Exercise seems counter productive

Ok every time I've walked briskly 3 miles the next day the scale does not move. But if I just do my regular workday, with minimal exercise, the scale moves.  What gives.

341 Highest, 324 on surgery 2/10, 295 today

46 lost overall, 29 lost since surgery

Yes my clothes fit loose and I am doing fine and my body is changing, but I was hoping for some 3-5 lb jumps and it hasn't happened.

I've started doing some light daily ad workouts too. Just to try and firm up.

Any suggestions?

bodies are not an exact science.  There is a lot of water in our system.  I know if I have a hard lifting day that my body retains water.  I know if I have a hard cardio day my body typically drops water.  I just know this from lots and lots of tracking.  

Exercise is great for you.  It is good for your health and helps maintain muscle.  It burns calories.  etc. etc. etc.  

I ate a couple of girl scout cookies one day and lost a lb.  That doesn't mean the girl scout cookies did it -- it was probably the lifting that I had done that day before.  

Eat right, drink water & move and the lbs will fly off.

I work as a nurse in an acute rehabilitation hospital. I put in 12-hour days and they are spent rolling, lifting, and transferring humans, along with being on my feet the entire day and running back and forth. You would think with all of that the pounds would drop off the next day, but in reality my body holds onto extra water because I've used the muscles so much throughout the day. I rarely see a drop the day after work. I usually don't see any difference for at least two days after, when my body has had a chance to recuperate.

And the key is what you stated in your posts, your body IS changing. My weight hadn't changed for a couple months, but I measured myself and found I had lost crazy inches all over.

Give it time, and keep up with the exercise.

How you lose in the first year post-op won't likely be the same for those years yet to come, but the first year is a bit of a roller coaster. What matters is that you base success on not just numbers but feeling & health. Sometimes you'll have NSVs, and sometimes it'll be SVs.....

My suggestion is that if the scale is frustrating you, step away from it! Give yourself a few days (or weeks) and then revisit it. You might be surprised in the change when you're not looking....

Keep walking. You only lose weight after you've walked 4.6 miles.

I don't understand your rationale for walking 4.6 miles before losing weight.  Ive run half marathons and not lost any weight before.

Exercise is not counterproductive-- it does NOT make you gain weight.

You may have lost 3 - 5 lb in a few days immediately post-op, but that is NOT the norm at all after the first few weeks. A pound or two per week, slow and steady, is how it goes.

Your body might be retaining water, since you've changed up your routine your body might not be used to it & retains water. It'll let it go once it realizes this is your new normal. Exercising is great for the body. Keep it up!

It isn't counter productive, but it generally will not drive weight loss. You need to remember that the primary purpose of exercise is to improve your cardiovascular health and to help minimize the loss of muscle and even bone mass that happens when you lose weight. Additionally, you may find that, on the days you work out harder, you end up consuming more food.

Here's a good summary article on the topic:

http://health.usnews.com/health-news/health-wellness/articles/2014/08/08/diet-vs-exercise-a-healthy-habit-showdown

Keep walking and exercising.  Get used to the fact that the scale won't move the way you want it :)