Sounds like my situation and starting to get that fluid retention is the cause. Thanks for all the info from everyone.

Not at all. I'm not a "veteran" of the forum and there is much I don't know about it's history. Thanks for the explanation.

Three times a week is too many, the ideal is, once a week, you get up, go to the bathroom, do your morning eliminations, then take off your clothes and weigh yourself naked, before you consume anything. What your
trying to do is eliminate variables that can account for a lot.

There is a national registry that tracks folks that have taken off a significant amount of weight and successfully kept it off for more than a year. The registry has developed a set of technics that have proven essential for success, anyone of the keys is to weigh on a daily basis.

That often happens to me if I use a protein supplement in my recovery drink. But I do feel stronger.

Guess the force of gravity is greater north of the border. Up here it's 10 lb/gal.

No, but it depends on whether you are measuring US gallons (4 quarts) or Imperial gallons (5 quarts.)

Imperial gallons are still 4 quarts. Imperial quarts.

One litre is one kilogram. Much simpler.

I agree except that I weigh myself every morning using a Wii balance board. The Wii stores my weight and displays it on a graph so I can observe my trends from the past week or up to a year. I can fluctuate two or even three pounds high or low from day to day without becoming concerned. I need to look at the last 4 or 5 data points to determine my official weight.

While fluid retention is a very valid argument, I've only seen one post that addresses another valid point. If you are going to weigh yourself in the morning, do so after you have had a decent bowel movement. The intestinal tract can hold up to 5 pounds of poop and undigested food. This, along with any fluid retention can account for the increase in weight the next day, especially after having a heavy meal the night before.

Absolutely nothing wrong with waking up, going to scale and weighing yourself before anything else every morning. Your base should be upon rising before emptying or consuming since those are variables every day. Taking care of bodily functions, consuming liquids and solids for breakfast then weighing yourself before heading out will provide the most accurate pre-exercise base for a post exercise weighing.

Rode last Saturday and on Sunday my weight was up 2 lbs. Weighed myself this morning (Mon) and I was down 1 lb from Saturday's original weight. Apparently it is all about fluid retention. Managed a 17.7 mi. ride this morning and even at 7 AM it was HOT. This most recent heat wave is really going to suck.

Agree that the difference in weight is caused by fluid retention or fluctuation.

Weight yourself before the ride and again after a ride. On a 4-5 hour ride, if you don't drink enough, you'll lose ~5 pounds. Hydrate correctly and you'll weight the same.

This means the calories and fluids consumed after the ride add to the overall weight. In your case, the extra 2 pounds. This is just normal body fluctuation where the weight difference is more about fluid retention then anything else.

I figured that out the last time we hiked up Mt. Whitney. The FS requires that you pack out your poop, and they give you little double-sealed bags for that purpose.

Great way to start a cold morning. lol

My grandson wrestled in JV and varsity in high school. He is tall but thin and wrestled in a lower weight class. Since he didn't want to wrestle in a heavier weight class, he would weigh himself the afternoon before a match. If he was within a few pounds of going into the next weight class, he would take a laxative so that he would poop everything out before weigh-in. It always worked for him.

It was kind of an eye-opener when, early on, our rando group went across the road to eat after a ride, and Dan, one of the foremost long-distance riders around, ordered a salad. He was all buff and everything, riding as many miles as anyone around, and still having to watch his weight. I've gotten in more miles the last couple of years than ever before, and still have gained weight doing it. So it's not just you. And it's not just water, either.

You start a ride with some food in your belly, some glycogen stores, long term storage (fat), and mostly comprised of water. During the ride, you sweat out some water and trace weight of minerals. Everything else, matter wise, is still in your body, just in different composition.* You replenish the water during and after the ride for an overall net zero. If you drink more water than lost, net weight gain. Then you eat some food. Net gain in weight.

Now the good news is the food in your belly and glycogen stores were depleted i.e. chemically altered, and will eventually exit your body as waste. Perhaps a bit of fat as well, if your body had to dig that deep for fuel. The post ride fuel will restore glycogen stores and, if you didn't eat more than necessary, will not be put in long term storage.

*If there are any physicists out there perhaps you can comment on whether some miniscule amount of matter is converted to energy. That might be fun.

Weigh once a week, Monday morning is good. If over a week you see a gain, especially over several weeks, adjust something. Chasing a couple of pounds every day is likely water rendition or even the food in your digestive tract. Food in your digestive tract is not body weight, nor does it become body weight, one for one. Quit weighing every day.

LC

I weight myself twice per week, Tuesday & Friday. I certainly wouldn't weigh myself more often than once or twice a week.