Can long flights cause weight gain, i.e., bloat/water retention?

jrwms714

Been maintaining fro 2 years fairly easily. Just got back from a 9 day vacation in Hawaii. I never eat all that much differently on vacation and this was no exception, i.e., I pretty much follow my usual eating pattern and if I veer off, it's only rarely - example: I ate two sushi rolls pretty packed with good stuff. I stayed pretty much on target, otherwise. It was incredibly and unusually hot for this time of year where we were (95+ degrees and very humid), so the activities that I wanted to do (hiking, etc.) were minimal; I was far less active than I am on most trips, and far less than I am at home. More sitting around than doing anything else.

Factor in that I was ill for 2.5 weeks before we went and instead of working out 5 days a week, had to be pretty much a couch slug. I was still sort of finishing up that bout of bronchial infection as we left for Hawaii. So .... It will be almost a month before I am back to my exercise routine ... and I miss it/feel it!

I got back early this AM after two red eye flights back, a total of 11 hours in the air. (Same amount on the way there.) When I stepped on the scale, I was up 4 lbs. That is very unusual for me. I never let myself get beyond a 2 pound range.

So my questions are: do long flights do this to you, where I'd retain water even if I did my best to drink a lot of water? And could eating every meal in restaurants for 9 days add to the water retention, not to mention that kind of heat? I always tell them "no salt" when ordering, but sometimes it's already in the prep before it gets to my plate, i.e., had a veggie patty with breakfast and could taste the salt in it!
Love to hear your thoughts! My game plan is to drink a lot of water the next few days and keep very much to my normal calories.

Noreenmarie1234

OH YES!!! After a long flight or car ride my weight goes up ~8lbs due to water weight haha. I am not used to being so inactive. I am sure you will see a drop after a few days.

Machka9

Yep ... definitely. But it usually comes off fairly quickly.

wdf375

I'm flying 24 to 30 hours with 3 or 4 layovers to get to some locations for work every month. I usually gain 5 pounds the day I travel. Two days later I'm back to pre-flight weight.

quiksylver296

Yep!

Raptor2763

They sure can and do!

yirara

Absolutely! My gain is usually fairly moderate, about 2 lbs, but the gain is certainly there. For me it usually takes about a week to get rid of it again.

trigden1991

I gained 14lbs when travelling from Singapore to the UK. A mix of water retention and food residue (TMI).

gothchiq

Yes! Even short flights are very, very bloaty!

nowine4me

Yes. Last time I flew my legs were so swollen they barely were recognizable to me. It took 5 full days to drop the water weight. Try to drink as much water as you can to flush things out. And Aloha!

Sabine_Stroehm

2-4Lbs each time. We call it "airplane weight". It's dehydration. Longer flights are worse.

saphin

Definitely, and for me it seems to be about 2kg that lasts about a week on a 16 hour flight. I have bad knees so the swelling also causes me mobility difficulties for around three weeks post flight.

Eta, I have a very slim contact here that used to be an air hostess (mostly shorter flights) and two weeks after she changed to a new non flying career she noted a 2 or 3 kg weight loss.

nxd10

Every time I go on a long flight I bloat and my ankles swell. Often takes me several weeks to get rid of it. One thing that does help is taking a hot bath and drinking lots of cold water. No idea why.

Spitspot81

Eeek!!! I am taking a 9 hour flight to florida in 2 weeks. Are there any tips on avoiding the bloat??

I am guessing drink plenty of water, avoid salt and move about as much as is possible?

BusyRaeNOTBusty

Yes, restaurant foods, and flying will definitely do it.

However trying to maintain within a 2lb range is probably really frustrating. I'd go with a 5lb range.

jrwms714

BusyRaeNOTBusty wrote: »

Yes, restaurant foods, and flying will definitely do it.

However trying to maintain within a 2lb range is probably really frustrating. I'd go with a 5lb range.

Hi - The 2 lb. range has worked well for me for these 2 years of maintenance, not at all frustrating. I am 5'0" and 5lbs. on me is almost a different size.

Just wanted to thank everyone for all your input. I totally freaked out because I had not seen that number on my scale in those 2+ years of maintenance. Just wanted to let you all know (and this is probably TMI, but realistic) that it was obviously tons of water weight from the flights and the restaurants, because the bathroom has been my best friend for the past 24 hours! However, when I woke up today and weighed myself, right back to where I was before I left. Whew! And I am fairly sure that there's more to come, i.e., still feel some bloat in legs, etc. Only been back a day.

Not sure what to recommend, @spitapot81 to avoid that plane bloat. I guess drink lots of water on the plane and try to walk around when you can ... and don't panic like I did when you see that's what happened. Pretty uncomfortable, tho.

cwolfman13

short flights cause bloating too...anytime I fly I have to loosen my shoe laces because of bloating...bloat shows up on the scale.

spitapot81 wrote: »

Eeek!!! I am taking a 9 hour flight to florida in 2 weeks. Are there any tips on avoiding the bloat??

I am guessing drink plenty of water, avoid salt and move about as much as is possible?

Not really...you're in a pressurized cabin at 30K feet +...also, it's just bloat...why stress about something that is totally irrelevant...I swear people put way too much stock in some number on the scale.

neldabg

Wow. I haven't flown in a plane since I was a young child. I never knew this was a thing. Interesting...

MiaisMIAinMiami

Omg yes! When I got back to NYC from Hanoi (via Ho Chi Minh City, Dubai, and Milan), my feet and legs were so swollen the skin was breaking and I could barely walk. Even a cross-country flight bloats me pretty badly but it took over a week to get back to normal from Vietnam.

leanjogreen18

Yep slight dehydration happens on long flights because of very low humidity in the airplane.