Dear Nancy,
After a weekend filled with two days of hard workouts, I notice that my weight goes up a pound or two. I weigh more on Monday than I did on Friday. How can that be…???
Frustrated Weekend Warrior
Answer: Your body’s response to the intense weekend exercise is to release a hormone that holds water in the body. This is a survival response to the weekend’s threat of dehydration. Worry not; it is not fat-weight.
The water-weight comes and goes. This is a normal physiological response. Just eat appropriately to recover from your workouts by choosing a good balance of grains, fruits and veggies to refuel depleted glycogen stores and protein to build and repair your muscles. Do NOT restrict calories in an effort to lose the weight. You will naturally rebalance within a day or two.
Hope that helps?
Nancy
For more information about refueling after hard workouts, please refer to the chapter on recovery in Nancy Clark’s Sports Nutrition Guidebook.