Weight gain over weekend!

lbamford82
lbamford82 Posts: 17 Member
in Motivation and Support
I don't have a great deal of weight to lose, around 10lbs, and i'm not overweight but would like to look just a little better. I have been doing well and losing around 1lb per week for the last few weeks. Unfortunately I had a busy weekend this week and ate out with family and perhaps took my eye off the ball a little. I jumped on the scale this morning nly to find that i have actually gained 4lbs!

I can't give up at this stage but feel disheartened as at this rate it will take me 4 weeks to lose the extra weight to get back to how i was just 3 days ago :sad: Any ideas? I enjoy running and do this 3 times a week, any chance the extra weekend weight wil drop off any quicker than normal weight?

Replies

  • drop_it_like_a_squat
    drop_it_like_a_squat Posts: 377 Member
    Don't go crazy about those 4lbs. Since you gained them in only 2 days, it's more likely to be water weight. 2 days of unhealthy eating wont ruin your progress of 4 weeks. Just get back to normal.
  • KhinoHoang
    KhinoHoang Posts: 59
    Just get back on track. You most likely just have sodium and water retained.

    You'll be fine. lol.
  • melindasuefritz
    melindasuefritz Posts: 3,509 Member
    ower ccalories. mor e exercise
  • lbamford82
    lbamford82 Posts: 17 Member
    Phew! Thanks for your replies, it's so easy to become irrational and start to sweat the small stuff. I guess I just have to monitor more carefully over the next week or so and maybe run a little further and harder if I can do. I'm still learning about the whole weight loss thing and don't want to become a weight loss bore with my friends, family and work colleagues so it's easier to post on here when i have these panics/questions.
  • SenseiCole
    SenseiCole Posts: 429 Member
    A quote or two

    Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway.

    "instead of focusing on the weight of your body going down, focus on the weight of your dumbells going up"

    "Take charge. Write your own story."
  • lbamford82
    lbamford82 Posts: 17 Member
    If i drink more water, will this aid in losing those extra pounds gained?
  • SirgS
    SirgS Posts: 21
    If i drink more water, will this aid in losing those extra pounds gained?

    Water for most of us is a filler - so having a glass of water before dinner is a big help. Also the bodily messages are hard to distinguish between hunger and thirst. By drinking more water throughout the day you curb those hanger pains you feel through the day which normally leads to snacking. It helps but you still have to be conscious about your decisions.

    Weight loss is rather simple. Calories in vs Calories out. That is the basics, keep your calories in as good calories at least 85% of the time and you will find that the 15% of junk foods, going out to eat, etc will lessen over time. This helps you keep cravings for unhealthy food down while still being able to go out with friends. This can easily equate to 1 cheat day a week.
  • lbamford82
    lbamford82 Posts: 17 Member
    Cool thanks xx
  • mikeyrp
    mikeyrp Posts: 1,616 Member
    1lb Fat ~ 3,500 KCals: That's up OR down.. so unless you ate a total of 14,000 KCal over your maintenance calories this weekend, you haven't put on 4lb of fat.


    Almost certainly what has happened is that you have some additional water retention, and/or have some food still being digested.

    Keep an eye on the scale over the next week and find out what the real damage is - most likely it will be 1lb max. Make next weekend a better one and everything will be fine :)
  • BoogeyBrat
    BoogeyBrat Posts: 212 Member
    First off, relax. Unless you were eating buttercream icing straight from one of those 5 gallon bakery buckets, or indulging in whole sticks of deep fried butter I don't think it's possible to gain 4 pounds of true weight in 2 days. With 3,500 calories in a pound you would have had to have consumed an additional 7,000 calories on both Saturday and Sunday for that to have happen, and I doubt that was the case. Anything that high in calories would have made you sick from the richness IMO. It's more than likely water weight.
    If i drink more water, will this aid in losing those extra pounds gained?
    .
    For me it works like a charm, even though it seems counterintuitive to get rid of water weight by drinking more water. I believe it flushes out excess sodium, which causes you to retain less fluid.

    Did you drink enough water over the weekend? If I skimp on my water intake I'll see upward spikes of almost 5 lbs sometimes, which is a scary thing. What I do to beat it is drink water, and very often. I'll aim for like 9-10 8 oz glasses on a day I see a spike like that, and at least 8 the following day and it's usually gone by the day after.

    Eat especially salty foods? I can't even look at a Chinese buffet without gaining 2 lbs in water weight right then and there. Again, lots of water will take care of it within a few days.

    Something else that makes my weight spike is alcoholic beverages. Even one shot or one beer will show up as a 2 lb gain the next morning. Again to beat it I up my water intake. It's not the calories, my theory is it's the dehydrating effect of the beverage which triggers water retention.

    One last explanation for the gain: Have you moved your scale? My roommates will move my scale around the bathroom either weighing themselves or accidentally bump it out of place while picking up towels or whatever and the next time I weigh in on it it will show an increase/decrease of up to 2 lbs. If your scale has been moved, this might account for a sudden gain.
  • lbamford82
    lbamford82 Posts: 17 Member
    Thanks so much everyone for their help so far. I have never posted before but after such a shock this morning I was feeling so disheartened and ready to give up. Your comments have really spurred me on not to lose heart and to keep trying, afterall i don't have a great deal to lose so it would be a shame to give up now.
  • shelbymkoenig
    shelbymkoenig Posts: 59 Member
    The same thing happened to me over Easter, weekends are my bad days anyway. I was caught back up in a week without doing anything differently. Don't fret.
  • lambchoplewis
    lambchoplewis Posts: 797
    This happens to me every time I go out and eat/drink some. I can gain 3-4 lbs overnight but... I get right back on track and in 3 or so days, I am back to my maintenance weight. Even if you feel like crap the day after eating too much, get back on track. I weigh my self every day (this is controversial) so that I don't let the weight trend up over time. I don't get neurotic if I am following the program and still gain 1-2 lbs overnight. It just makes me more determined to succeed!!!!
  • yelldan22
    yelldan22 Posts: 35 Member
    I gained 2 1/2 pounds over the weekend, but I know that is because of a few factors. One being I drank a ton of wine and other stuff Saturday night and ate fairly badly. On top of that I danced the night away and my legs are aching so bad today. I also ate horrible hangover food yesterday. I know I didn't go 14,000 calories over maintenance because I tracked most of yesterdays food. Because my legs hurt I know my muscles are holding excess water on top of water retention from kind of dehydrating myself Saturday night. Stick to your plan this week and drink plenty of water. Maybe get a few more work outs in, and the scale will go back to normal. It is disheartening to see the scale jump like that, but it is all part of life. One day or weekend isn't going to wreck all the hard work we put in as long as it is over you get right back to tracking and watching what you eat and drink.
  • Elegra2006
    Elegra2006 Posts: 144 Member
    Don't worry, it's not 'fat' weight, it's food or water retention weight.

    On Tuesday, after two days of bad food choices I had 'gained' 4lbs, after one day of being back on track (normal cals and exercise) I'd lost 3 of those and by the end of the week, I'd theoretically lost all 4 + another 2lbs! (And I was eating normally and exercising normally). So what I'm saying is, seriously don't get hung up on the numbers, I weigh every day as an indicator of what's going on with my body but I don't get psyched out when I see a sudden gain after some bad food choices. You've not suddenly got fat again!

    Take it easy.
  • pcrossen
    pcrossen Posts: 1
    For wine drinkers--I am a wine drinker also and I have cut back that to max of 2 glasses per occasion (for the most part). As you may know, when you're liver has to process alcohol it gets busy and doesn't burn fat while processing the alcohol. My understanding is this is why heavy drinkers retain belly fat. So goes for medications and processed food. If your liver is having to process other things, it is not burning fat at that time. Just passing on, as I didn't really think about that over the past 10 years since I became an avid wine drinker and also gained 20 lbs. Of course, part of that was being too sedentary also! I've also read not to have a cheat day but just one cheat meal per week. A cheat day can sabotage you're weeks progress. Moderation, always a good goal! Hope it's a healthy day!!
  • mazdauk
    mazdauk Posts: 1,380 Member
    1) Switch your weighing days to Friday :wink:
    2) try to save yourself some calories for the weekend - if you use the app, there's a bit where you can see a weekly view, which shows if you're under or over each day and the average for the week. By Saturday morning you can see how many calories you already have for the weekend - and if you've been good you'll have a few spares:happy:
  • babyblooz
    babyblooz Posts: 220 Member
    First off, relax. Unless you were eating buttercream icing straight from one of those 5 gallon bakery buckets, or indulging in whole sticks of deep fried butter I don't think it's possible to gain 4 pounds of true weight in 2 days.

    Wait... you're NOT supposed to do that? :sad:






    :wink:
  • gnzlsg
    gnzlsg Posts: 20 Member
    i gained like 4 since yesterday, but my real weight will comeback in a day or two and I'll go back to my pre-weekend weight. Dont worry, but stay on track and these extra pounds will fall back off as if they weren't there like before.
  • lbamford82
    lbamford82 Posts: 17 Member
    So everybodys help seems to be working, I weighed again this morning and i have dropped a pound already, will keep drinking water and carry on eating as i have been.

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