Can weight fluctuate up to 7 pounds?

Spiderkeys
Spiderkeys Posts: 338 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Okay im a scale freak, but the last 6 months I was doing excellent, tuesday I weighted exactly 80kg, looking great, only 1kg from the ideal weight and 5kg from my goal weight, until I thought It wouldn't hurt too much to have a cheat day drinking lots of beer with old mates and eating a lot more than usual the next day, thursday morning I got immediately back into my diet, I had gained 5 pounds, but expected an increase and wasn't panicing yet, two days later, the extra weight not only hasnt come off but I gained another 2 pounds (83kg), thats nearly a 7 pound increase since tuesday. Im logging accurating and keeping fit yet im "rewarded" with increasing weight gain.

So if I havent gained fat, how could I of gained 80-83kg in less than a week? I feel im watching weeks or even a month off my hard work come to nothing.
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Replies

  • slr90
    slr90 Posts: 212 Member
    Water retention? Salty foods can make my weight fluctuate really bad.
  • ItsABadger
    ItsABadger Posts: 23 Member
    Yeah it's most likely water retention.

    Don't feel too bad, my weight fluctuates by 10 pounds over a month :( Very annoying!
  • Kookyk9s
    Kookyk9s Posts: 259 Member
    Water retention? Salty foods can make my weight fluctuate really bad.

    Agreed
  • khoshgeleh16
    khoshgeleh16 Posts: 150 Member
    Yup, almost certainly water. A couple weeks ago I had a 6 pound gain overnight - after a day where I was well under my goal! I just carried on and made sure to hydrate better and it vanished nearly as quickly as it arrived!
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    Weight can fluctuate 5-10 pounds in any 24 hour period.
  • GiveMeCoffee
    GiveMeCoffee Posts: 3,556 Member
    My weight will fluctuate within a 5-10 lb range. So yes it can, but I also understand that it's normal and that doesn't bother me. I know if I have chinese food the next morning I'll be up close to 10 lbs.

    If it gets to you where you feel your hard work has been ruined, I would definitely suggest putting the scale away for awhile.
  • candacewoodburn
    candacewoodburn Posts: 7
    Beer is loaded with salt. Drink lots of water to get the water out that you are retaining.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    water retention and beer bloat. I've been maintaining for around 8 months now and on Friday I can weigh in around 179 and by Monday morning I'm around 186 due to I like drinking my beer on the weekend. A couple day of good livin' and I'm back to my average of 182.

    Also, eating more than usual will also cause you to replenish your glycogens stores. This is often what many bodybuilders who are on a cut call a "re-feed". This happens when you go to maintenance as well....when you are dieting you glycogen stores are constantly depleted...you eat to maintenance and they re-fill...it's pretty typical to go up about 3-5 Lbs with just glycogen when you go to maintenance.
  • Fullsterkur_woman
    Fullsterkur_woman Posts: 2,712 Member
    Why would you expect to get different answers about this? Did you think I was pulling your leg?
  • Spiderkeys
    Spiderkeys Posts: 338 Member
    Ok, yes extremely but im feeling if it increases any more, more water retention or not, i'm about to lose my appetite completely.
  • survivor1952
    survivor1952 Posts: 250 Member
    Great question! One day last week I went over my calorie goal by about 200 calories. Next morning I was up 3 pounds. And it took days to see it go down to normal. I thought water retention too but I drank extra water to flush out any sodium & not much success. I too am addicted to my scale, have to weigh myself every morning after my shower. That is me, I need to check in every morning to keep my positive attitude up. But days like those are depressing. :sad:
  • craigheon
    craigheon Posts: 167 Member
    I have to agree with everyone, sounds like water retention. You probably had a lot of salt / beer that evening out with your buddies. Try not to harp on the scale so much. You've put in the hard work, and your body will eventually catch back up and get you where you want to be, as long as you aren't doing this every night!
  • Spiderkeys
    Spiderkeys Posts: 338 Member
    Why would you expect to get different answers about this? Did you think I was pulling your leg?

    no I got your answer in mind, but I didn't expect to continue gaining.
  • Fullsterkur_woman
    Fullsterkur_woman Posts: 2,712 Member
    Beer is loaded with salt. Drink lots of water to get the water out that you are retaining.
    no_michael_bluth.gif

    http://lmgtfy.com/?q=how+much+sodium+is+in+beer?
  • chelledawg14
    chelledawg14 Posts: 509 Member
    This has happened to me over and over... In fact, even eating better and cutting sugar, the scale had me gaining 5 lbs over two days. It's frustrating, but try not to be discouraged.
  • kie_kie
    kie_kie Posts: 106 Member
    If I eat a full meal from a fast food restaurant e.g. burger fries and soda, the next day i can gain all of 6lbs :(
  • Fullsterkur_woman
    Fullsterkur_woman Posts: 2,712 Member
    Ok, yes extremely but im feeling if it increases any more, more water retention or not, i'm about to lose my appetite completely.
    Do you not see how this is an unhealthy attitude? I'm not even kidding; this is a disordered eating mindset.

    If you can, just be patient and eat at a deficit (SMALLER than you have been doing, for the love of pete!) and the weight will come back off. If you can't, then I suggest you look up a counselor who specializes in eating disorders.
  • Spiderkeys
    Spiderkeys Posts: 338 Member
    Oh thanks didn't know beer had so much sodium in it, MFP puts my 15 beers at 0 sodium, just been freaking out and different opinions don't hurt. :)
  • Lsobriens
    Lsobriens Posts: 4 Member
    For every cup of "bad" fluids, (high in calories or high in caffeine like coffee) you have to drink 4 x's that to flush your system. If you drink coffee, after beer, it makes it way worse. Between that and salty foods, I have gained as much as 5 lb. in water and I only weigh at 130 lbs. when at a healthy weight. You could easily gain 7.
  • Spiderkeys
    Spiderkeys Posts: 338 Member
    If you drink coffee, after beer, it makes it way worse. Between that and salty foods, I have gained as much as 5 lb. in water and I only weigh at 130 lbs. when at a healthy weight. You could easily gain 7.

    Could be it, I been drinking litres of Pepsi Max after my beer session, hardly touched any water, I think tommorow I try a big pure water day then see what happens :|
  • Greenrun99
    Greenrun99 Posts: 2,065 Member
    Ya scale jumps that much for me.. usually when I have frozen foods (fries, boneless chicken wings, etc)..
  • WDEvy
    WDEvy Posts: 814 Member
    If I eat out and get a really high sodium day I'm normally gonna hold up to 8 lbs of water weight for about 10 days.
  • Fullsterkur_woman
    Fullsterkur_woman Posts: 2,712 Member
    For every cup of "bad" fluids, (high in calories or high in caffeine like coffee) you have to drink 4 x's that to flush your system. If you drink coffee, after beer, it makes it way worse. Between that and salty foods, I have gained as much as 5 lb. in water and I only weigh at 130 lbs. when at a healthy weight. You could easily gain 7.
    I call BS. Did you just read that on the interwebz, or do you have a peer-reviewed publication to cite for that?
  • Fullsterkur_woman
    Fullsterkur_woman Posts: 2,712 Member
    Oh thanks didn't know beer had so much sodium in it, MFP puts my 15 beers at 0 sodium, just been freaking out and different opinions don't hurt. :)
    It doesn't. Assuming you had 15 pints (16 oz.) as opposed to 20 oz. cans, that's about the same amount of sodium in one single pound of chicken breast.
  • Fullsterkur_woman
    Fullsterkur_woman Posts: 2,712 Member
    If you drink coffee, after beer, it makes it way worse. Between that and salty foods, I have gained as much as 5 lb. in water and I only weigh at 130 lbs. when at a healthy weight. You could easily gain 7.

    Could be it, I been drinking litres of Pepsi Max after my beer session, hardly touched any water, I think tommorow I try a big pure water day then see what happens :|
    There's no harm in drinking plenty of plain water. Just don't drink too much, water intoxication is a real thing. I'm not going to look up an upper limit for you, but you can safely drink a gallon (about 4 liters) over the course of the day (don't drink it all at once!), and that'll be just fine.
  • wink212
    wink212 Posts: 46 Member
    There is almost NO sodium in beer.
  • TheSageMage
    TheSageMage Posts: 18
    Yes, water retention can cause you to fluctuate. By how much? Every body is different and will react differently.

    I see a lot of people mentioning salt, but I've noticed that in my diet which is low in carbs and higher in fat and protein, with a high percent of sodium as well, that my first week was a loss of about 7lb which I attributed to water weight.

    There can be a lot of causes of water retention, and if I were you I would get in the habit of doing your weighing at a specific time, the mornings are usually best as your body would have settled during sleep. I usually do this, take my morning piss then weigh myself and I consider it accurate.
  • stefanieraya
    stefanieraya Posts: 110 Member
    If you drink coffee, after beer, it makes it way worse. Between that and salty foods, I have gained as much as 5 lb. in water and I only weigh at 130 lbs. when at a healthy weight. You could easily gain 7.

    Could be it, I been drinking litres of Pepsi Max after my beer session, hardly touched any water, I think tommorow I try a big pure water day then see what happens :|
    There's no harm in drinking plenty of plain water. Just don't drink too much, water intoxication is a real thing. I'm not going to look up an upper limit for you, but you can safely drink a gallon (about 4 liters) over the course of the day (don't drink it all at once!), and that'll be just fine.

    It is almost impossible to drink too much water. Most people are not hydrated enough.

    Diets do not work. You need to find something that works for you for the long term. Find a proven program that addresses all the body's hormones that is backed by scientific research. Don't listen to the commercials for Jenny Craig or whatever Marie Osmond is selling these days. I've tried those and to eat that food for an entire month is awful and you will quit!
    If you want a true lifestyle change, friend request me and I'll advise you on what I'm doing.
  • mortuseon
    mortuseon Posts: 579 Member
    Mine does during my period.

    I presume you're not menstruating, but the water retention issue is probably the same.
  • Fullsterkur_woman
    Fullsterkur_woman Posts: 2,712 Member
    It is almost impossible to drink too much water. Most people are not hydrated enough.

    It's really not.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_intoxication#Notable_cases

    But there's a big difference between drinking 1.5 gallons of water in an hour and in a day. That's why I said I wasn't going to google an upper limit for him, because I didn't want him taking that risk.

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