Normal to gain water weight during warm weather?

chris89topher

I have a somewhat odd question I am hoping you fabulous people could possibly enlighten me on. A few weeks ago, I "gained" 4 lbs over the course of 5 days. Basically a pound per day. I kind of assumed it was because I ate A TON of bread that weekend. Really, pretty close to a ton, lol! Anyway, it didn't drop off like I assumed it would and it's been almost 3 weeks. Maybe a pound down but otherwise it's the same. My eating is sadly boring as ever.....except that 1 1/2 loaf of bread, lol again!

I am a data nerd so I looked back in my weight history and noticed something interesting. The same thing happened last May and didn't drop back down until September.

So what gives? Is this normal? For reference my normal weight is 145-ish and I'm 6ft tall.

middlehaitch

Warm weather water weight happens to me.

At home I put it on during the day, just enough to puff up my hands and feet a bit, and usually drop it when it cools in the evening.

Travelling in warmer climes, I carry the extra weight until I return to my normal northern temps.
I carry clothes a size bigger when doing warm weather travel.
(in India I went from 98lbs to 107 for a couple of weeks. You should have seen how much I peed once I got home!)

Cheers, h.

goal06082021

Bodies retain water weight for all kinds of reasons. For people with menstrual cycles, that can play hell with water retention at various points in the cycle; your PFP doesn't look like a person with a menstrual cycle, so that's probably not what's going on with you, but I've been wrong before. If the weather's getting warmer, maybe the air is drier and you're getting dehydrated more quickly, and/or maybe you're drinking more water to compensate. Maybe you're up and moving more now that the weather's nice, so you're retaining water to repair muscles. Maybe there's a seasonal change in the foods you eat and the sodium content therein. Maybe there's a holiday or other special occasion around this time of year where you eat a lot more carbs or sodium than you normally do (see: your Mother's Day(?) breadstravaganza).

yirara

Water retention happens for any reason you can think of, and then maybe for the opposite as well. And if you happen to be a women then also just because.

spiriteagle99

Are you drinking enough? Are you drinking too much? Both are easily possible in warmer weather. The bread can bloat you because carbs need water to be processed, but that should have gotten stabilized by now, unless you are still eating higher carb.

chris89topher

spiriteagle99 wrote: »

Are you drinking enough? Are you drinking too much? Both are easily possible in warmer weather. The bread can bloat you because carbs need water to be processed, but that should have gotten stabilized by now, unless you are still eating higher carb.

I actually drink a ton of water every day, and that hasn't increased or decreased. Also, I'm a vegetarian so my daily carb intake tends to be high anyway. I guess I'll just see what happens. At first I was really freaked out because 4 lbs is a pretty drastic increase over just a few short days. Especially since I'm on the thinner side.

I'll try to be patient while nature and my body work out their dilemma.

rheddmobile

This is normal. When your body adjusts to heat, your blood plasma volume increases, allowing you to sweat more without becoming dehydrated and causing a gain of a couple pounds. I just read an article in a runner’s magazine about it.

middlehaitch

You could try adding electrolytes to your some of your water in warmer weather.
I usually have some early afternoon.

Cheers, h.

goal06082021

If nothing else, know that it's physically impossible for those 4lbs to be fat unless you ate an extra 14,000 calories on top of your TDEE over that weekend - basically an extra 2000 cal per day, the equivalent of four sticks of butter.

Speakeasy76

I know sometimes when I take walks in warm weather, I can feel my fingers swelling to the point that my wedding ring is difficult to remove when it's normally a bit too big. So for me, it's definitely possible.

hipari

Speakeasy76 wrote: »

I know sometimes when I take walks in warm weather, I can feel my fingers swelling to the point that my wedding ring is difficult to remove when it's normally a bit too big. So for me, it's definitely possible.

This is me. My ring size is probably a size smaller in the winter than in the summer, so my rings are a little loose in the winter and annoyingly tight in the summer, and I have to do ring shopping accordingly. I had a summer wedding and literally the last thing I did before heading down the aisle was an ice bath for my hands to make the swelling go away enough for my new husband to be able to squeeze the ring on my finger. It worked, too.

Ring size is the most noticeable water weight indicator for me as I’m not weighing in currently, but I think it’s fair to assume similar mechanics are at play elsewhere in the body.

SuzanneC1l9zz

Yes, a heat wave always makes me puffy.

ninerbuff

How much sodium was in the bread and did it exceed well above what you consume daily?

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

chris89topher

ninerbuff wrote: »

How much sodium was in the bread and did it exceed well above what you consume daily?

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

This particular bread is "keto" and super low calorie. I don't follow keto but just like the bread because it's only 30 cal per slice. My sodium was probably twice as much for that weekend but nothing completely nuts. And although this happened the days following, it was 3 weeks ago with no real decrease. Still have the 4lbs. So weird.

Speakeasy76

hipari wrote: »

Speakeasy76 wrote: »

I know sometimes when I take walks in warm weather, I can feel my fingers swelling to the point that my wedding ring is difficult to remove when it's normally a bit too big. So for me, it's definitely possible.

This is me. My ring size is probably a size smaller in the winter than in the summer, so my rings are a little loose in the winter and annoyingly tight in the summer, and I have to do ring shopping accordingly. I had a summer wedding and literally the last thing I did before heading down the aisle was an ice bath for my hands to make the swelling go away enough for my new husband to be able to squeeze the ring on my finger. It worked, too.

Ring size is the most noticeable water weight indicator for me as I’m not weighing in currently, but I think it’s fair to assume similar mechanics are at play elsewhere in the body.

I never in really thought of measuring water weight by how my rings are fitting, but it makes perfect sense to use this as a gauge.

JoDavo66

I must be made of metal- I always expand in the heat!
I'm afraid I don't know enough to answer original question but my rings are much tighter & my ankles are visibly bigger every time it's hot- even when I was a skinny teen.