Weight gain after working out?

I am wondering if anyone has noticed the same trend:

If I haven't worked out for a while, the numbers on the scale go down. Weird, right? Then almost immediately after I go to the gym, even after high impact, long workouts, the numbers on the scale go up! This makes no sense to me and is extremely disappointing.

So which is the correct weight? The lower one (I hope) after I have been more sedentary, or the higher one, when I am consistently working out?

The increase is very likely water retention from the exercise. Your muscles sort of hang on to that water in your body in order to help it recover from your workouts. It is very common and it is only temporary. Your lower weight is very likely the most accurate "real" weight.

After exercise your body increases glycogen stores. Glycogen is a carbohydrate rich energy source in the muscle. Glycogen is stored with a large amount of water, and this adds "water weight". But, it's not fat gain, so it's not a problem. It's your body's way of ensuring it has enough rapidly available energy stored for the next workout. Don't worry about short term weight gains from exercise. In the long term, exercise will help.

Original Post by kelsey_e3:

I am wondering if anyone has noticed the same trend:

If I haven't worked out for a while, the numbers on the scale go down. Weird, right? Then almost immediately after I go to the gym, even after high impact, long workouts, the numbers on the scale go up! This makes no sense to me and is extremely disappointing.

So which is the correct weight? The lower one (I hope) after I have been more sedentary, or the higher one, when I am consistently working out?

This actually isn't weird at all and makes a lot of sense.