Weight Loss

OK, so recently I decided I wanted to take up weight training again. This is something I've done in the past and really enjoyed. I did a light workout on Monday, and then went to see my nutritionist on Tuesday. She told me not to worry if, over time, my weight went up by a few lbs because my clothes would fit better and I would be more toned. Yesterday, I pushed myself pretty hard and woke up really sore this morning. I was also up 2 lbs! I don't really remember if this happened before, as i don't think I kept such a close watch on the scale then. My eating was fine yesterday, within my normal calories, nothing out of the ordinary. Now I'm scared that my weight is just going to go up and up. I was kind of ok with it staying the same (normally 124-125 at 5'4.5").  I feel like maybe I should stay off the scale, but I don't want to just balloon up and not even know it. The last thing I want to do is stay off it for a week and get on to see that I weigh 130 or higher. Does anyone have any advice? Is this normal? I just didn't think I would see such a big gain, so fast.

I'm currently going through a weight training program and was warned to avoid the scale for the first 4-6 weeks.

Completely normal - if you are sore, you have damaged your muscles.  And damaged muscles retain water while they repair themselves.   It'll go back down after a while.  And as you get used to your routine, you won't retain any more.

yea it's a little too much too fast...no way you gained that much in muscle in just 3 days.....

....whats more likely happening is that your muscles are retaining more water because of the workout. Just make sure to stay hydrated!

Cuz really, the scale won't go up from gaining muscle until you start seeing the results in your body and clothes as well. Keep it up though cuz weight training should be a part of anyone's routine!

Yeah I knew it wasn't muscle...that would be impossible.

I will try to stay hydrated, I'm just hoping the scale will go back down.  Do you think it makes sense to eat less, to try to get rid of the gain? I mean I'm not going to work out today other than a Pilates dvd.  Maybe I should cut my calories back? Or just eat like normal, and wait for things to even out?

When you lift weights, you actually break your muscles.  When they heal or repair they get stonger.  To heal they retain water.

Do not lower your calories, in fact you may increase your calories with a bit more protein.  Ot will help to repair your muscles.

If the scale going up triggers you, advoid it for about six weeks and just use a measuring tape once a week.  Just remember once you start weighing yourself again, that muscles weigh more than fat does.

Yeah, the scale is really triggering me, and it's hard for me to rationalize any gain even if I *know* it can't be all fat. I will increase my protein, and try to stay off the scale. I know how my clothes fit is more important than a number. It's just difficult to keep that in mind sometimes.

yea, def don't eat LESS calories, especially on strength days...it would be counter productive if you are not getting enough nutrients to sustain building the muscle.

haha I'm a slave to the scale as well and tend to obsess about it! haha I just have to keep in mind that I fluctuate A LOT.

i think you should just avoid the scale and just go by how your clothes fits you.

It's not going to keep on going up. Sore muscles retain extra water to help them heal. It's not 'real' weight. Please ignore it and tell yourself that it's just your muscles doing what they have to do to grow!

Honestly, we really have too many of these "I gained x lbs overnight" threads..

I really think if you're not prepared to not be at your lowest weight all the time, you should weigh once a week at most.

But at any rate, no, you did not gain permanent weight.

Yes, Ibez, I know that it is not 2 lbs of fat, and that I am not going to gain 100 lbs. It just seemed like a lot for the scale to go up in one day. I think if you don't like these types of threads, then just don't read them. Everyone's responses have been helpful and reassuring to me, so thank you! :) I also spoke to my friend who's a personal trainer and she said this was normal.  I guess my reaction to gains in general is just to cut my calories back to stop the trend from continuing, and since it wasn't anything but water, I'll just trust that it will go back down on its own. Thanks again!

okay...so I could handle gaining 2 lbs if I knew it was coming back off. Thursday I didn't weigh, but I was running to the bathroom a lot, so I figured I would have dropped a little weight. That was my day off. Then back to the gym Friday...worked out hard, probably close to an hour. I had 1800 cals yesterday, I even went to bed a little hungry...woke up this morning, I didn't really feel puffy or anything but was wondering about my weight. OMG big mistake. I stepped on it and it said freaking 129! I cannot accept that my weight is just going to go up and up and up. I weighed 125 on Monday. That is a gain of 4 lbs in 5 days! I don't feel any leaner or anything either. I am seriously starting to panic! I feel like if I put the scale away now, in a couple weeks I'll be up to 140.

Help...

I'm not sure if I may have just missed it in your posts/replies... but what about that time of the month? Did you account for that? Are you expecting it soon? Or is that totally irrelevant, since perhaps you just had it?

I know it may be disheartening to see your weight go up, but sometimes you just gain weight for more than a week before going back down. It may be hard to ignore the scale, but try hard and just keep at it!

No, my TTOM isn't for another couple weeks. I would be more OK with the gain, if I knew that it would stop soon. I'm so not OK with gaining this much weight every week, and it seems that the harder I work out, the more I gain the next day.