Is it true that increasing your cardio will make you gain weight or stall for a bit? I have doubled my cardio and keep fluctuating between 2 pounds on the scale. Is this muscle holding onto water? Will drinking more water (I average about 80oz) help?

TIA!

I know that in the last few weeks I've increased my daily walking from 30 minutes/day to 1-1.5hr/day and I haven't lost a pound. Haven't gained any, but nothing lost either. I do feel like I'm gaining some muscle tone back though, so that's good. Hopefully we'll both have a "break-through" soon and start losing again.

My theory is that the affected muscles will swell as they are damaged and hold on to fluid that way. I notice it most with strength training. But keep up the good work. It is so worth it!!

Also, if you are increasing your cardio you may want to increase your calories a little. Just maybe 100 extra cals. I noticed that I increased my cardio a LOT and wasn't losing but when I added in a few more carbs for energy and recovery I would drop a couple pounds. Weird but its what happened. If your body is expelling more energy you need to put in a little more so you body doesn't think you are starving it.

I guarantee you that you cannot put on anywhere near 2 lbs of muscle in anything short of a couple of weeks. If you're fluctuating by 2 lbs, it's water weight or other factors. Make sure you're staying adequately hydrated & with good nutrition, and only weigh yourself once a week or so.