How long does it take for weight gain..

How long does it take for a pound of weight gain to show on the scale? I'm curious because I over ate two days in a row ( Christmas and day after Christmas) and my scale says one pound of weight gain. Could I have put on weight that fast?

Replies

kiwitechgirl

You might be a pound heavier but it's very unlikely that it's a pound of actual gain. To put on weight that fast you'd have to have eaten 3500 calories over maintenance. Water weight or a full digestive tract are likely to have an impact.

indianarunner76

After Xmas the scale was up almost a pound for me. That day I went back to normal routine and next day weight back to what it was xmas morning. More than likely water weight that is causing gain unless you ate over 3500 calories over your maintenance. I wouldn't worry too much

WhisperAnne

I'm almost always bloated so it's probably water weight, hope it isn't actual fat. I don't know how many calories I had those two days. I didn't keep track.

indianarunner76

From my experience, I always make sure and drink a lot of water during thanksgiving and xmas because normally the food is high in sodium.

Just get back on track and you'll be fine.

unFATuated

Sodium, water weight etc. Even if you did eat enough to gain some fat, it is unlikely that the whole pound would be fat. Drink plenty of water, get back on track food-wise and you will be okay. Promise.

WhisperAnne

I hear it takes about 3 days for actual weight gain to happen. I'll check my weight tomorrow before I eat or drink and record it since tomorrow will be 5 days since my pig out on Christmas.

Andy_Chow

You should always take weight averages (like 7 last day average) in order to cancel random fluctuations (sodium, bulk, hydration (related to sodium but also dehydration if drinking a lot), hormones, periods, etc)

Actual weight gain happens right away. You can see it on the scale. Drink a litre of water, and bam, you've gained a kilo. It's real weight gain, but will go away with evaporation.

I've had decadent 6000+ calorie meals. But that's intense. Christmas is intense. Actual 1 lbs gain, like other people have said, requires 3500 calories above daily expenditures. Which is unlikely, unless you're a pig like me and can eat until you hallucinate and not even walk.

BTW, for those curious, my Christmas supper was 4 smoked meat sandwiches, 1/2 lbs of cheeses (various), 1/2 lbs rillette, one french baguette, 1.5 bottles of red wine, two bowls of beef bourginon, 1 bowl of jambalaya, 1/2 a French Canadian meat pie, some turkey, various entrees (smoked salmon, lobster rolls, foie gras, etc), various deserts (potato cakes, sucre à la crème, crème chantilly), and various other things I don't care to remember. I estimate that meal as at least 6000 calories. I don't want to know the real number. I couldn't think clearly afterwards, but it's this time of year, so why not?

I ate this way (not as much, but out of control), pretty much every meal for about three days and gained 5 lbs. Of real fat. It showed 10 lbs initially but a lot of that was water because the sodium.

sunsetzen

This Christmas, I gained and lost 5 pounds. Water weight and constipation.

Jestinia

I can gain almost a pound in a day if I'm really cutting loose. A pound in two days? Easy. But for those less piggish than me it's usually at least partly water weight! :blushing: