How long does overeating take to show on the scales?

lemonsurprise

I thought it was just a matter of a day or two but from the confusing things I'm reading it can be weeks?! Is this correct?
I'm on 1,200 calories a day so never usually worry about going a little over here and there, and I never see the scales go up, but if this truly does take weeks then could I still have it still to come!?

Liftng4Lis

Well if it's me doing it, it's usually a matter of minutes and the scale goes up, cuz it hates me! laughsssssssss

999tigger

If 1lb of fat=3500 calories then you are going to have to have done a sustained period of overeating before anything shows. How many calories are you worrying about?

On any event whatever it is is eaten now, so my advice is dont worry and keep on doing the good things and habits you were previously doing. On 1200 calories you already have the deficit built in between that and maintenance. Lifes too shirt to worry about the sku falling in. Bear in mind loss isnt linear and your body will fluctuate anyway.

MrsATrotta

No I don't feel it takes weeks. When I over eat I weigh higher the very next day. When I work my *kitten* off I weigh in lower the very next day.

Makterbro

What do you mean by 'going little over here and there'?
I am also on 1,200cal a day but as long as I stay under 1600 then the scale never goes up for me. It might slow my weight loss down a little for like a day or two, but not weeks.

onionparsleysage

I think you're obsessing about this way too much. 1200 is a very low calorie diet, so it's no surprise that your body is craving more food.

You may weigh more the next day after eating because it's still in your GI tract. And people tend to overeat on high salt foods because they're tasty, and those retain water making you a bit bloated.

I don't notice any long term weight gain effects from over-eating occasionally.

ylvak94

Well for me I've had the occasional "free" day, maybe once a month, where I eat some kind of junk food and going way over my 1200 allowance, up to maybe 1800-2000. All it does is stop the scale moving for a couple of days. Even if you go a couple of hundred over 1200 you're still eating at a deficit so you won't gain anything from it, you just won't lose weight as fast as if you ate strictly 1200 a day.

Francl27

Impossible to tell. Water retention from sodium will show the next day but it's not fat gain. You might not even notice the fat gain... typically I just lose less the next month.

At 1200 calories you're probably eating too little anyway so it won't affect you.

ana3067

How long has eating at a deficit taken to show a difference on the scale?

You put on weight over a period of time, just as you lose weight over a period of time. Any actual weight gain or loss other than simply poop and water retention takes time. so yes, weeks.

You also need to be eating at a surplus, above your maintenance, to gain.

lemonsurprise

I don't think I'm obsessing, I'm just curious as the scale has always been going down even though I over eat occasionally, so I didn't know if it was still to come as numerous sites I found say it can take weeks.
Makterbro & Ylvak you've both said what I experience, just a slowing over a couple of days rather than a gain. Worth it!

999tigger

So how many calories are you talking about? 1,10,100,1000,10,000,100,000?