Gained 6lbs in one day

Johnsprime

Overall I am down 71pounds, well at least I was yesterday but today I find I have gained 6 pounds since yesterday.

How is that possible?

I weigh myself everyday with a scale that is accurate and reliable. I am eating low carb, whole natural foods (no artificial sugars, chemicals or junk)

Yesterday I ate yogurt with almonds, flax, and sunflower seeds for breakfast.
Lunch - taco salad (grass fed beef, lettuce, natural sour cream, olives and little bit of cheese)
Dinner - a steak with steamed broccoli and cauliflower.

Only bad thing I had was a Michelob Ultra (3 carb) beer.

I know there is no way I could have gained 6 pounds of fat, so I assume it must be water weight, but still it seems so drastic.

This seems to happen every so often. I am losing weight and then I have a day where I jump up 6 pounds or so and then it will take 3 more days to get back down to where I was.

VERY frustrating.

I drank about a gallon of water yesterday, which is good for me. If I don't drink the water it seems I can't lose the weight. Maybe it is because I didn't space it out very even (not drinking much all evening until just before bed)

Maybe its the beer?
Maybe too much sodium?


Any ideas you guys have would be greatly appreciated. I have a bad knee and I NEED to get the weight off so I can walk. I already got off a cane, but I want to get to the point where I can take long walks for exercise. Losing weight while sedentary is no fun at all.

Sugarbeat

I say its water retention. I noticed you ate taco salad - did you make it yourself with the prepackaged taco mix? I ask because that stuff is loaded with sodium and every time I eat it I blow up until I feel like Mrs. Puff from SpongeBob. Drink plenty of water and your weight should go down. You might also consider using powdered cumin when making taco meat, I mix it with garlic and green peppers and it not quite the same but it still tastes good.

ewhip17

sodium does this to me - I've found that it causes big fluctuations in scale numbers. It comes off but takes almost exactly 3 days every time. Not sure if that's the case here but it's worth looking at. Sodium is tricky - it's not "real" weight but it can be a challenge to deal with mentally and it hides in so many foods. Tracking it was a real eye opener for me.

earlyxer

First, it's water. Relax. The real issue here is that you're weighing yourself daily - let it go. Once a week is fine, we're not counting ounces here but following trends. Down is good, up is bad (though not always).

AskTracyAnnK28

Weight loss isn't linear...it goes up and down daily due to water weight, etc.

If the ups and down bother you, consider weighing in weekly instead.

geojeepgirl

I hear you!... mine went up 4.5 lbs last weekend overnight. Pure water retention... It took about 3 days to lose it. I also weigh everyday but only record once a week.

Solar_Cat

ewhip17 wrote: »

sodium does this to me - I've found that it causes big fluctuations in scale numbers. It comes off but takes almost exactly 3 days every time. Not sure if that's the case here but it's worth looking at. Sodium is tricky - it's not "real" weight but it can be a challenge to deal with mentally and it hides in so many foods. Tracking it was a real eye opener for me.

Me too, but it can take more like 5 days. Restaurant food in particular is usually loaded with the stuff. I've started asking for low-salt or no-salt preparation when I go out to eat.

Johnsprime

Sugarbeat wrote: »

I say its water retention. I noticed you ate taco salad - did you make it yourself with the prepackaged taco mix? I ask because that stuff is loaded with sodium and every time I eat it I blow up until I feel like Mrs. Puff from SpongeBob. Drink plenty of water and your weight should go down. You might also consider using powdered cumin when making taco meat, I mix it with garlic and green peppers and it not quite the same but it still tastes good.

Oh my gosh!

I normally make my taco meat with a salt free formula but I ran out so I used one from my local store. I bet you are right.

I happen to have a bottle of cumin I have never opened so I will have to give that a shot.

Thanks so much!

Johnsprime

I can see the wisdom in your advice to perhaps weigh weekly, but I went years without weighing myself when I starting working from home and now I find myself obese and I know that would never happen if I had been keeping track of my weight. I had no idea how much I weighed.... Seriously no idea (off by an entire 100lbs)

So I weigh myself every morning now to make sure the trend goes down.

Glad I caught this 6 pound gain and posted about it here because now I think I know it was the salt / sodium and it is something I can keep a better eye on.

Such quick responses here.

Thank you all.

AFMOMX2

I had the same thing happen about a week ago. Initially I freaked out then thought there's no way I had eaten 21000 extra calories the day before. In a few days it was gone. I had just eaten more sodium than my norm.

tracymayo1

Johnsprime wrote: »

Sugarbeat wrote: »

I say its water retention. I noticed you ate taco salad - did you make it yourself with the prepackaged taco mix? I ask because that stuff is loaded with sodium and every time I eat it I blow up until I feel like Mrs. Puff from SpongeBob. Drink plenty of water and your weight should go down. You might also consider using powdered cumin when making taco meat, I mix it with garlic and green peppers and it not quite the same but it still tastes good.

Oh my gosh!

I normally make my taco meat with a salt free formula but I ran out so I used one from my local store. I bet you are right.

I happen to have a bottle of cumin I have never opened so I will have to give that a shot.

Thanks so much!

I actually use this recipe for Taco and Fajita mixes now instead of store brand. tweak it as you like for taste, but MUCH less salt!!

Taco mix:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Taco-Seasoning-I/Detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Thumb&e11=taco seasoning&e8=Quick Search&event10=1&e7=Home Page&soid=sr_results_p1i1

Fajita Mix: (I dont add the sugar)
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Fajita-Seasoning/Detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Thumb&e11=fajita mix&e8=Quick Search&event10=1&e7=Recipe&soid=sr_results_p1i3

Lifts4IceCream

I weigh myself almost every morning, and I know from doing this that what I eat for dinner the night before greatly affects the weight on the scale the next morning... Doesn't look like you had too much sodium, there is probably some water weight, but not too much. Although drinking a gallon of water when that is not typical for you could be a cause. Depending on the size of the steak, it may still be digesting in your system. You said so yourself that you see the scale go up and then a few days later is goes back down often, so what is the big deal? Maybe stop weighing yourself everyday if you don't like the fluctuations. The point i'm trying to make is, seems like you are turning an ant hill into a mountain. Don't worry if the scale goes up for 1 day. As long as you stay in your calorie goal and you consistently lose, what is the big deal. Don't let these "higher weight days" get to you.

TeaBea

AFMOMX2 wrote: »

I had the same thing happen about a week ago. Initially I freaked out then thought there's no way I had eaten 21000 extra calories the day before. In a few days it was gone. I had just eaten more sodium than my norm.

This^

6 x 3,500 calories = 21,000

Sodium, TOM, time of day, constipation, sore muscles (hold water)....lots of reasons.

philwrightfitness

Don't laugh but some experts have noted that during significant weight loss water can enter the void left by dissipating fat cells , it can sit there for some time until the body naturally flushes it away, sometimes resulting in a dramatic and rapid weight loss, however it is quite possible for your weight to vary significantly, a full bowel / bladder, a stomach full of food and fluid can easily add three or four pounds

tulips_and_tea

Solar_Cat wrote: »

ewhip17 wrote: »

sodium does this to me - I've found that it causes big fluctuations in scale numbers. It comes off but takes almost exactly 3 days every time. Not sure if that's the case here but it's worth looking at. Sodium is tricky - it's not "real" weight but it can be a challenge to deal with mentally and it hides in so many foods. Tracking it was a real eye opener for me.

Me too, but it can take more like 5 days. Restaurant food in particular is usually loaded with the stuff. I've started asking for low-salt or no-salt preparation when I go out to eat.

Agree completely! Monitoring sodium levels in food is eye-opening, to put it mildly. I find when I really watch those levels I feel (and look) so much better.

lumatokyo

Absolutely agree, the sodium probably caused weight retention. Keep on with your progress, you're doing great and don't let this get you down!

hortensehildegarde

I just eat all the salt and don't worry about the effects. Mmmmm delicious salt.

I'm quite a bit smaller than you and my weight range at it's max is maybe 8, sometimes 10 lbs if I include clothing differences.

Maybe the larger one is the more room there is for random scale fluctuations from water retention/bigger effects salt has etc. since there is more volume of cells to be affected.

Who knows why it happens exactly, just try to internalize what your brain knows so it's not so frustrating for you. I also weigh daily but I don't let it get me frustrated on the days the scale goes all wonky (so long as I know I am tracking well enough and so long as the random ups eventually go back down so I know it's not just indicative of me tracking so poorly I gain).

I too weigh daily for similar reasons you do. I know it can feel scary but even if you are tracking wrong you aren't going to accidentally gain 6 lbs in one day just due to tracking errors.

Feel good about what you are doing! You deserve to feel positively for your efforts, and congrats on the loss so far and ditching that cane!

shanlivestrong

Thank you for asking this question. This happened to me at the end of last week. I had met my goal one day and then two days later I was up five pounds. I was completely depressed but I also thought there is NO WAY! So, I just watched my weight every day and now I'm back down. It took about four days. Now I know that when that happens, it's water retention and I probably need to watch my sodium intake.

Cortneyrenee04

I never weigh myself after a day of beer or extra salt. Definitely not a true gain.

laurie62ann

I weight myself everyday!! Right or wrong it holds ME accountable... Do what is best for YOU!!!

Killmenext

I heard body weight can fluctuate around 5lbs in a single day. It just depends on if you ate or drank a bunch, if you have went to the bathroom or not. If you colon and bladder are full, then you eat a full meal, that is weight that is just all stuck inside you.

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silentKayak

Use an app called HappyScale. You can weigh every day, but it shows you the overall trend so you don't have to freak out over daily fluctuations. It's far more accurate than weekly weighing.

Changes in water weight don't matter unless you're trying to make weight for a wrestling competition or something. What you care about is fat loss.

Falcon

sounds like water retension to me. I dropped almost 6 pounds of water weight in a matter of twelve hours. Just watch the sodium intake for the next couple of days and it should drop back down again.

sofaking6

Penzey's has a salt-free southwest-style seasoning blend that I love, it's called Arizona Dreaming and it should be great for tacos.

I've been listening to a podcast series on the elements and just last night I learned that one sodium molecule can bind to TWENTY FIVE water molecules. Hence why salt make us retain water

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JenniferIsLosingIt

laurie62ann wrote: »

I weight myself everyday!! Right or wrong it holds ME accountable... Do what is best for YOU!!!

THIS^ I weigh everyday because I avoided a scale for most of my adult life. Even when I was pregnant I would literally turn around and ask the nurse not to tell me what it was. I know I was in total denial. Then one day you wake up and discover you have type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure and you're almost 40 and terrified of dying! My weight was 412 that day! NEVER AGAIN! SO if weighing everyday helps you...do it.