Can this really happen?

reederx5

I had two days of bad eating. Dont look at my diary I didnt really keep track. Is it really possible to gain 3 pounds from going off of your diet for just one weekend? If that is the case it is very discouraging:(

I am back on track today but couldnt believe that the scale went up that much...

Anyone else had this happen?

glassgallm

IMO,most likely it is retained water. Get back on track today, drink water periodically throughout the day, and don't worry about the scale....they lie!

laurenawolf

Unless you ate 10,000+ calories, it's just water weight. Just get back on track and you'll be fine

Edit: I've also done this many times, but I would binge for a week and easily gain 7 pounds. You're human and this happens to everyone. Don't get down about it!

SummerRain43

3lbs of fat = 10500 calories......about 3500 per pound.....did you eat that many extra calories this weekend?....I would venture to say, no you didn't......I would suspect that if you ate some high sodium foods, then the extra numbers on the scale could be water weight....did you drink alcohol??....sometimes that happens to me when I do....the next day, the number on the scale goes up....there are many people on here who know more than I do, so it will be interesting to see what they say......

....just drink plenty of water for the next few days, get back on track with your logging and counting and the scale should go down again....best of luck!!

gypsy_spirit

I suppose it could happen, but you would have to eat over your maintenance calories a lot over the weekend. Most likely water retention from eating more than you're accustomed to eating. Give it a few days and weigh again. You may be very surprised.

Just for fun, go back and log your weekend as accurately as you can. You might surprise yourself.

Zabuzan

The most likely explanation would probably be water retention - if you've binged over the weekend with a higher salt/sugar/alcohol intake that normal, this can get pretty severe!

Gaining it in pure fat would be pretty impressive, but theoretically possible from a maths standpoint. For a bit more information on approximately how many calories there ire in a lb of fat:
http://www.zoeharcombe.com/the-knowledge/1lb-does-not-equal-3500-calories/

I don't know if there is a limit to the calorific storage a body can undergo in a couple of days though, assuming there is no limit, you'd have to have consume a good 9000-11000 calories more than you burned off.

I also don't know how long it takes for the calories to be processed into fat, will have to look that up later.... but see my first point for the most likely explanation.

lisaabenjamin

Yes it is possible. It is possible to go up or down 3lbs or more in one day let alone one weekend, but it's usually just water retention. Us ladies also have pesky hormone fluctuations that can affect the scale too.

One bad weekend doesn't mean you should abandon your plan though. Depending on your deficit, you most likely didn't completely wipe out your deficit for the week, or the month, so just forget about it and move on.

Weigh yourself weekly or even less frequently if you can bear it - weight loss is not linear so don't stress yourself over a fluctuation of a few little pounds - if you stick to your plan the overall trend will be down in the long run!

heel_striker

It can happen! But only if you ate 10,500 calories OVER your maintenance calories. So it really depends on how much you ate, since you didn't log it you won't actually know. It is more than likely retained water, it should balance out in a couple of days. Regardless, don't worry about it too much, just get back on track now, start logging again.

jstout365

Increases in carbs and sodium can increase water retention. Unless you overate by 10,500 calories in those two days, you didn't increase fat mass by much for a bad weekend. There are a lot of factors in play when you see a quick jump like that. The body can fluctuate by 5 lbs up or down in a day. Continue this week as planned and reevaluate the "damage" at next week's weigh-in.

I have had this happen often, but have seen it enough to know the primary causes for me when I do see it. Mostly sodium combined with a hard lifting workout and an increase in carb intake that raises my stored glycogen/water in my muscles.

TayzerFun

I notice if I eat stuff with a lot of sodium, I can balloon up 3.5lbs in as little as 2 days. Drink water to help you flush it out and don't worry too much about it. It maybe just water. Not fat.

ihad

It's very unlikely you gained that much fat in a weekend.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/ihad/view/mfp-101-i-just-gained-3-pounds-overnight-636811

zoeysasha37

Most likely your retaining water. I would be sure to drink water and it should balance out soon. You would've had to really really go overboard to gain three pounds of fat.

Keepcalmanddontblink

I had two days of bad eating. Dont look at my diary I didnt really keep track. Is it really possible to gain 3 pounds from going off of your diet for just one weekend? If that is the case it is very discouraging:(

I am back on track today but couldnt believe that the scale went up that much...

Anyone else had this happen?

Yes! Me! I lost 25lb within the first 40 days and I have a bridesmaid dress to fit into. It got really big on the top, and I having it altered, and decided to up my calorie intake to lose only 1lb a week. Instead I gained like 3lb within 4 days! I dropped my calorie level back to 2lb a week and drinking lots of water, and within 3 days, I am only 1lb over last my last loss. I doubt I would have gained/lost that if it wasn't water weight.
A peek at my diary shows I had a lot of high sodium foods and less access to water, (not allowed to have water on the sales floor at work.), which is probably why I had the gain. Just refocus on your goals and keep up with the drinking water. :drinker: