The Great Water Weight Connundrum

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  • Quote: blush

    Kara - there are a lot of ways to deal with it mentally. I went the opposite route, weigh frequently and the lowest weight in a week is my weight. I dont have noticeable PMS weight, but I do gain weight after long runs. I mention that because I know you are training for a marathon.

    My first marathon I would gain 6-8 lbs after a long run (16+)
    My second marathon training (sprained my ankle, didnt get to do the race) I was gaining 3-4 lbs
    My third training round, I would only gain 1-2....the fitter I got, the less a long run would impact me.

    As sick as it sounds, for awhile I liked seeing the 6-8 lb gain and was kind of dissapointed that I wasnt seeing it the second time around....I had come to see it as a sign that I worked REALLY hard the day before.

    I'm not in to that kind of mileage now, but I did a tough back to back this weekend and was up ~ 2 lbs this morning. Woohoo muscle repair and recovery weight!
    How long did it take for you to "even out" again? I know everyone's different, but I'm just curious. It seems when I put on an overnight five pounds it takes at least a week to get a number on the scale that's close to where I was before the mystery weight arrived.

    Kara
  • For me it depends on what the weight was from.

    Sodium usually takes a couple days for me because <TMI ALERT> sodium usually means I ate junk and junk stops me up so it isnt all water weight

    PMS - back when I had a cycle I only gained a couple pounds but they hung around usually 4-5 days I think? I was kind of backwards in that I bloated AFTER my cycle. Its been many years but I think I used to start AF on Monday (pill induced - it was clockwork) and end on thursday and that would be my lowest weight and then when I started a new pack on sunday, I would be up 3 lbs the next day and it would taper off all week.

    Tough workouts...anywhere from 1-4 days depending on how tough. Usually if you are sore or overly fatigued feeling, you still will have water.

    I'll tell you something else too. If I stop working out entirely for a week or so (Injury, lazy, whatever) I will drop 2-3 lbs of water weight. Active muscle uses water. I always gain it back when I start back in and that hangs on until the next exercise break....not all water weight is bad.