Excessive water weight gain?

[UNLVCrjChick]

Hello all,

I'm doing the 3 month STS/LIS rotation and I'm in my active recovery week. Last week was pretty alarming for me, as I gained 9 lbs from the previous week! I was thinking, "how can I gain this much weight so quickly doing all the right things?" I felt very bloated, uncomfortable, and was just plain miserable.

During this week, I'm doing only cardio, no weights. On Monday, I did Cardio Fusion, and yesterday, I did MMA Boxing - not sure if this is too much activity for active recovery week, but there you have it. Anyway, since Monday, I have lost the 6 of the 9 lbs I gained. Has ANYONE here experienced such a high gain in water weight? I'm hoping the next 3 lbs come off just as quickly this week staying away from the weights.

I should disclose I'm not new to weight training, have been doing it for years, and did the ChaLEAN Extreme heavy-weight-lifting program last year and never experienced such gains in water weight.

I have to admit that if I'm going to continue to go up and down re: the water weight doing this program, I may have to quit - excess water gain made me feel very uncomfortable. Hoping it doesn't come to that because I enjoy the workouts.

[geomom]

Had you done the LIS workouts before as well? If you are layering on two new systems at once, that is a lot. Also, since you describe bloating, could that be anything to do with your diet? Month two will be layering on yet more changes with new intensity.

I would ask if your goal is to build muscle. Sts will do that and you should stick with it. If your goal is just to tone and define, then maybe you should place it aside. If you want to lose weight AND build muscle, start logging your food and being very honest.

I was able to lose ten pounds by doing sts and logging food. I do think I was able to build muscle, too. Conventional wisdom is that you cannot restrict calories and build muscle simultaneously, so maybe I was just uncovering previously built muscle, but I'm not so sure. I really do think I was adding new tissue. Good luck with STS. It is an excellent program.

[SNM Videos]

Originally Posted by UNLVCrjChick

Hello all,

I'm doing the 3 month STS/LIS rotation and I'm in my active recovery week. Last week was pretty alarming for me, as I gained 9 lbs from the previous week! I was thinking, "how can I gain this much weight so quickly doing all the right things?" I felt very bloated, uncomfortable, and was just plain miserable.

During this week, I'm doing only cardio, no weights. On Monday, I did Cardio Fusion, and yesterday, I did MMA Boxing - not sure if this is too much activity for active recovery week, but there you have it. Anyway, since Monday, I have lost the 6 of the 9 lbs I gained. Has ANYONE here experienced such a high gain in water weight? I'm hoping the next 3 lbs come off just as quickly this week staying away from the weights.

I should disclose I'm not new to weight training, have been doing it for years, and did the ChaLEAN Extreme heavy-weight-lifting program last year and never experienced such gains in water weight.

I have to admit that if I'm going to continue to go up and down re: the water weight doing this program, I may have to quit - excess water gain made me feel very uncomfortable. Hoping it doesn't come to that because I enjoy the workouts.

It is very doubtful that weightlifting was the major factor in your water weight gain. Intense weightlifting can cause temporary water weight gain, but once your body adapts to the program this will stop. In your case your water weight gain was probably caused predominantly by something else, like your, monthly cycle, too much Sodium in your diet, or perhaps too much High-Carbohydrate foods. Other causes of water retention include: medications and stress. We have an article in our Blog on this that you may find helpful at: Cathe Friedrich - 4 Common Causes of Water Retention and Water Weight Gain You should also read our Weight Gain Myths Blog article that discusses weightlifting and water weight gain.

[UNLVCrjChick]

Hello,

Yes, I have done the LIS workouts since I received them in October - no bloating or water weight retention. I rarely eat pre-packaged foods and I don't consume much sodium. Thankfully, I've lost 7 of the 9 lbs I gained last week, changing NOTHING other than staying away from the weights during my active recovery (have been doing cardio and yoga from LIS).

Thank you for the good luck wishes - not sure if I'll stick with the program but I'll try to.

Originally Posted by geomom

Had you done the LIS workouts before as well? If you are layering on two new systems at once, that is a lot. Also, since you describe bloating, could that be anything to do with your diet? Month two will be layering on yet more changes with new intensity.

I would ask if your goal is to build muscle. Sts will do that and you should stick with it. If your goal is just to tone and define, then maybe you should place it aside. If you want to lose weight AND build muscle, start logging your food and being very honest.

I was able to lose ten pounds by doing sts and logging food. I do think I was able to build muscle, too. Conventional wisdom is that you cannot restrict calories and build muscle simultaneously, so maybe I was just uncovering previously built muscle, but I'm not so sure. I really do think I was adding new tissue. Good luck with STS. It is an excellent program.

[UNLVCrjChick]

Thank you for your post. I changed nothing this week re: my diet and 7 of the 9 lbs came off. I don't consume much sodium, as I rarely eat pre-packaged foods (I eat clean). Also not on my cycle so that's not the issue. Also I mostly eat protein (lean meats, chicken, fish, vegan) so that's not the problem either. The only thing I have done differently this week is stay away from the weights and focus purely on cardio and yoga and lo and behold, the 7 came off. I'm hoping the last 2 lbs come off within the next couple days. Because of this, I'm beginning to think that STS is not the system for me. I have done weight training for years and never had this happen. Maybe I'm just one of those people who should focus more on lighter weight, more reps. Goal is to tone and to burn fat, not to gain strength or more muscle mass.

I should add that I get plenty of sleep, I'm not on any medications, and am not suffering from undue stress.

Originally Posted by SNM Videos

It is very doubtful that weightlifting was the major factor in your water weight gain. Intense weightlifting can cause temporary water weight gain, but once your body adapts to the program this will stop. In your case your water weight gain was probably caused predominantly by something else, like your, monthly cycle, too much Sodium in your diet, or perhaps too much High-Carbohydrate foods. Other causes of water retention include: medications and stress. We have an article in our Blog on this that you may find helpful at: Cathe Friedrich - 4 Common Causes of Water Retention and Water Weight Gain You should also read our Weight Gain Myths Blog article that discusses weightlifting and water weight gain.