Does alcohol cause water retention?

ClaireSmith811

I'm not much of a drinker nowadays but I'd managed to get down to 133.6lbs when I weighed on Friday morning. I've lost a total of 20lbs now.
I went away on Friday night for a girlie weekend and although I'd only eaten a slice of pizza for dinner I had quite a lot of Lambrini & a few shots. We went out for lunch on the Saturday where I had a cheeseburger & a few chips, a slice of pizza again for dinner that night & a few Lambrini's. Not as much as the Friday night though as I had a hangover and was feeling rubbish! I was good yesterday with my eating when I got home and drank loads of water. This morning I weighed in at 137.6lbs and I am absolutely gutted! I could honestly kick myself & wish I'd never went away now!
Could it be that the alcohol causes water retention and that this extra weight will disappear soon??

omma_to_3

I ALWAYS end up higher after drinking, so I'll assume yes. It always disappears.

alittlemopo

The combo of alcohol and the saltier than normal foods. It should disappear within a week or so!!!

PRMinx

Alcohol, sodium and PMS are the biggest culprits for water retention. I go up and down 5 pounds on any given week. When I drink a lot of water (hard for me) the scale goes down. Women really should focus less on the scale and more on how you feel and how your clothes fit.

faireplay

Alcohol absolutely will cause water retention but the sodium in the pizza, burger, etc are more likely the culprit. You certainly did not gain 4 pounds from a couple of days of over indulging and the weight should mostly disappear in the next couple days

CCusedtodance

It makes me hold fluid and it never fails that I will feel the bloat from it the next day.

cad39too

I always seem to weigh less after a hard night of drinking cause i'm dehydrated, but even one slice of pizza causes me to retain.

tracymat

Yes!! I gained 8 lbs after a bad weekend last week. I drank a ton of water and it took a week to get it off.

clioandboy

Alcohol dehydrates me, no water retention at all, but junk food wow yes..... but it is not converted into permanent weight gain it'll go. There is always a penalty for fun times of eating junk n drinking heavy!

ivyana25

Sure does! well in my experience anyways... I usually drink on Saturdays and sometimes on Sundays, on Mondays i always weigh 3 -5 pounds more than on my last weigh in day Friday... But i lose it during the week and then some im losing 1-2 lbs a week... In conclusion just get back onto your clean eating and it will go down again within a few days..

JesterMFP

Sounds like you had a great weekend - don't wish that away!

It's highly unlikely you gained 4 lbs of fat from your weekend. That would be approx 14,000 calories over your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) - which is a higher number than the calorie goal MFP has given you. Does that sound likely?

Alcohol affects people in different ways. I'm nearly always lighter the next morning, probably due to dehydration. For other people, it makes them retain. Pizza and cheeseburgers - they were probably loaded with salt and are probably as much the culprit for your scale gain as the alcohol. Get back to your normal routine, drink plenty of water, and you'll probably see it go down again pretty quickly.

So, don't be gutted. Life happens, enjoy it. Weight fluctuates regardless. You might have gained a tiny bit of fat, which might set you back form your ultimate goal by what - a few days? In the grand scheme of things, not really worth being gutted over! :flowerforyou:

Schmelvie

Yep, definitely. I track my weight every day on a graph and there is always a spike on Monday's. Drink lots of water and eat right and the weight will stabilize back to normal in 3-5 days.

The thing to remember is... You didn't actually gain weight. All you did was make the scale show a higher number. There is a HUGE difference in those two things.

ClaireSmith811

Thanks everyone for your responses they've made me feel better! Hopefully these 4lbs will be gone in a few days. I'll try and stay off the scales until Friday.

tricksee

ALCOHOL = DEHYDRATION!!!

Hence hangovers.

h0rserunner

I needed this thread today. The scale is up two pounds this morning and the only thing I did wrong was a handful of chips, one bite of cake and lots of rum and diet cokes...lol. Ok.... time to be good again.

mareeee1234

I always feel like my tummy is flatter the morning after drinking ..?

faireplay

Dehydration = an insane attempt by your body to hold onto every drop of liquid for the next two days after consumption of dehydration inducing alcohol. :-)

Doctorpurple

Yes I always weigh about 1-2 lbs heavier the morning after drinking

Annette8479

This was my birthday weekend. Two nights of heavy drinking + lots of fun food = 10.2 pounds extra from Friday to Monday. Ugh!

__Di__

I'm not much of a drinker nowadays but I'd managed to get down to 133.6lbs when I weighed on Friday morning. I've lost a total of 20lbs now.
I went away on Friday night for a girlie weekend and although I'd only eaten a slice of pizza for dinner I had quite a lot of Lambrini & a few shots. We went out for lunch on the Saturday where I had a cheeseburger & a few chips, a slice of pizza again for dinner that night & a few Lambrini's. Not as much as the Friday night though as I had a hangover and was feeling rubbish! I was good yesterday with my eating when I got home and drank loads of water. This morning I weighed in at 137.6lbs and I am absolutely gutted! I could honestly kick myself & wish I'd never went away now!
Could it be that the alcohol causes water retention and that this extra weight will disappear soon??

Alcohol is actually a duiretic, it causes the opposite of water retention.

I would say your weightgain is more due to the fact of the food and actual amount of the alcohol you were consuming. Once you go back to your daily calorie allowance, it will come back off.

purpleyellow23

Alcohol is actually a duiretic, it causes the opposite of water retention.

I would say your weightgain is more due to the fact of the food and actual amount of the alcohol you were consuming. Once you go back to your daily calorie allowance, it will come back off.

Alcohol is a toxin with many complex effects on the body. The diuretic effect is due to its inhibitory action on a hormone called anti-diuretic hormone. However, alcohol interacts with many tissues, most notably the liver. When it works on the liver, it interferes with protein balance in your body (among other things). Protein is a major determinant of water balance - i.e. if you change the protein balance in your body, even temporarily, you also change the water balance - which can result in edema (i.e. water retention). PS I am a second year medical student, so this explanation is legit.

The point of all of this to say is that alcohol's effect on your body can be very complicated and varied - and the behavior associated with alcohol consumption (like drinking more or less water or eating more or less unhealthy food) can also contribute to these varied effects.

So the even more summarized point is - DON'T WORRY! If you pee a lot and your stomach is flatter, that's normal. If you gain a few pounds, that's normal.

Sobus76

ALCOHOL = DEHYDRATION!!!

Hence hangovers.

^This