Temporary water weight gain

Two Fridays ago, I woke up half a pound heavier than the day prior. My eating had not changed, but I spent some time shoveling the day before, which was intense and could have caused my muscles to retain water. It was also nearing that time of the month, and I tend to get bloated about 10 days prior to my period.

In fact, when I unintentionally dropped almost 20 pounds in late 2019, it was masked by the bloating. My weight would fluctuate up and down on a day-to-day basis. It was only by looking at the weekly, and sometimes monthly, trends that I noticed the overall weight loss.

Other than hormone-driven bloating, increased exercise can also cause temporary water weight gain. I went snowboarding with my family for winter break last week, and it was way more exercise than I normally do, especially on my quads. Not surprisingly, it being a vacation week, I also ate a bit more on the junky side and in larger quantities than usual.

The morning after I got home, I weighed myself and had gained one and a half pounds. This was less than I expected and I chalked it up to the calories expended while snowboarding, as well as not letting my eating completely go off the rails. But by the next day, my weight had gone back to pre-vacation levels.

My guess is that the extra exertion on my muscles from snowboarding caused them to retain water, as well as the refined carbohydrates I was consuming. Carbohydrate intake causes the body to hold onto extra water, which is why a lot of the weight loss when starting a keto diet is attributed to water weight loss and not fat loss. However, I must have still been eating under my total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) since I lost another pound over the next two days.

It's tough, when you're trying to lose weight, to watch the scale go up and down or even remain steady. But if you're doing the right things, then it may be a matter of waiting it out before you see the results you're hoping for. If your weight loss continues to stall for several weeks, then it may be time to cut a few more calories or increase your physical activity levels.