HELP! Gained 6lbs in less than 12 hours.

Lindsay_1984
Lindsay_1984 Posts: 85 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have no idea what is going on with my body. Sunday was my "free day" so that I could enjoy our Easter meal and not have to track everything. Sunday morning at 7am I weighed 223.5 pounds. We ate Easter meal at 1pm and this was my first meal of the day. I had ham, green bean casserole, potato casserole, corn, a wheat roll, and cranberry salad. It sounds like a lot but this all fit on to 1 regular size plate. I did not go back for seconds and I was so full that I could only manage a few bites of dessert. When I got home from the meal, I weighed myself thinking I probably gained a pound or two. I was 229 pounds! That means from 7am to 3pm I gained almost 6 pounds from ONE MEAL. How could this happen??? There is no way I ate 6 pounds of food. Could I be retaining that much water?

And before anyone asks, there isn't anything wrong with my scale. It is accurate.

If anyone knows how this could happen, please let me know! Thank you.
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Replies

  • Dark_Roast
    Dark_Roast Posts: 17,689 Member
    There is no way you could have eaten that much. 1 pound=3500 calories. It is water weight and waste.
  • Colliex3
    Colliex3 Posts: 328 Member
    you weighed yourself when you got home? that would explain the 6lbs gain... specially after you ate
  • abbyrae1
    abbyrae1 Posts: 265 Member
    you can't gain 6lbs in a day.

    You are likely retaining water. All the foods that were served are very high in sodium, so that is probably causing a lot of your issue. Try to make sure you drink a lot of water today and keep calm, your weight can fluctuate by 5-8lbs in a day. You should try weighing yourself once a week, same day, same time. Use that as your guide to see how you are doing.
  • prdavies1949
    prdavies1949 Posts: 326 Member
    It's April the first, lots of strange things are happening today, weigh yourself tomorrow, it will be OK then.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    Stop weighing yourself so much. Its food and water fluctuations.
  • Dark_Roast
    Dark_Roast Posts: 17,689 Member
    It's April the first, lots of strange things are happening today, weigh yourself tomorrow, it will be OK then.

    yea, she was prolly holding her cat when she weighed
  • yo_andi
    yo_andi Posts: 2,178 Member
    Have a big poo, weigh another day. You'll be fine.
  • Hannah7783
    Hannah7783 Posts: 54 Member
    This is the sort of thing that happens to me - as soon as I eat breakfast I "gain" 1-2lbs, even if II just eat yogurt and banana and a glass of water! Clearly hadn't gained that - the food wouldn't even been digested yet! To be consistent I have to weigh myself first thing in the morning and immediately after I go to the bathroom, if you know what I am getting at!

    Weight does fluctuate during the day - don't worry about it, its not accurate!!!
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    1) Your weight will be different throughout the day. You will typically be heavier at night because of foods working their way through your digestive system. This is why it is recommended to only weigh in once a day at the same time everyday.

    2) Your weight can fluctuate quite a bit from day to day. This is where the only weigh in once a week recommendation comes in.
  • Scott_2025
    Scott_2025 Posts: 201 Member
    I have often wondered the same thing..... I have noticed that after a big eating day (I have had a few of those the last two weeks) it can take a couple days to get back to the weight I was prior to my big eating day.

    I don't really worry about it too much, but it does make me mad......

    I for one am glad you enjoyed your Easter meals... I think a big eating day is not a problem as long as you don't have seven of them a week.....

    Please let me know if those extra pounds come off in the next three or so days.....

    Take Care,

    Scott
  • dixiewhiskey
    dixiewhiskey Posts: 3,333 Member
    Sodium or water retention related
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Stop weighing yourself so much. Its food and water fluctuations.

    This
  • _Witsy_
    _Witsy_ Posts: 609 Member
    No you didn't.

    You ate food, your body is doing it's thing with it...it will go away.

    Get off the scale. :flowerforyou:
  • hoffma25
    hoffma25 Posts: 36
    Food still digesting in the stomach, water retention, and a build-up of waste in the colon is what is causing your gain. Drink plenty of water and have a few bowel movements and you should be back on track in no time.
  • queenbea77
    queenbea77 Posts: 404 Member
    You would have to have eaten 21,000 extra calories - I agree water weight.

    Did you have high sodium foods? Diet pop? I know if I have either of those over the weekend I'm going to have a gain on Monday. Looking at your meal for yesterday (yes mine looked similar) I can see a couple things that jumped out at me immediately - only one meal @ 1pm? Your body was probably starving by then. We all know that ham & green bean casserole are high in sodium. Did you drink water?

    I'm not picking on you at all(!) like I said I had ham, GB casserole, mashed potato, stuffing etc. and while I did drink water quite often during the day I also had fruit punch so I showed 1 1/2 lb gain this morning. I know any time I have pop or something high in sodium I'm going to have a gain the next day so I was pushing the water during the evening and all day today.

    Drink plenty of water - even more than you normally would and weigh yourself in a couple days and see how it is.
  • HMVOL7409
    HMVOL7409 Posts: 1,588 Member
    Why did you weigh yourself after you ate? Stopping weighing so much and realize that you have fluctuations due to food digestion, water balance etc. You know you didn't gain 6lbs of fat in a day.
  • OneEyeUp
    OneEyeUp Posts: 373 Member
    I'd say weigh once a week.
  • da_bears10089
    da_bears10089 Posts: 1,791 Member
    water retention and poo... that is all
  • MB_Positif
    MB_Positif Posts: 8,897 Member
    No. You did not.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    This content has been removed.
  • NovemberJune
    NovemberJune Posts: 2,525 Member
    I beat you! I gained 8 yesterday from am to pm :wink:
    Still up 5 today but I know it will be gone soon enough. I always think weight fluctuations are interesting (nerd) but if it bothers you, weigh weekly/monthly/whatever and especially don't weigh in more than once in a day. :smile:
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Seriously...you do know that your body has natural fluctuations right? You have water retention/release...waste, etc. Not to mention food and liquid have weight as well. I can easily fluctuate 2-5 Lbs day to day...I have know idea what my fluctuations are throughout the day because weighing yourself multiple times per day is just obsessive and unproductive.
  • thisismeraw
    thisismeraw Posts: 1,264 Member
    Your body weight naturally changes throughout the day.

    Don't weigh yourself so often if you are going to freak out over it.

    Food you ate, drinks you drank, sodium, water retention, hormones, etc will cause your weight to change.

    If you can't handle the changes and get freaked out over them, don't weigh so often.
  • SadKitty27
    SadKitty27 Posts: 416 Member
    No you did not gain 6lbs in 12 hours. There are 3,500 calories in 1 lb....So, unless you consumed 21,000 calories ( 3,500 x 6 ,) then you most certainly did not really gain 6lbs in 12 hours.

    The weight you're seeing is water retention and the weight of a full belly.
  • Lindsay_1984
    Lindsay_1984 Posts: 85 Member
    Thanks everyone! I weighed myself because I was curious to see what the damage was from the meal. I knew I would have gained some, but seeing 6lbs freaked me out. I feel better now from readings the responses that it is probably just water retention and waste.

    I think there was a lot more sodium than I am used to, and I did drink diet coke as well so that is probably what did it. I drank a lot of water last night after the meal and will be drinking a lot of water today as well. I'll weigh myself tomorrow (since that is my weekly weigh in day) and let you know if I went back down.

    Thanks again!
  • bagge72
    bagge72 Posts: 1,377 Member
    Because the food, and water you put in your body actually weighs something as well. I never under stood why people don't konw this. The stuff you ate, and drank hasn't even had enough time to be in your body for it to be water retention. Also it if is 6lbs you either drank close to a gallon of fluids in that time period as well, or ate a lot more that you are saying that you ate.
  • xiamjackie
    xiamjackie Posts: 611 Member
    It's April the first, lots of strange things are happening today, weigh yourself tomorrow, it will be OK then.

    lol
  • Hbazzell
    Hbazzell Posts: 899 Member
    I have gained 8 lbs in a day before. Usually it takes about two days to go back down for me.
  • kr1stadee
    kr1stadee Posts: 1,774 Member
    Even if you didn't have a free day and Easter dinner, you would still be up a couple pounds at the end of a day.
  • Lindsay_1984
    Lindsay_1984 Posts: 85 Member
    Because the food, and water you put in your body actually weighs something as well. I never under stood why people don't konw this. The stuff you ate, and drank hasn't even had enough time to be in your body for it to be water retention. Also it if is 6lbs you either drank close to a gallon of fluids in that time period as well, or ate a lot more that you are saying that you ate.

    I know that food and water weighs something! I am not an idiot. The reason I asked the question is because I didn't eat 6 pounds of food. And I think it unlikely that I drank a gallon of water, but even if I did drink a gallon during that time period, I was going to restroom as well during that time. I don't know if you meant it to be, but I found your comment to be kind of rude and not helpful.

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