Can you lose 3 lbs of muscle in a week?

[mspina]

Originally Posted by workingjoe2001

That is really interesting...that workouts make you retain fluid. I had never thought of that but it really makes sense from a biological stance.
My weight usually doesn't fluctuate more than 1 lb...but I only weigh myself once in a while and always in the morning. So this was a surprise. It is good to know though so that when I go back to my usual routine I won't be surprised when I gain a few pounds

Oh my, yes. When I was working with a coach he'd have me weight myself every morning - I regularly fluctuated up to 5# day to day, depending on the intensity of the workout the day before. If I'd stay high too many days in a row, he'd have me take a light day or a rest day - it meant I wasn't fully recovering.

[Nuggie's Auntie]

Originally Posted by mspina

Oh my, yes. When I was working with a coach he'd have me weight myself every morning - I regularly fluctuated up to 5# day to day, depending on the intensity of the workout the day before. If I'd stay high too many days in a row, he'd have me take a light day or a rest day - it meant I wasn't fully recovering.

That's so interesting. I used to weigh myself very frequently, just because I found it fascinating! A roommate who had been schooled in the 'never weigh yourself more than one a week' philosophy used to worry that I was developing an eating disorder or something (I wasn't.) I just found it so interesting to see how my weight changed throughout the day, from what I had eaten, after a BM... I think it can actually be potentially very freeing to weigh often.... for some people, anyway.

[bzar]

Originally Posted by Nuggie's Auntie

That's so interesting. I used to weigh myself very frequently, just because I found it fascinating! A roommate who had been schooled in the 'never weigh yourself more than one a week' philosophy used to worry that I was developing an eating disorder or something (I wasn't.) I just found it so interesting to see how my weight changed throughout the day, from what I had eaten, after a BM... I think it can actually be potentially very freeing to weigh often.... for some people, anyway.

mine can literally change overnight! like, i'd weigh myself before bed, then 1st thing the next day.

[laurajhawk]

Originally Posted by bzar

mine can literally change overnight! like, i'd weigh myself before bed, then 1st thing the next day.

I'm always heavier in the evening than the morning.
I noticed that my weight fluctuates MUCH less if I'm eating cleaner. Generally it can go up & down as much as two pounds within a day or two, but when I was strictly following the P90X diet, it didn't do that at all. I suppose because I was eating a more consistent diet, and wasn't eating things (like salt) that caused me to retain water.

[eyefit]

Originally Posted by mspina

Oh my, yes. When I was working with a coach he'd have me weight myself every morning - I regularly fluctuated up to 5# day to day, depending on the intensity of the workout the day before. If I'd stay high too many days in a row, he'd have me take a light day or a rest day - it meant I wasn't fully recovering.

This is really interesting! That would seem to give an objective measure for monitoring recovery needs. If you don't mind me asking, how many days in a row would he say was too many before recommending a lighter/rest day?

[SandyT]

Originally Posted by bzar

mine can literally change overnight! like, i'd weigh myself before bed, then 1st thing the next day.

I'm the same. This is why I started to only weigh myself at the same time of day and about once a week. It would be too depressing to do a kick-butt workout only to find that you had gained 5 lb by that evening
But I do think it would be a neat way to see if your body has "recovered". Maybe I'll try weighing every day for awhile to see if that would work for me.

[Sarah-lara]

I agree, water retention. But I found the question so interesting I browsed around online a little for the answer. Whoa, detraining does faster damage than I ever realized.

We all get setbacks and injuries from time to time that we can't change, but I'll try to remember this when I'm just in a slump. It is something I need to work on, so I saved this poster to my computer: