French Fries to Thicker Thighs Overnight?

SarahBelle43

Hello MFP community,
Please don't take the title too literally, It just seemed like a good way to describe my question! I went away for a weekend trip to beautiful Asheville, NC, and took a break from logging. I definitely ate above maintenance for three days (it was a brewery tour, so technically I drank above maintenance;), but when I weighed myself the morning after coming home, I was at the same weight I was when I left. Will I pay for this weekend later this week? or am I "in the clear" so to speak? I know there are other factors that impact the situation but this has lead me to a more general question- how long does it take your body to convert excess calories into weight gain?
Thanks Friends!

justforpresents90

I would not worry about it so much. You should be fine. Take the week off of drinking and clear the system with some water. Every day is a new day.

JohnnyPenso

To answer your question, when you intake the food you of course gain the weight of the food. Food is broken into small particles in the stomach first, then in the small intestines where nutrients are extracted, then into the colon where the water and salt is extracted. Within 24 hours or so digestion is complete and then the waste makes it way back out into the sunlight. Usually it's 24 to 72 hours for food to completely pass through your body. This all assumes normal digestion and eliminations of course.

ccsernica

Bear in mind that one lb of fat is roughly equivalent to 3,500 calories. Unless you somehow managed to eat 3,500 calories above maintenance over the weekend (so if maintenance for you is 2,000 calories, you ate 3x 2,000 + 3,500 = 9,500 calories) the scale shouldn't move much. Excepting water weight and so on.