How does one gain 3 lbs overnight?

I don't get it! Maybe it's because I ate back a majority of my exercise calories? Maybe it's because I had a snack size McFlurry last night?! Or maybe my muscles are retaining water to repair themselves because I ran four days last week instead of only three? I'm trying to be logical here, but it's hard to be logical when you feel like your body is betraying you and getting fat despite your progress with diet and exercise....
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Replies

  • wimeezer
    wimeezer Posts: 404 Member
    Don't panic...its probably just water. Check your sodium over last day or two. Drink lots of water, it will get better.

    Its frustrating but don't worry. Hang in there
  • ladymiseryali
    ladymiseryali Posts: 2,555 Member
    Don't panic...its probably just water. Check your sodium over last day or two. Drink lots of water, it will get better.

    Its frustrating but don't worry. Hang in there

    I just checked the sodium yesterday and EW! I didn't think it was as much as 2000! Holy crap! Well, today I was going to try to eat 500 cals because I want to try the 5 2 fasting thing......I might do that then just to change it up, as well as drink a LOT of water.
  • Don't go crazy. No need to do the latest diet fad. I have seen it happen where people who didn't have a weight problem developed one with erratic eating habits. Just watch the salt, drink lots of water, and eat clean for a couple of days, or weeks.
  • MaryJane_8810002
    MaryJane_8810002 Posts: 2,082 Member
    I don't get it! Maybe it's because I ate back a majority of my exercise calories? Maybe it's because I had a snack size McFlurry last night?! Or maybe my muscles are retaining water to repair themselves because I ran four days last week instead of only three? I'm trying to be logical here, but it's hard to be logical when you feel like your body is betraying you and getting fat despite your progress with diet and exercise....

    Either water weight or lots of booze. Don't worry it should fall off during the week.
  • hughtwalker
    hughtwalker Posts: 2,213 Member
    do what I do - BLAME THE SCALES!
  • EvgeniZyntx
    EvgeniZyntx Posts: 24,208 Member
    3 lbs of fat would requires 10500 calories ABOVE TDEE and your body's max capacity to transport that to cells. Try drinking more water to reduce the salt retention.
  • ladymiseryali
    ladymiseryali Posts: 2,555 Member
    I don't get it! Maybe it's because I ate back a majority of my exercise calories? Maybe it's because I had a snack size McFlurry last night?! Or maybe my muscles are retaining water to repair themselves because I ran four days last week instead of only three? I'm trying to be logical here, but it's hard to be logical when you feel like your body is betraying you and getting fat despite your progress with diet and exercise....

    Either water weight or lots of booze. Don't worry it should fall off during the week.

    It's not alcohol, I can tell you that. I rarely drink these days, which I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing....
  • ladymiseryali
    ladymiseryali Posts: 2,555 Member
    do what I do - BLAME THE SCALES!

    I think that's what I'm going to do. I mean, the scale I have is a couple of years old. I think I may need a new one....or one not from a thrift shop.
  • rileamoyer
    rileamoyer Posts: 2,412 Member
    I just did last night - reason, high sodium the last 2 days along with low water. By reversing the trend today it should be gone by Monday.
  • MichelleLaree13
    MichelleLaree13 Posts: 865 Member
    3 lbs of fat would requires 10500 calories ABOVE TDEE and your body's max capacity to transport that to cells. Try drinking more water to reduce the salt retention.

    I count things in calories like this guy. I doubt you ate 10500 extra calories over night. :flowerforyou:
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    It's not fat so 500 calories won't help. Drink water to flush out the sodium and get your body back in order. And maybe a bit of fiber?
  • lin7604
    lin7604 Posts: 2,951 Member
    yes it is frustrating why our bodies do this and you may not ever know the answer why you gain at that specific time... i have put on 2.4 lbs this week and it's day 6 and still not off?
  • Articeluvsmemphis
    Articeluvsmemphis Posts: 1,987 Member
    One does NOT gain 3 pounds of FAT overnight. water weight lady
  • TrashyAbercrombie
    TrashyAbercrombie Posts: 51 Member
    I have this same problem too and I've narrowed it down to either I had something REALLY salty the day before and it's just sodium overload, or I didn't drink enough water, or it's my muscles recovering. I always seem to go up 2 and a half pounds the morning after I do 30 day shred or work out a lot.

    I just drink tons of water and stay away from anything too salty for the next few days. I usually drink like 8 or more 20 oz. bottles of water throughout the day and that seems to work for me.
  • RobinvdM
    RobinvdM Posts: 634 Member
    Its easy to gain weight rapidly.. especially if you ate super salty stuff, or if its yer uhm.. bloat week if you will .. just pay attention to how much water youre drinking for the next cpl days, eat your usual calorie limitation, and relax. Weight flux's all over the place sometimes, just to test our endurance in our commitment. Salt usually takes me 5 days to get out of my system, it loves me more than I love it :( Good luck and patience :)
  • TheVimFuego
    TheVimFuego Posts: 2,412 Member
    do what I do - BLAME THE SCALES!

    I think that's what I'm going to do. I mean, the scale I have is a couple of years old. I think I may need a new one....or one not from a thrift shop.

    Or save yourself some money and just not bother with scales.

    Think about it, no scales, no weight, no meaningless overnight water/poop/whatever variations to obsess about.

    No being defined by a number.

    No BMI.

    Just you, how your clothes fit and how you feel.

    Crazy talk, I know.
  • hughtwalker
    hughtwalker Posts: 2,213 Member
    do what I do - BLAME THE SCALES!

    I think that's what I'm going to do. I mean, the scale I have is a couple of years old. I think I may need a new one....or one not from a thrift shop.

    Nah! Let 'em live. They probably didn't mean it and will have repented by tomorrow.

    Are they on a solid floor or carpet ? - the other thing I do is kick them around until I find a bit of floor I like. When I bought new scales in August I put on 2 kilos - it was heartbreaking, but my wife said they were correct (and after 36 years I KNOW when not to argue - i.e. any day with a 'Y' in it)

    Anyway, as a mere male I don't have the excuses you do for fluid retention
  • ladymiseryali
    ladymiseryali Posts: 2,555 Member
    I have this same problem too and I've narrowed it down to either I had something REALLY salty the day before and it's just sodium overload, or I didn't drink enough water, or it's my muscles recovering. I always seem to go up 2 and a half pounds the morning after I do 30 day shred or work out a lot.

    I just drink tons of water and stay away from anything too salty for the next few days. I usually drink like 8 or more 20 oz. bottles of water throughout the day and that seems to work for me.

    I think I may try that. Drink as much water as I can and try to keep the sodium down. I know it's logically impossible to gain that much overnight, but it's frustrating to see the numbers moving up rather than down.
  • ladymiseryali
    ladymiseryali Posts: 2,555 Member
    do what I do - BLAME THE SCALES!

    I think that's what I'm going to do. I mean, the scale I have is a couple of years old. I think I may need a new one....or one not from a thrift shop.

    Nah! Let 'em live. They probably didn't mean it and will have repented by tomorrow.

    Are they on a solid floor or carpet ? - the other thing I do is kick them around until I find a bit of floor I like. When I bought new scales in August I put on 2 kilos - it was heartbreaking, but my wife said they were correct (and after 36 years I KNOW when not to argue - i.e. any day with a 'Y' in it)

    Anyway, as a mere male I don't have the excuses you do for fluid retention

    I weight in on a non-carpet surface with a digital scale. I hope the battery isn't going again. I guess I shall see in a few days.
  • hughtwalker
    hughtwalker Posts: 2,213 Member
    relax - I know someone with polycystic ovary syndrome - (she gave up on MFP when so many of the more charming specimens who post in here kept telling her that PCOS does not cause weight gain, just makes it more difficult to lose - like there's a difference [strewth!]) - anyway, she was getting anguished and giving me serious telephonic earache because she'd only lost a kilo in over a month - then she rang to say she'd given up on the scales because her clothes were so baggy that she measured herself and found she's lost 6 inches.

    there is often light at the end of the tunnel, and sometimes it even isn't an oncoming train

    trust me - I 'm a serial weight loser - I've done it hundreds of times (but this time either this is it or, at my age,THIS IS IT!)

    Best wishes
  • kvcreed
    kvcreed Posts: 29 Member
    3 lbs of fat would requires 10500 calories ABOVE TDEE and your body's max capacity to transport that to cells. Try drinking more water to reduce the salt retention.

    I count things in calories like this guy. I doubt you ate 10500 extra calories over night. :flowerforyou:


    I doubt I could even EAT o many calories extra over one day without serious planning on how to get it into me without throwing up...
  • hughtwalker
    hughtwalker Posts: 2,213 Member
    3 lbs of fat would requires 10500 calories ABOVE TDEE and your body's max capacity to transport that to cells. Try drinking more water to reduce the salt retention.

    I count things in calories like this guy. I doubt you ate 10500 extra calories over night. :flowerforyou:


    I doubt I could even EAT o many calories extra over one day without serious planning on how to get it into me without throwing up...
    I could give a go, though - if it helps
  • wendiewildthing
    wendiewildthing Posts: 3 Member
    Water weight i can gain 5 pounds in 1 night and it will be gone the next day sometimes if your body in not getting enough water it will retain it but i drink 8 glasses of water a day and eat good but if my body gets to much salt it will retain it everyone is driffrent
  • Madholm
    Madholm Posts: 167
    As everyone said it's just water weight from extra sodium. If I eat a pickle at night then I won't show any loss the next morning because of the water retention. Conversly you can spend your exercise calories on alchohol and show a bigger loss in the morning from slight dehydration.
  • ladymiseryali
    ladymiseryali Posts: 2,555 Member
    relax - I know someone with polycystic ovary syndrome - (she gave up on MFP when so many of the more charming specimens who post in here kept telling her that PCOS does not cause weight gain, just makes it more difficult to lose - like there's a difference [strewth!]) - anyway, she was getting anguished and giving me serious telephonic earache because she'd only lost a kilo in over a month - then she rang to say she'd given up on the scales because her clothes were so baggy that she measured herself and found she's lost 6 inches.

    there is often light at the end of the tunnel, and sometimes it even isn't an oncoming train

    trust me - I 'm a serial weight loser - I've done it hundreds of times (but this time either this is it or, at my age,THIS IS IT!)

    Best wishes

    Thank you. I also measure, but the only change this week was a half an inch off the hips, unless I'm measuring them wrong. I need to stop being a scale nazi....
  • Jessicapages1
    Jessicapages1 Posts: 114 Member
    You don't gain 3 pounds overnight!! It is just water weight!! :smile:
  • ladymiseryali
    ladymiseryali Posts: 2,555 Member
    As everyone said it's just water weight from extra sodium. If I eat a pickle at night then I won't show any loss the next morning because of the water retention. Conversly you can spend your exercise calories on alchohol and show a bigger loss in the morning from slight dehydration.

    I freaking hate water retention! But I'm drinking up water, so hopefully it helps!
  • tabinmaine
    tabinmaine Posts: 965 Member
    It's probably the carbs you had last night, they hold grams of water for every one you eat.... drink water and it will be gone tomorrow... :)
  • Everyone else has the right answer but the larger problem is the psychological roller coaster of the daily weigh-in. In my opinion, the daily weigh-in data is actually really useful - it keeps you honest and it should be done. But what to do with that number (besides freak out!)?

    The worst thing to do, in my opinion is to compare it directly with the previous day's number for all the reasons the folks here stated. You judge yourself based on that comparison then have a happy or sad day when it's really meaningless.

    The better thing to do (again in my opinion! grain of salt etc) is to put it into a program that gives you what's called a "smoothed average" of your weight. Even better if it's an "exponentially backed off smoothed average". What that means is just that you get a few days averaged into today's "weight", or even better with a little more consideration given to recent days, and you just focus on that average number.

    The best example I've seen of this is "The Hacker's Diet Online" (http://www.fourmilab.ch/hackdiet/online/hdo.html). I track my calories here in MFP, but I use their weight tracking because their chart is so nice, and takes me off the roller coaster.

    You can see an example here (and a few examples of where I would have totally freaked out but the happy red line progress allowed me to breath deeply and carry on...)

    weight_smoothed_average.png
  • amsohs85
    amsohs85 Posts: 166
    Why is it that the knee jerk reaction to weight gain is to fast? I really wish people would stop doing that. It's an over reaction and doesnt help the fluid retention issue. Aso you are messing with your metabolism everytime you sling shot back and forth with your calories. Besides you would have to eat massive quantities of food to gain a couple pounds and it wouldnt happen over night. Instead you need to keep track of your sodium and water intake as well as how your weight fluctuates on a regular basis. Since so many people are scale obsessed and traumatized they cant weigh themselves enough to notice how their bodys work because they become frantic over every ounce!! I weigh every morning and usually once or twice a day. This is done not to jump on any weight gain but to see how my body works. I now have a clearer view of the slight fluctuations that occur when i eat and during that time of the month!! Typically my weight goes up .5 to 1.5 pounds during the day and then falls back down again in the evening. During TOM it may vary by up to 3 pounds. A friend asked me how do you know if you're losing weight then? Because if you honestly lose weight you will still fluctuate but you will see a reduction in all the numbers not just in the morning. Example... Last week your morning weight was 165...later in the day it was 166.2. this week your morning weight is 163 and later in the day it's 164.8. You have in fact lost weight. But if your weight zigzags up and down all over the place you either need a better scale or you are not watching sodium and drinking enough water!