Do muscles retain water post-workout or if sore?
 

Weird question.. But do muscles retain water? I've walked 13 and some miles in the past two days and supposedly burned about 2/3 of a pound just by the calories spent walking. :?:

I haven't ate much either, and I would have thought that anything I would have ate would have been negated by the walking for the most part. (example: yesterday I just had a little bit of shrimp and cabbage for lunch and for dinner I had some minestrone soup and a roll. I only drink water or Crystal Lite, and the day before I just had a banana for breakfast, little bowl of rice and chickpeas for lunch and some shrimp and cabbage for dinner)

Funny thing is, my weight is up like 3 or 4 pounds and it's really putting a damper on my weight-loss excitement. I have a nagging suspicion it could be my legs are holding on to water because they're a LITTLE bit sore, or maybe it's near TOM but I feel that just passed recently. (I don't keep track)

Grr! :mad:

Well, TOM would have to do with it, but yeah, if you work a muscle to the point where it is sore, it will retain a bit of water until it stops being sore. Or, at least, mine do!

Also, depending on how long you've been working out at a high intensity and how long you've gone by eating so little, your body could be reacting by hoarding the little bit of energy (food) that you give it.

Also remember that weight doesn't come off instantly. Let's say you worked out for hours and actually burned 3500 calories (a pound). You're not going to see that loss immediately - it takes a bit to show up. How long it takes is anyone's guess - I haven't found a definitive answer to that question yet.

I started my first day and walked about 8 miles, and yesterday I walked almost 6, total of like 13.42 or something.. (forget, it's on my ticker)

So I just started, and my legs aren't THAT sore (a little duck walking last night about an hour after, but in the morning I'm fine)..

But it might be because I just started?

My muscles definitely retain a lot of water, sometimes 2 or 3 pounds, when they are sore. But water retention can be impacted by so many different things that sometimes it's hard to tell what the cause is. Ibuprofen makes me retain water. I was on a medication for acid reflux that I think made me retain water. Salty foods make me retain water (I swear, I once gained 3 lbs from a single bowl of miso soup). TOM makes me retain water. Eating anything off plan makes me retain water.

So long as my eating is on plan, then I know I haven't gained weight and I try not to freak out about it. It is discouraging, but you just have to keep at it.

Also, I'd give any change in diet a week or two to show up on the scale. Changes in exercise without a change in diet can take a lot longer to show up on the scale.

Right before you work out, you need to eat something with some calories in it. I always weigh less before my work out.