Hello all-

I've been training on and off for the past 15 years (not terribly hard or committed, to be fair), and started eating clean at the beginning of the year. I've lost about 30 lbs and am getting lean, and about three weeks ago started some pretty intense weight training sessions with a very experienced trainer. I've had the usual newbie soreness, but it's been all good up until now.

I had a particularly tough upper body session on Thursday (triceps/shoulders) and noticed on Friday night that my upper arms seemed to be retaining quite a bit of water. It seems to be accumulating above the muscle and below the skin, and is kind of jiggly when I walk/move. On Saturday the fluid/bloating/whatever was noticeable in my forearms as well. Thinking maybe I had too much sodium, I started taking a diuretic (and drinking tons of water) on Sunday, but no dice. It's exactly the same.

There is no change anywhere else in my body; my abs/legs are tight, it's just these **** arms. They're bigger than they were before I lost the 30lbs, and it's really starting to freak me out a little. Has this happened to anyone else? Did I just train them really hard and this is normal? Most important, how long will it be before they go back to normal? Everytime I look down at a bloated arm or forearm it ticks me off...I'm used to seeing a much more toned arm!

It's so frustrating to not have any idea where this came from or whether it's going to go away anytime soon (or ever)! Any help or advice anyone has would be greatly appreciated...