Current Events > Fitness Buffs: how long does it take to lose initial weight from a new workout?

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My fiance and I just started working out and joined my old gym about two months ago, though we both gained about five lbs since we started despite not changing our diets.

I read that this is normal and happens for the first couple months of a new workout regimen due to water retention. For me personally it doesn't bother me since I'm very slim. She meanwhile is bordering on the upper limits of what she ideally likes to weigh, so she's been a little sad about it.
It's the first time she's actually done gym workouts and I can vouch that she's actually building muscle, but she's still getting discouraged.

Any ideas of how long this will last?
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Bump
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Well ya know, it's good to have a weekly plan in place for your workouts. I try to stick to a couple body parts a day and really go hard. You can have set backs if you tear your ACL or asshole out, but the biggest thing is to stay loose... just get looose. Ya know? I have a few drinks before I go in there sometimes, it makes you feel stronger than you are, and before you know it, whoopsie 400lbs is coming crashing down onto your neck or asshole. The key to remember here, is to know your limits and stay loose.
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What exactly are you doing?

And what's your goal? Are you trying to lose weight or lose fat? Because that's not necessarily mutually inclusive. Or just get in shape?

If you're average sized and you're just lifting weights without much cardio then you're going to gain more weight than you lose. Of course, you'll drop fat and gain muscle, but the number is going to go up.
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I don't know how much time it takes because people's bodies are different, but just be patient and keep at it. Once you develop good exercise habits you won't ever want to stop because it wouldn't feel good. Doing it together makes it much easier to keep up than doing it alone.

Edit: From what I hear, diet is most important when trying to lose weight. Exercise is extremely important for your health, but you probably shouldn't expect amazing weight loss from just exercising.
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Well like I said, our diets didn't change. We both only started gaining weight when we started going to the gym. And we didn't actually start working out to lose weight, we started more just to get even more active than we already are, since we play tennis and walk a lot.

FTR we're doing kickboxing and cardio stuff. I used to actually compete in amateur MMA/taekwondo, so I can confirm the classes we're taking are legit. But it was too long ago for be too remember what I weighed back then.
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Diet matters a hell of a lot more than exercise when it comes to losing weight. You can have best workout program in the world but it'll mean nothing if your diet doesn't match it.
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You're building muscle which is why you are gaining weight. Continue doing what you are doing and you will begin to lose weight.

BUT you are going to need to make changes to your diet. Also make sure you are in your proper heart rate zone for fat burning so that you are getting the most out of your cardio workouts.

I recommend doing strength training prior to any cardio events.

That's mostly permanent so long as you're working out, afaik. Your body is adapting which means increasing glycogen stores to a new baseline, and the addition of new muscle means more mass.

imo throw away the scale.

Be concerned with more advanced metrics such as body fat % (get some calipers, not that handheld electrical device), various diameters (waist, thigh, chest, arm, etc), or take photos in preset poses on a ~monthly basis to slowly show visual process.
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