Hey folks,

I'm 5'8, female, and weigh about 133lbs. I started at 168lb and got to 135 in the summer and maintained since. However I want some extra leeway so want to get to maybe 130.
My usual exercise is the elleptical and walking.
However, every time I try something new, or something I haven't done in a while, I gain anywhere between 4-7lbs of water weight overnight. I also feel bloated and my waist measurement goes up.
Between Dec 23rd and early January I did lots of running outside and also a few 30 Day Shred workouts, and started a 30 day squat challenge. I have "gained" about 7lb. It's physically impossible for this to be fat as I didn't eat enough to gain fat. The calories I was taking in were on average 1200-1600 so in combination with working out most days I should have lost weight!

From experience, for the water to come off, it takes about 1 day for every 1lb.
Is there any way to prevent it in the first place? It really gets me down that I work out hard and instantly am bloated and feel huge afterwards. If I'm honest it discourages me from trying new things!

PS I tried water tablets but no success.

Thanks!

You have made wonderful progress! Congratulations on you success!
There is no way to prevent that water weight gain, but that's not a bad thing. You're basing all your success and failure on the number showing on the scale. That's not a realistic measurement.

What is GREAT is that you are trying something new with the exercise. And anytime you begin to build muscles, your body retains water and ships it to the muscles to help them repair. And that is good! You won't retain that water for too long, and eventually, as you keep up with the muscle-building work, your body will get used to it and not hang on to so much water.

Just keep up with the muscle building and keep drinking water. You're doing great! Eventually you will find that you may weigh more because of the dense muscle you've developed but your clothes are smaller because some of your body fat has melted off. So measure your success with the size of your jeans, or a tape measure, rather than the bathroom scale.

Not sure, but my condolences. I can relate all too well. I can swing up to 10-15 lbs up and down and I am 5'3.25'' ICK. It is the hardest thing mentally to keep going on with good habits when you see such a gain on the scale - even tho it flushes down eventually and results in an overall loss.

Have you tried a food elimination diet to see if any one food bloats you? Wheat turns me into the Michelin Man. (Or, the Michelin Woman, anyway.)

Thanks for your answers guys. Diet wise, I ate more carbs than usual- usually I have protein with every meal but I was staying at my parents' house and they don't keep that much meat etc. Maybe that was it. I'm gonna go back to the gym tomorrow and do some treadmill and squats... I can't let this ruin my fitness or stop me trying new things!

Oh yeah, increased carbs definitely makes me retain more water, especially if I haven't been eating much of that sort of thing.


The food sensitivity issue is also very real. Something to think about.

The water weight I had when I posted this topic never came off... I tried another new workout last week and now I'm up another 4lb! And my waist and hip measurements are up too!
I feel awful.

I was 132lb on Dec 23 and am 142 now What if I have somehow messed up my metabolism and this is actually fat? I track my calories every day and I don't know what could have gone wrong.