Cheat day & weight gain question?

BrownSkinBeauty1990

Hey everyone,

Well I had a cheat day on Saturday & had alot of alcohol & a takeaway. I must of had about 2000 calories in total probably. Then on Sunday I think I went over my calories by about 200. I'm on a 1320 calorie diet and I eat more if I exercise.

I weighed myself on Sunday morning & I had put on 4lbs :noway:
I then weighed myself today and was down by 2lbs but still 2lbs more than I was before I had a cheat day.

So my question is... Once I get to my goal weight and start eating a normal amount of calories again, will I put on weight?
I just don't get it :grumble:

Any advice would be great, thanks x

mgreen10

i'm listening too..would like to know. I always thought it was bloat myself...you gain 1 pound for every 3000 calories you eat over your limit. Would like to know what others think.

ladybug1620

More than likely it is just sodium and water retention. Drink LOTSSS of water and it should come off in a few days.

chevy88grl

When I eat things my body isn't used to eating - I tend to gain weight, BUT I don't think it is actual weight gain. I truly believe it is water weight. I always feel bloated and eh after having a cheat day.

Chenoachem

Most of the weight from cheat days, for me at least, is water weight. I have been on matintenance for over a year and put on no more than 2lbs. I only weigh in 1 time per week, morning of my cheat day. I don't monitor any other time. When I went on maintenance, I weighed in 1 time per month and never had 'cheat' days.

Hope that helps.

burksfamily

I experience the same thing even if I only go a little over my goals. I am glad you posted this, because it provided me with some insight as well. Thank you all for your input.

BrownSkinBeauty1990

Thanks everyone.

Well that's good too know & I really hope it is just water weight. I'm going to drink LOADS of water starting from now lol x:happy:

jenilla1

When you get to your goal MFP will give you maintenance calories - usually a few hundred more than you get while you are losing (deficit calories). Maintenance calories should be the amount you need to eat to stay the same - no loss no gain. If you eat fewer than your maintenance calories, you will lose weight and if you eat more than your maintenance calories you will gain weight. Example: Deficit calories = 1300 Maintenance calories = 1700.

kimmerroze

Lets say that your Maintainence calories are 1700 in order to gain one pound in one day you would have to eat 3500 calories over your 1700 calories. that is 5200 calories in one day.

so unless you ate 14,000 (3,500 x 4 pounds) calories in two days over your daily maintainence calories of 3,400 calories (1700x2) there is no physical way that you gained 4 pounds of fat.

Jessaamine

Your weight can fluxuate 5 pounds in a day. I agree that the alcohol and sodium are probably just making you retain water and it's water, not fat, that you're seeing on the scale. Don't sweat the small stuff. One cheat day is not the end of the world : )

BrownSkinBeauty1990

Lets say that your Maintainence calories are 1700 in order to gain one pound in one day you would have to eat 3500 calories over your 1700 calories. that is 5200 calories in one day.

so unless you ate 14,000 (3,500 x 4 pounds) calories in two days over your daily maintainence calories of 3,400 calories (1700x2) there is no physical way that you gained 4 pounds of fat.

When you get to your goal MFP will give you maintenance calories - usually a few hundred more than you get while you are losing (deficit calories). Maintenance calories should be the amount you need to eat to stay the same - no loss no gain. If you eat fewer than your maintenance calories, you will lose weight and if you eat more than your maintenance calories you will gain weight. Example: Deficit calories = 1300 Maintenance calories = 1700.

Wow that's pretty crazy, I didn't know that... Thank you

burksfamily

I think it has more to do with our food choices on our cheat days more than the calorie intake. I know that for me, I fill my cheat days with more high sodium foods, high fat foods, processed foods, and too little fiber. It is just a reminder to me that when I finally get to maintenance I will still need to make healthy choices to feel my best. The rest of it will still need to be "sometimes foods".

hinesjared87

i agree with what people have been saying about water weight. i wanted to add something from my situation that baffles most people. when most of you have a "cheat day" you gain water weight. I, however, lose it. I'm diabetic, so the more I eat, the higher my blood sugar gets, and i end up pissing all the time and lose weight. on the contrary, the less i eat, the lower my blood sugar gets, and my body retains everything. this caused me a lot of trouble gaining or maintaining weight when i played college football, because the natural thing to do was eat 7000Cal/day and workout about 6 hours a day. But that didn't work. I was actually dieting to gain weight.
so really, for those of you out there with diabetes, which i think is like 1/15 people statistically... the key to losing weight is going to be...yes i know it sucks... controlling your blood sugar.

momofJandA

Did you weigh in at a different time? Different clothes?
Probably just water weight- drink that water the next few days and see what happens.

menchi

I agree with many others so far. I know I eat food with more sodium, fat and sugar on my cheat days and it will take a while for your system to flush them out. So chug that water! If you weigh yourself first thing in the morning and then in the evening, you'll be shocked how much weight you "gained." It's not real, undigested/unabsorbed food still weigh something! My sister used to tell me she "lost weight" everytime she went to the bathroom. Well you do! Try weighing before/after potty!

Also I try to get some exercise in even on the cheat day. It doesn't have to be the gym, but things like choosing to walk instead of a 5 minute drive to a nearby place or going to a museum where I have to walk around instead of the movie theater.

As for your maintenance question, I'm pretty much there so I can tell you my experience. I find that the full maintenance calories calculated by MFP can be a little high for me. Perhaps it's in the way I estimate some of my food calories, I'm not sure. However, I manually set my goals to 200 Cals below the maintenance level so that I have some wiggle room (b/c some days I do go over a little and I like having the 200 Cal cushion). I think when you get close to maintenance, you will need to slow down your weight loss and take the time to figure out what your body needs by trial and error. Only you can listen to your body; MFP and other people are only giving suggestions.

olyrose

This is good to read - Even though I logically know I couldn't gain 1.5 pounds by going over my weight loss goal calories by 1,000 one day, it's still hard not to think of it as fat gain. Good to remember about water weight and retention (I had the same problem this weekend - drank a bunch and put on a couple pounds)

jdm_taco

My weight has changed by more than 5 lbs in a day. I have found that it generally returns in a day or so indicating that it is most likely waste and water. Its hard not to freak out, but don't freak out!

BrownSkinBeauty1990

Thank you everyone, you have been really helpful :happy: