<human>: Haha, no I didn't.

So I'm doing a [dietbet] All was well, I was losing weight slowly but surely, and a week before weigh-in I was one pound under goal.

And then, calamity struck. I stepped on the scale after a few days of strength workouts, pho eating, and hormonal medication changes, and found myself at my starting weight.

My initial reaction, of course, was to fall to my knees and curse the gods of calorie-counting. How could they fail me like this? I ate under all week! There was no physical, thermodynamically-sound way that I had gained five pounds in as many days.

And I hadn't. 

I did a little experiment the next day. I started drinking water. Lots of it. Every time I drank a bottle, I stepped on the scale and found myself a litte under one pound up. It became a game. I gained three pounds in 20 minutes.

Then I waited. By which I mean, I ate normally and worked out. The next day I stepped back on the wretched scale and found myself nine pounds lighter. I'd lost everything I had lost over the month plus a little under a pound.

**Moral of the story/

Can you condense the text into a few key points?
<bot>: salty food, hormonal issues, and strength training can all make you retain water, which is very different from gaining weight. Yes, even nine pounds of water.