Losing weight on rest days

[SZLiao214]

I've been pushing to lose weight this past month and a half and have been getting pretty decent results. It seems though that a lot of the time my weight freezes for a while till i do a rest day.

On the rest day i've usually lose 1-2 pounds. I am curious why this happens?

Exercise wise i'm doing 40 minutes of cardio almost everyday with a little resistance training.

Diet wise its been pretty solid since I've gone home. Lots of veggies, some fruit, lean meats, a little white rice and fish.

I've tried to do some research on the topic and have come up with that your body holds extra glycogen in the muscles when you are consistently active. When you rest the body releases the glycogen and sheds water. That doesn't quite seem right.

 

[Megatomic]

You did know that your body continues to operate at an increased metabolic rate for a long time after a workout right? For instance, according to an article I read recently, you will burn calories at a higher rate for 36 hours after a resistance-based workout. Your body does the same thing after a cardio workout, but the extended duration is about half. So this would account for part of what you've observed.

On your rest days, do you tend to eat more or less? Drink more or less? Do you walk and remain active?

Good job on the diet. One improvement you could make is to eat brown rice rather than white rice. I do love jasmine and basmati but brown rice has a much lower glycemic index.

 

[SZLiao214]

Food and drink wise i tend to do the same.

Yeah, I've heard that brown rice is better for you then brown. Its pretty expensive down here but I'll look into it.

The increased metabolism afterwards doesn't seem to account for the lack of weight lost days on the consistent days of work out. I've had it where my weight stays the same for a week, then i take a rest day and it drops 2 pounds.

 

[Megatomic]

Yeah, 2 pounds on a given day is probably mostly water weight. I guess you shed nearly a quart of water on your rest days. One gallon of water weighs about 8 pounds IIRC.

 

[KoolDrew]

Water retention. Sometimes it's just weird like that.

 

[thespeakerbox]

i pissed out 3 lbs yesterday. It just happens somedays. After you drop a load, weight yourself.

I fluctuate between 175-180 regularly