Si I just finished moving on Wednesday, I'm bruised and stiff and UP almost 5 lbs! I know it's mostly water retention from all the physical effort I've been doing, but when will it go away!? For now I'm still gaining not losing! It's kind of disheartening...

I did eat a little worse (we ate out since the kitchen was out of commission) so I'm sure salt has something to do with it too....

Your mileage may vary. I would look to the "eating out" food rather than the activity, though the latter might have something to do with it.

I never retain water from activity/lifting but other people will retain 5+ lbs of water.

I moved recently and my weight also shot up 5+ lbs, and I didn't actually do very much heavy lifting. (We hired ex-Marines for that!) The unusual activity and eating patterns, new/different movements, even altered sleep schedule - all wonked me good. It lasted about a week (but so did all the craziness), then took 2 or 3 days to fall off. None of it was a gain -- just my poor body wondering what the heck was going on and trying to cope with all the insanity!

Drink extra water, try to get all the sleep you need, and wait it out. Also, enjoy the new place.

It can take anywhere from 3-5 days for me.

If you're still feelin' it, you're still holdin' onto it.

As the other ladies have said, drink lots of water and don't over work the muscles that are sore right now until they've healed up.

When I do a lot of heavy lifting during work out, I always retain water, something about muscles need water to repair. Usually comes off within 3 days!