd gain a pound of fat daily is by overeating to the tune of approximately 3500 cals per day (Calorie intake to maintain +3500).
  • whitej1234
    whitej1234 Posts: 263 Member
    MadisonMolly2017 wrote: »
    Has it gotten hotter recently? I gain some when the weather shifts...

    Really? Now that I haven't heard before. Hmm, it is abnormaly hot this week. Could be!

    @Renkirtley how much time does it take for those 3-4 to cone off? Notnin a hury just trying to learn my body behaviours. My muscles are indeed quit sore....

    Thank you @Machka9 and @tinkerbellang83 for tour insights
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,142 Member
    whitej1234 wrote: »
    MadisonMolly2017 wrote: »
    Has it gotten hotter recently? I gain some when the weather shifts...

    Really? Now that I haven't heard before. Hmm, it is abnormaly hot this week. Could be!

    @Renkirtley how much time does it take for those 3-4 to cone off? Notnin a hury just trying to learn my body behaviours. My muscles are indeed quit sore....

    Thank you @Machka9 and @tinkerbellang83 for tour insights

    It's different for each individual because there are other factors that affect water weight, could be a day, could be a couple of weeks.

    The best thing to do is ensure your logging is on point and trust the math. If you're eating in a deficit, the laws of thermodynamics dictates you will reduce body fat, you just may not be able to see that on the scale because of the water retention masking it, but as it's fat you want to lose, not water, that doesn't really matter.

    The best way to help educate yourself on your body's responses to factors affecting water retention is to use a trendweight app for Android there's Libra, for iOS there's Happy Scale and on the web there's Weighgrapher. You can use these to see a moving average of your weight so that you have a better idea of what rate you're losing at.

    You can also then use it to compare with your food diary so you can see if you maybe had more carbs or sodium than normal or make a note regarding your menstrual cycle as it's not just your period that can affect bloating/appetite this can happen during Ovulation and in the run up to your period when PMS kicks in.
  • khartell1022
    khartell1022 Posts: 25 Member
    I have been experiencing something similar. Sunday I started back with serious tracking and weighing of my food. I also have taken a 2 mile brisk walk each night. My weight has gone up a pound every morning this week. I was shocked. I even was expecting a big drop this week as I finished my cycle Sunday and usually the water weight is gone by now. I have been under my calories according to my fitbit daily calorie burn by a lot. So I have no idea what is going on. I do feel slightly puffy with the humid, hot weather but suprised that it could cause a gain each day this week. Hopefully this will pass.
  • Jthanmyfitnesspal
    Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,522 Member
    If you keep calm and on program, my wager is that it will come off just as quickly. Walking in the heat could be making you a bit swollen, but, under normal circumstances, this should resolve.

    (Always weigh yourself in the morning after the toilet and in the same level of dress. Use a resonably-new digital scale, as can be purchased for less than $50. Expect variations and go by trends.)
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