3lbs Over The Weekend

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I have been on a restricted caloric intake of about 1,200 to 1,300 calories a day. Overall, I have lost 6lbs; however, this past weekend I gained 3lbs back. I logged my calories and I ended both Saturday and Sunday between 2,000 and 2,200 which is more than my body is currently used to..but can I seriously gain that much back after a few cheat days?

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  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    You ate more food, so you probably have more food still in your system. The foods you ate may have had more sodium, so your body may be retaining water. The foods you are probably represented an increase in carbohydrates, so your body may be retaining water.

    It's water weight.
  • MonkeyMel21
    MonkeyMel21 Posts: 2,395 Member
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    I gained 2.4 lbs over the weekend. I logged about the same calories as you and I ran 5 miles yesterday. I contribute most of it to the sodium in my sushi and Mexican food that I gorged on this weekend, lol. I'm excited to see what the scale does in the next few days.
  • MommyL2015
    MommyL2015 Posts: 1,411 Member
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    Heck, I'm up nearly 5 pounds and I didn't eat very much over maintenance either day, but it was high in sodium from eating out and carbs from the chocolate, ice cream, cookies, you know, all the good stuff. It'll go away in a couple of days. You didn't gain that much fat, relax.
  • Nuke_64
    Nuke_64 Posts: 406 Member
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    I weigh every day, but my official weigh in day is Thursday so I don't lose focus caused by the swings that the weekend indulgences can cause. Every weekend I "gain" at 2-5lbs--they are typically gone by Thursday and usually a little more as well.
  • Maxematics
    Maxematics Posts: 2,287 Member
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    After I eat a large pizza, I gain three pounds in water weight. It takes two days to completely go away. Here's my daily weigh-ins for the past four weeks. Notice those spikes after high-sodium days or days where I ate a bit more than usual. There are also spikes during ovulation and right before my TOM.

    4w.png
  • BarbieAS
    BarbieAS Posts: 1,414 Member
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    That's every weekend for me. I'm lucky if I escape a weekend having gained less than 5lbs between Friday morning and Monday morning. I do tend to eat more on weekends, but I eat a bit less during the week to compensate for that, and even eating a bit more I only very rarely go over maintenance on the weekends - a special occasion here and there, but usually it's more like a 250 calorie deficit instead of 750-800 (I'm shooting for a 1lb/week loss so it evens out with a smidge of wiggle room).

    If you're eating a bit more of the weekends, that usually translates to more carbs and more sodium....more calories + more carbs + more sodium + a few drinks if that's your bag = water weight central on Monday morning. Try to look at trends and maybe make your weigh-in day something like Wednesday-Thursday-Friday when you're least likely to see those fluctuations if eating a little more on weekends is a regular thing for you.
  • pluto2626
    pluto2626 Posts: 31 Member
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    Could just be where you are at in your cycle as well. I gain between 3 to 5 pounds a few days prior to my period.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
    edited February 2016
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    I wish people would browse the forums for 24 hours before posting. They might learn something they want to know about. Like water weight fluctuations.
  • RogerToo
    RogerToo Posts: 16,157 Member
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    I have been on a restricted caloric intake of about 1,200 to 1,300 calories a day. Overall, I have lost 6lbs; however, this past weekend I gained 3lbs back. I logged my calories and I ended both Saturday and Sunday between 2,000 and 2,200 which is more than my body is currently used to..but can I seriously gain that much back after a few cheat days?

    Hi PB
    My body reacts to eating out or take out foods with huge weight gains that go away after a few days. I Suspect it is water retention due to outside foods being prepared with lots of salt for taste. I had some Cream of Turkey at a Local Diner that tasted salty as I am no longer salting things for example. In my case if I eat at the Diner or Chinese or Pizza I am good the next day and then the 2nd day after that I can up 5 pounds that comes off over the following days.

    There is no way 800 to 900 extra calories can cause a real 3 pound weight gain in one day.

    Keep working the diet and remember why cheat days do what they do
    Good Luck
    Roger