water weight loss after illness

spaingirl2011
spaingirl2011 Posts: 763 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi All,

So, I had planned to be really smart about my eating and activity while on a 4 day vacation last week (Friday-Monday). What I did not plan was to get a cold on the first day of my vacation. The result of this was very little activity on my part and eating way over my TDEE cut for at least 2-3 of the four days of my vacation (I was an idiot and didn't log it, so I don't really know how much over my cut I ate). I came back home still pretty sick. As luck should have it, the next morning (Tuesday) was my weigh in day and I had gained 4lbs. Now, I know that binge eating can cause water weight gain and I know that being sick can cause water weight gain--but has anyone had the convergence of these two things together? I went back to my cut the morning after I came home--Tuesday (though I waited until I was feeling better to start exercising. Today was my first jog in a week). I'm still holding on to that weight.

Have any of you experienced this? How long before you dropped the water weight? Is it possible that I'm going to have to re-do a month's worth of hard worK? Thanks all!

Replies

  • spaingirl2011
    spaingirl2011 Posts: 763 Member
    bump!
  • smc864
    smc864 Posts: 570 Member
    I think most of us can relate to going a bit overboard and retaining a fair amount of water weight. For you to have gained 4 pounds of fat you would have had to eat 14,000 calories over your TDEE for those three days, which seems like a stretch. I'm not sure how much you ate, but it's fair to say that at least half of that weight is probably water. I would limit your sodium intake for the next 2-3 days (don't go over 2,000 mg) and drink lots and lots of water -- I'm talking at least 2 liters/day. You should drop any water you are retaining in those 2-3 days. More importantly, just forget about it and move on. There's not much you can do to change what you ate, so start fresh tomorrow and don't let it bother you.


    (edited for spelling)
  • spaingirl2011
    spaingirl2011 Posts: 763 Member
    Thanks for your response!

    I know that I just need to keep going--and I have. It's just frustrating because eating felt good on my raw throat and not having the energy to move when I otherwise might have didn't allow me to make up the difference. I just hate the feeling that I might have screwed it up in only a few days.
  • smc864
    smc864 Posts: 570 Member
    When I'm sick I give myself a free pass. I had the stomach flu last Tuesday and couldn't keep anything down for 24 hours. The next day I let myself eat whatever I thought would make my stomach feel better. This included Pringles, Cheez-its, a Chipotle burrito bowl, and a huge PowerAde. I went waaaaaaay over my calories for that day but after the hell I went through the day before I felt like I deserved it.

    And I really don't think you screwed anything up. A couple pounds in the grand scheme of things isn't that bad. What would be bad, however, is if you let it bother you and you said "f*** it, I've already messed everything up, I might as well forget about it." That would screw it up. You just had a tiny set back :wink:
  • AmyWininger
    AmyWininger Posts: 150 Member
    I've been sick for the past week or so. I've still been eating well, sometimes like 200 calories over my goal, but still under to where i won't gain, I'll still lose, yet I have gained water weight. I think it takes a bit longer to go away when you're sick, or it does for me at least. It better be water weight... xD
  • spaingirl2011
    spaingirl2011 Posts: 763 Member

    And I really don't think you screwed anything up. A couple pounds in the grand scheme of things isn't that bad. What would be bad, however, is if you let it bother you and you said "f*** it, I've already messed everything up, I might as well forget about it." That would screw it up. You just had a tiny set back :wink:

    Haha, that F*** it mentality is exactly what I'm trying to avoid (got me in trouble before!). I mean, even if I have to lose those 4lbs from scratch, I still plan on getting and staying in the grind. I'm just a little bit sad ...
  • spaingirl2011
    spaingirl2011 Posts: 763 Member
    I've been sick for the past week or so. I've still been eating well, sometimes like 200 calories over my goal, but still under to where i won't gain, I'll still lose, yet I have gained water weight. I think it takes a bit longer to go away when you're sick, or it does for me at least. It better be water weight... xD

    Hopefully we'll both lose that water weight!

Categories