ChristyLA's Journal, 22 March 2014

Yes, it's called "muscle edema." Exercise causes the muscles to temporarily retain water to help them heal. Google "why the scale lies" for insight in to water weight fluctuations. So many things can effect the scale like: hormones (time of month bloating), medications, inflammation, lack of sleep, stress, sodium, kinds of foods we eat, etc. When your muscles get used to the exercise the water retention will go away. If you stop for a week or two and start again, it can come back. It's just part of life, lol! It means your building muscle though. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn at rest, the more weight loss you have, the more easy maintaining becomes. Don't ever stop the exercise. I also say I would rather weigh 150 and be a size 4 than weigh 140 and be a size 8. Muscle is denser than fat and takes up less room, so you can weigh more but be skinner than someone who doesn't exercise (you have more muscle to fat ratio). That's why skinny people can be "skinnyfat". So unless you are eating huge amounts of food to make you gain, don't worry.  

Thanks so much, Suzi. I'm eating healthy and not overeating, so I know it's not my fault that I gained weight. I don't notice a difference in how my clothes fit, so I probably didn't gain fat. It's comforting to know that the water retention will probably go away as I continue to workout regularly. I do want to exercise, and you're right - it's better to weigh more and be fit. I think I can accept being this weight if I keep working out, because it's healthier than not working out, and I feel better when I workout. I was just enjoying seeing the scale go down when I wasn't working out. I just hope I don't gain more weight. Thanks again. 

nothing is ever easy. keep your eyes on the ball... 

Focus on the good things you are doing for your health by working out, and the rest will settle itself. You are doing the right thing by building and strengthening your muscles!  

Christy. You're fine. Look how close you are to your goal. I experienced much the same thing. I considered it some kind of physiological fear of hitting my goal. Patience. Patience will get you these last few pounds, and as stated by Suzi, fitness and health are more important than weight. I'm now working at gaining weight while lifting weights and I'm finding I still get concerned by a weight gain though my goal right now is to gain weight. How twisted is that, huh? 

Christy LA muscle weighs more than fat. with working out, most likely you are firming up and getting more muscles. It short, for me its about inches not weight. the scale is not the only thing to go by. When loosing weight I always loose way more inches than what the scale says. I encourage you to not get depressed or upset about what the scale is saying especially if you are still fitting in your clothes the way you want to.  

Christy, Suzi is bang on. Anytime someone begins a new exercise program you can gain up to 4lbs easily...the good news: this does not last and if you are consistent with your workouts you will see this flux disappear after about 2 weeks of adaptation to your program. However, everytime you shock your body with a new workout/change to plan this will occur. I always tell my clients to measure themselves - as women we can fluxuate up to 4-5lbs just in one day of water weight, its a fact. We all have a 'magic' number that we want to achieve on that darn scale but depending on our age/body frame sometimes we are unrealistic. Measure your problem areas (i always recommend, waist, across the belly button and the hips) and track those on a biweekly basis. Also you should never weigh yourself more than once a week but we all know its almost impossible NOT TO!! Soooo if you do tend to like to weigh yourself daily then use the principle of "weight averaging" to get your real weight. (i.e. weigh 3 days straight then calculate the average of the three - for example; Day 1 = 152 Day 2 = 154.5 Day 3 = 153 add 'em up and divide by three...thats your average or truer weight....in this case the average weight is 153.16. p.s. drink no less than 8 glasses of water a day - 10 if you can muster it...that 2lbs will be gone tomorrow :) Keep up the great work, you have come a long way and your body will do as you wish!! Renate 

This thing, weight loss and weight control, is like a big roller coaster. One day you expect to loose some weight and the next day you gained it back. Don't worry about 2 lbs. You do your workout, keep your healthy diet. Is nothing to worry about. As you said, you may gain some muscle weight. 

Thanks, everyone. I feel more accepting of my weight now - I'm fine with it as long as I'm getting more fit. Weight isn't everything and I'm realizing this now. 

From what I understand when your muscles are sore they retain water in the process of rebuilding those muscle tissues.  

Christy. You'll realize weight isn't everything many times before you really come to terms with it, but you will. 

Working out Hard!! Means you gain muscle weight, which doesn't mean that you actually mean that u gain weight!! It means that you are firming your body and get some muscle structure and not weight!!! 

I totally agree with Suzi. You got this, don't let one weigh in get you down. Keep going with your exercise and you will see that it will come off. Anyone of us can have a bad week. It's a bump in the road, not who you are! 

Muscle weighs more than fat. A better measure of your health can be fat percentage. There are lots of ways to check your fat percentage. Some scales have a fat percentage calculator on them (it sends a little zap of electricity through you to check how much of you is fat). The most accurate methods are a little pricier, but as long as you are consistent with whatever you choose, you can see progress, even when your total weight may look like it's going up. Here's a great article about fat percentage: http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2012/07/02/body-fat-percentage/  

I agree with everyone else Christy. As a woman who it took six months to lose 28 pounds doing 1.5 hours of rigorous exercise a day I can attest that as your body puts on muscle you will see little to no weight loss one week and then 1 to 2lbs the next however it depends how many calories you take in and how much water you are drinking to help excrete the fat you are burning. Remember, it takes a reduction of 3500 calories a week just to lose one pound! Take out a pair of pants or a dress that was once very tight and try it on. If it is fitting better, if you feel better more energized you are on the right path. Stay away from weighing yourself daily and try once a week, if you are not already. Good luck!  

Too, if your muscles are sore they retain water.  

I like this explanation of fat wt vs muscle wt. I thought I would share because I'm feeling the same way. I look and feel slimmer but my weight hasn't changed on the scale. "If you only have a small amount of weight to lose, then you may feel like the weight training is not helping you move down on the scale. In fact, the number may even go up, but you will look thinner. This is due to an increase in lean body mass (muscle, bone, blood volume) and a decrease in body fat. In other words, even if the scale doesn't change much, you will probably see a difference in how your clothes fit. On the other hand, if you have a lot of weight to lose, you will also experience an increase in lean body mass and loss of body fat. But the results on the scale will probably be more dramatic. " The full article: http://www.weightwatchers.com/util/art/index_art.aspx?tabnum=1&art_id=8311&sc=128  

I appreciate all of your comments. Thank you :) 

I agree - you could be gaining muscle and it'll take a while for it to burn off even more fat; you'll probably see your physical size shift down and the scale may take a hit while your muscles protect themselves with water. One day of not exercising and you'll probably drop 5lbs water weight. You're doing great - don't panic.