Put on a huge amount of weight in a few days. Panic

Hi.

I have been off work on holiday for the last week and we have been out doing fun activities. There have been some meals out which now I am massively regretting.

I put on 2lbs after going to a posh Gorden Ramsey restaraunt. That wasn't that bad because I spent alot of time walking round London and it was a lovely experience. I was healthy and active the next day as I took my horse to the beach. The next day I had half a thinn pizza from prezzo. Then had a nice evening meal (a few courses but was posh so very small amounts) with 2 glasses of wine. Yesterday I had fruit and toast with a little scrambled egg for breakfast at the hotel then had broccoli and asparagus (which is my most common diet meal) for the evening.

Just weighed myself and I weigh 8lbs more so 10lbs of weight since Monday morning.

I am devastated.

I know its been a holiday, a one off and I've not been good. I expected to put on a few lbs but 10....

I was close to tears as I saw the number on the scales
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Replies

  • wildapril
    wildapril Posts: 97 Member
    I don't think you gained 10 lbs of fat. You may have gained a little, but I bet most of it is water weight caused by retention and stress and maybe sodium. To gain 10 lbs of fat, you'd have to eat an extra 35,000 calories. It sounds like you ate really healthy food the whole time - wow! That's a hard thing to do on vacation!

    Also, are you using the same scale that you normally use?
  • axialmeow
    axialmeow Posts: 382 Member
    It's probably water weight. 1lb fat=3500 calories. So, unlikely you ate 35,000 calories over what you burned in that short amount of time. But restaurant food, even "posh" upscale food is loaded with sodium and can make you retain water. I would go back to eating like you normally do and not look at the scale for at least a week.
  • AliceRabbit13
    AliceRabbit13 Posts: 138 Member
    Go take a dump. Bet the numbers come down then :)
  • vickijay
    vickijay Posts: 49 Member
    I did cry. It is so depressing. I hope some of it at least is salt. It's just so crap that 4 days could undo 2 months worth of dieting.
  • sannsk
    sannsk Posts: 203 Member
    Your hard work won't be undone. Drink lots and lots of water to clear your system, probably to much sodium as said here before.
    I never weigh on holidays :) nor eat healthy :) good job!
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    I did cry. It is so depressing. I hope some of it at least is salt. It's just so crap that 4 days could undo 2 months worth of dieting.

    Do the math as suggested to prove what it is and is not.

    10 lbs, if fat, would mean 35,000 calories, surplus, oven what you normally eat, over your deficit, over your exercise calories, and 7000 extra calories each and every day.

    Did you eat 10,000 calories each and every day?

    Then it can't be fat.

    Stop crying about it and stressing about it, or you will cause hormone problems with the stress and make it difficult to flush out the water.

    What this does probably mean though, is you've probably been eating too little for your level of activity, and your glucose stores are always very low, and you finally topped them off - that's 3 lbs worth right there easily.

    You may have also had your last weigh-in at an invalid time, and really had false weight loss of a 1 or 2 lbs.
    Did you do cardio the night before your last weigh-in, did you not drink as much water as normal? False weight loss anyway at last weigh-in.

    And what in the world are you weighing at night for, stop that.

    Now false gain.

    Keep pressing on.
  • helyg
    helyg Posts: 675 Member
    Where did the OP say she weighed herself at night? She said she just weighed herself - i.e. this morning.

    I agree that it is pretty unlikely you have put that much fat on that quickly. Wait a few days and see what happens.
  • witchy_wife
    witchy_wife Posts: 792 Member
    I agree with the others, not 10lb of fat! Seriously dry your tears hunnie and get back on the bandwagon. I always find if I have a blip day I will gain like 3-4lbs in a day, but a couple of days eating right usually sees it straight back down. Like others have said, I think sodium has a lot to do with it.
  • vickijay
    vickijay Posts: 49 Member
    I did cry. It is so depressing. I hope some of it at least is salt. It's just so crap that 4 days could undo 2 months worth of dieting.

    Do the math as suggested to prove what it is and is not.

    10 lbs, if fat, would mean 35,000 calories, surplus, oven what you normally eat, over your deficit, over your exercise calories, and 7000 extra calories each and every day.

    Did you eat 10,000 calories each and every day?

    Then it can't be fat.

    Stop crying about it and stressing about it, or you will cause hormone problems with the stress and make it difficult to flush out the water.

    What this does probably mean though, is you've probably been eating too little for your level of activity, and your glucose stores are always very low, and you finally topped them off - that's 3 lbs worth right there easily.

    You may have also had your last weigh-in at an invalid time, and really had false weight loss of a 1 or 2 lbs.
    Did you do cardio the night before your last weigh-in, did you not drink as much water as normal? False weight loss anyway at last weigh-in.

    And what in the world are you weighing at night for, stop that.

    Now false gain.

    Keep pressing on.

    I was wondering if I was eating enough calories before but I was still loosing weight so didn't worry about it too much.

    Can you or someone explain what glucose stores are to me?

    I only cried a teeny bit. It just felt all a bit much. I have been so good for so long this is the first time I've eaten out since April and it just felt overwhelming that I could undo 2 months of such hard work in 4 days.
  • vickijay
    vickijay Posts: 49 Member
    Ps I was nowhere near 10,000 calories per day. I wouldn't of thought it was even in the 3,000 range. Plus I just (wasn't when I wrote my first post) came on so maybe that coupled with extra sodium etc has had a effect
  • Go take a dump. Bet the numbers come down then :)

    Keep an eye on your bowel movements and your sodium intake. It's probably travel-stress induced. Drink a lot more water!
  • sweetchildomine
    sweetchildomine Posts: 872 Member
    In July I went on a buffet cruise for my Mom's birthday. When I came home I weighed 8 pounds heavier...the next day I drank a lot of water and took a poo. I weighed myself after and I had already lost 5 pounds LOL. Don't worry too much about it. Just move on and keep doing what you were doing before your holiday!
  • mogletdeluxe
    mogletdeluxe Posts: 623 Member
    I echo all that everyone has said so far, plus a bit of my own personal experience for comfort.

    I went on holiday in September this year at 10 stone 2 (142lb). I came back, one week later, at 11 stone 3 (157lb). And that was with me going to the hotel gym every day too.

    It happens - when I relax my diet some, my body relaxes too. If I have a lot of salty food, the sodium bloat is loud and proud. It's not fat - just your body reacting to different foods.

    A lot of water and week of exercise later - back to 142lb. It happens, please don't panic.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    Check the batteries in your scale.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    Weight that goes on that fast also tends to come off fast as realistically it would be impossible to add 10lbs of fat in such a short time.
    My holiday week in September saw me gain 7lbs despite daily gym sessions and loads of walking and swimming. Took about 10 days to lose it again.
    If seeing the numbers upsets you so much put the scales away for a week and just keep on doing the right things.
  • vickijay
    vickijay Posts: 49 Member
    Thanks everyone. Hearing that this isn't that unusual is making me feel much better. It was just horrible to think that I could undo 2 months work in 4 days...
  • missprincessgina
    missprincessgina Posts: 446 Member
    We travel a lot and while most vacations, I work out and eat right, there have been a few trips that I've come home literally busting out of my clothes. Like over 2 weeks in Australia with a group of people. Not one day of exercise and lots of good food :) had me pretty miserable once back in the US.

    10 lbs is not that bad. Most of that weight (if it were me) would be bloating due to the severe change in diet. Drink lots of water and eat really clean for the next few days. Lots of veggies and fruit. Work out, when I come home from vacation I'll normally commit 2 hours a day to working out for 3 days just to get those vacation pounds off.

    One word to the wise ... on a trip to Chicago, I ate all this rich food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Just really went off the wagon for 5 or 6 days. (I've maintained a normal weight now for 15 years and am a healthy eater who eats a plant based diet with some meat and carbs) When I got home, I had to be hospitalized for 5 days because the change in diet was too much for my body to handle and I had an intestinal blockage. It really made me think about splurging on vacation. I need to be more careful and I'll never eat deep dish pizza 4 days in a row!!!
  • I know how you feel. I put on 5lb in three days.... but reading the posts on this thread has cheered me up, perhaps I had water retention and ate too much salt (I had been to all you can eat buffet the night before).... hopefully the scales will look better next week!
  • lauren3101
    lauren3101 Posts: 1,853 Member
    I had a similar thing not so long ago, I had a week 'off', didn't eat atrociously but gained 7lb in a week. I went straight back on it after my holiday, ate as normal and drank loads of water and lost 8lb in 7 days.

    It will more than likely be water retention. Give it a week. get back on it and don't stress yourself.
  • vickijay
    vickijay Posts: 49 Member
    Thanks everyone. Calmness has returned (with a tiny bit of worry that your all just trying to be nice!!)
  • marycmeadows
    marycmeadows Posts: 1,691 Member
    I did cry. It is so depressing. I hope some of it at least is salt. It's just so crap that 4 days could undo 2 months worth of dieting.

    this isn't possible. take a chill pill.
  • divacat80
    divacat80 Posts: 299 Member
    That happens to me on some cheat days. The scale numbers go up like that (even up to 2.5 pounds!) for a few days and they eventually come down. The worse episode i had it in the last two weeks(i retained the weight for those two weeks, imagine my panic!) but it seems that it was also related to my monthly cycle. And now all of a sudden it was all gone today, plus an extra half pound.
    Don't panic! Even if you did gain some fat, it will go away if you keep working hard at it.
  • Yeah, no worries it will FLY off and mostly water. I remember going on a cruise and gained 22lbs in a week lol... At least 10 of them was fat but 12 fell off in a week no problem lol
  • diana109
    diana109 Posts: 113 Member
    This has happened to me as well, but once you get back on track it just drops off. Too much sodium and water retention can do this. Just get back on track and it will be gone quickly!
  • Cranktastic
    Cranktastic Posts: 1,517 Member
    The scale is a filthy lying W (rhymes with door)
    Sodium, etc was high.

    Continue as normal and it will drop off
    This is the reason I never even weigh in for 2 or 3 days after a vacation.
  • dillydally123
    dillydally123 Posts: 139 Member
    W doesn't actually rhyme with door.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    Where did the OP say she weighed herself at night? She said she just weighed herself - i.e. this morning.

    I agree that it is pretty unlikely you have put that much fat on that quickly. Wait a few days and see what happens.

    "Just weighed myself" - timestamp 12:20 am.
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
    Where did the OP say she weighed herself at night? She said she just weighed herself - i.e. this morning.

    I agree that it is pretty unlikely you have put that much fat on that quickly. Wait a few days and see what happens.

    "Just weighed myself" - timestamp 12:20 am.

    Different time zone, apparently.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    I was wondering if I was eating enough calories before but I was still loosing weight so didn't worry about it too much.

    Can you or someone explain what glucose stores are to me?

    Do you really want to only lose weight, no matter what it is?
    Or do you want to only lose fat?
    You can end up skinny fat as many do, thin muffin top squeezing out of pants whenever you bend, then arms flapping in the breeze, ect.

    Eat too little for your level of activity, have the wrong exercise, and not eat enough protein, and you'll lose muscle mass, lowering your metabolism, and under-eating also lowers metabolism more than even that would cause. Bad combo for being able to continue losing well or go into maintenance later.

    Just because you can pound a finish nail in with a sledgehammer doesn't mean it's the best way to do it.

    Glucose stores are limited, around 400-450 calories worth in your liver, keeps the blood sugar where your body wants it, always topped off after a meal with any carbs in it, if not, excess amino acids converted to it. If none, muscle is broken down to convert to it.
    Stores in your muscles range from 500-2000 depending on your exercise type and how fit you are and how much muscle you got. 1 gram of glucose stores with 2.7 g of water, meaning 500 cal worth weighs 1 lb. Those stores are only usable by the muscle they are in, can't be put in the bloodstream for use elsewhere. Once gone, liver stores used by the muscle. If that's too low, get ready for muscle breakdown to convert for usage. (fat is used as energy this entire time too, low intensity about 50% fat, high intensity can be none).

    That's weight that increases your metabolism too, so desired weight. Besides fluctuating weight.

    But if one decent unusual day of carbs of 500 excess of what is needed, and you weight goes up 1 lb, your stores were low already. Bad state to be in, missing out on extra Lean Body Mass that increases metabolism. Plus needed energy stores.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    Where did the OP say she weighed herself at night? She said she just weighed herself - i.e. this morning.

    I agree that it is pretty unlikely you have put that much fat on that quickly. Wait a few days and see what happens.

    "Just weighed myself" - timestamp 12:20 am.

    Different time zone, apparently.

    Very true, the use of lbs limited by thinking to the US timezones only, so still night time. But there are US folks around the world and others thinking and reporting in lbs.