How to differentiate water retention & fat gained?

Wingg_
Wingg_ Posts: 395 Member
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
I'm maintaining now but I've gained a kg since yesterday and I'm not sure if it's water retention or fat gained how can I differentiate it? Do you consider it weight gain after your weight go up after a few days without dropping or after a week? I need to be able to tell them apart so that I can adjust my maintenance calories. Please help!
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Replies

  • MACnificence
    MACnificence Posts: 419 Member
    Well if your up over 2Ibs in a day unless you ate 7000 calories OVER maintainance yesterday it is most definitely a fluctuation

    Weight will fluctuate daily in maintainance , depending on food intake / workouts etc..

    Best give yourself a weight range and not a stable number because fluctuations are going to happen
  • Followingsea
    Followingsea Posts: 407 Member
    The generally accepted figure is 1 pound of fat = ~3500 stored calories.

    Did you eat 8,100 calories more than you burned yesterday?

    No?

    It's water.
  • SonicDeathMonkey80
    SonicDeathMonkey80 Posts: 4,489 Member
    Best thing you can do while in maintenance is to quit weighing yourself every single day. You'll go mad!
  • MyRummyHens
    MyRummyHens Posts: 141 Member
    That has to be water. You'd have done well to have eaten 7000 calories over your maintenance rate in 24 hours! I find my weight can fluctuate by 3-4lbs (morning measurements) based on TOM and what I've eaten. It's all water and it leaves as quickly as it arrives.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    If you ate at a deficit.

    If you were in a deficit and gained it is usually one of 2 things, water retention, or undigested/passed food in your system.
  • shazz477
    shazz477 Posts: 2
    How do i set it to matain my weight
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    Best thing you can do while in maintenance is to quit weighing yourself every single day. You'll go mad!
    Or alternatively weigh every day and understand that your weight isn't a constant and fluctuations are entirely normal....
    Set a weight range and not one number.
  • Wingg_
    Wingg_ Posts: 395 Member
    I definitely did not over eat by 7000calories but I am just worried that it may be the calories accumulated because I might have been eating the wrong maintenance calories.
  • SonicDeathMonkey80
    SonicDeathMonkey80 Posts: 4,489 Member
    Best thing you can do while in maintenance is to quit weighing yourself every single day. You'll go mad!
    Or alternatively weigh every day and understand that your weight isn't a constant and fluctuations are entirely normal....
    Set a weight range and not one number.

    That too. It took moving cross country and not having my scale for a month to finally quit obsessing over it. I have a range of +/-2lbs, and also get a quarterly Bod Pod assessment. As long as I can see my abs in the morning it's all good :)
  • SpecialSundae
    SpecialSundae Posts: 795 Member
    I'm maintaining now but I've gained a kg since yesterday and I'm not sure if it's water retention or fat gained how can I differentiate it? Do you consider it weight gain after your weight go up after a few days without dropping or after a week? I need to be able to tell them apart so that I can adjust my maintenance calories. Please help!

    What everyone has already said about calories is correct. Unless you've over-eaten by over 7700 calories in a day, you haven't gained 1kg in fat.

    Also, water retention has a totally different feel from fat. There's quite a specific spongy feel to it and once you can recognise that it will help.
  • Murph1908
    Murph1908 Posts: 125 Member
    Definitely set a range. If your goal weight is 135, don't stress about anything unless you hit 140. If you do, go back to a deficit until you hit the 135 again.

    If you maintain properly, you should never hit that 140 number.

    I disagree with the suggestion of not weighing every day, though. If you weigh only once a week, you might hit your high point for the week every time, especially if you eat high sodium foods consistently on the day or days before.

    I weigh every day, looking for the new low number, knowing that it'll fluctuate up. If I weighed twice a week, I might have missed my low on Monday this week. To me, it's more discouraging to not see the loss than to see normal fluctuations.
  • threshkreen
    threshkreen Posts: 79 Member
    Maintenance is not hard IF you realize that it does not mean going to back to the way you "used" to eat. If you want to eat fast food, pizza, fancy coffee from Starbucks all the time, you will zip right on back up the scale.

    The successful way to maintain is to eat the way you learned to while losing, but perhaps just a tad more...Keep logging...seriously. This is important. and weigh once a week. Your weight will fluctuate due to salt intake, water intake (too little and you will hold water.) on a daily basis so it's best to not weigh daily. I agree with whomever above me said to set a range and when you hit the high range...enter into deficit eating again. Enjoy your new size...but don't stress over it.
  • jmp463
    jmp463 Posts: 266 Member
    Best thing you can do while in maintenance is to quit weighing yourself every single day. You'll go mad!
    Or alternatively weigh every day and understand that your weight isn't a constant and fluctuations are entirely normal....
    Set a weight range and not one number.

    Agreed - Once I started doing that I stopped going crazy if my weight went up on any given day. You see the fluctuations up but you also see all the drops. Helped me understand the way my body reacts to certain things.
  • husseycd
    husseycd Posts: 814 Member
    Well, I "gained" 7 lbs over the weekend. I know it's water weight. One, I ate tons of carbs on Saturday and since I don't usually eat bread and I know carbs hold water, I can assume some of the water weight is from that. Then yesterday I ate some super salty food. So I'm sure the rest of the water is from that.

    I weigh daily and look at trends over time. That really helps me not freak out when I see something weird on the scale. I'm also aware of my patterns. I'll probably hold this water until Wednesday.

    I will say seeing a big jump on the scale (even when I know it's from water) makes me more diligent about my food choices the rest of the week. So it's not all a bad thing.
  • JTick
    JTick Posts: 2,131 Member
    Do you have a smartphone? If so, download the app Libra. You put your weight in daily, and after several days of data it will show you a good trend line. If it is just fluctuations, your trend line should remain pretty flat which means you've found your maintenance level. Again though, I've found it takes 7-10 days of data before you get a good trend line that shows if you're actually maintaining or not.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    I definitely did not over eat by 7000calories but I am just worried that it may be the calories accumulated because I might have been eating the wrong maintenance calories.

    Calories don't like accumulate in the stomach, and then get added all at once to cause a big weight gain.

    After every single meal, once your liver glycogen stores are topped, once your muscle glycogen stores are topped off, once you've used extra carbs and any fat for immediate energy needs, once any protein has been used as needed, after that 3-5 hrs post meal you'll have stored any truly excess as fat.

    So the difference that is very obvious - fast vs slow weight gain, or loss for that matter.

    If you ate 250 calories over your true maintenance for 2 weeks - you would only gain 1 lb slowly if fat. And actually, if lifting, it wouldn't even be mostly fat.

    Pick valid weigh-in days to minimize water weight changes.
    Morning after rest day eating normal sodium levels, not sore from last workout.

    That's about the best you can get.
  • TonyStark30
    TonyStark30 Posts: 497 Member
    To be honest the day I eat enough food that I'm not in a deficit I gain 10 pounds, I count my true weight as what I would weigh if I all my glycogen stores are full and I am properly Hydrated.

    Maintaning at some lean dry weight you technically starved yourself to isn't really realistic, your weight is how much you would weigh if you ate a whole pizza the day after you hit your target, sodium bloat and everything lol are you going to give up salt for life?!
  • Ang108
    Ang108 Posts: 1,711 Member
    I definitely did not over eat by 7000calories but I am just worried that it may be the calories accumulated because I might have been eating the wrong maintenance calories.

    Then you have to make sure that you know what your correct calories are, log the correct calories and maybe weigh and measure your food to see if constant overeating ( even just a couple 100 calories) for whatever reason is the culprit. You are still in a phase when this can be easily remedied. Don't wait until you gained so much that you get discouraged.
    Good Luck !
  • lisabinco
    lisabinco Posts: 1,016 Member
    Definitely set a range. If your goal weight is 135, don't stress about anything unless you hit 140. If you do, go back to a deficit until you hit the 135 again.
    I disagree with the suggestion of not weighing every day, though. ...
    I weigh every day, looking for the new low number, knowing that it'll fluctuate up.
    ^^^This^^^
    My current "magic" number is 134 but I accept fluctuations of 1 or 2 pounds of that number. I weigh almost every day -- keeps me honest with myself. Just my 2 cents here.
  • kimosabe1
    kimosabe1 Posts: 2,467 Member
    yeah-only count it if u ate that much. Stop with the sodium or pick healthy alternatives as seasonings.
  • Lld320
    Lld320 Posts: 81
    Do you have a smartphone? If so, download the app Libra. You put your weight in daily, and after several days of data it will show you a good trend line. If it is just fluctuations, your trend line should remain pretty flat which means you've found your maintenance level. Again though, I've found it takes 7-10 days of data before you get a good trend line that shows if you're actually maintaining or not.
    Trying this, thanks!
  • AlwaysInMotion
    AlwaysInMotion Posts: 409 Member
    I'm maintaining now but I've gained a kg since yesterday and I'm not sure if it's water retention or fat gained how can I differentiate it?

    Up 1 kg in 24 hrs? Don't forget option 3 - slowed GI motility (i.e., temporary constipation). I know it's gross, but hey... things other than fat and water can influence the scale.
  • threshkreen
    threshkreen Posts: 79 Member
    Yup, forgot about that one. What's lounging around in your gut does get weighed!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Well...you don't gain 2 Lbs of fat overnight...so yeah...water.

    Two Lbs of fat would be 7,000 calories...that would be 7,000 calories over your maintenance calories. Even then, the body is an amazing thing and you wouldn't actually put on 2 Lbs of fat if you did that. Overriding your body's ability to maintain requires consistent effort.

    Your maintenance is going to be a range, not an exact number...your weight isn't static. You have water retention and release as well as timing of food in and out, etc. Hell, maybe you just need to take a big dump. You better wrap your head around this, or maintenance is going to be a real kick in the nuts.

    Natural weight fluctuations can be 3-5 Lbs easily day to day.
  • Wingg_
    Wingg_ Posts: 395 Member
    I definitely did not over eat by 7000calories but I am just worried that it may be the calories accumulated because I might have been eating the wrong maintenance calories.

    Then you have to make sure that you know what your correct calories are, log the correct calories and maybe weigh and measure your food to see if constant overeating ( even just a couple 100 calories) for whatever reason is the culprit. You are still in a phase when this can be easily remedied. Don't wait until you gained so much that you get discouraged.
    Good Luck !

    I do weigh food pretty accurately so I'm freaking out now because of the 1 kg because I don't wanna gain back the weight I lost..
  • Wingg_
    Wingg_ Posts: 395 Member
    Do you have a smartphone? If so, download the app Libra. You put your weight in daily, and after several days of data it will show you a good trend line. If it is just fluctuations, your trend line should remain pretty flat which means you've found your maintenance level. Again though, I've found it takes 7-10 days of data before you get a good trend line that shows if you're actually maintaining or not.
    Trying this, thanks!

    Downloaded it!
  • Wingg_
    Wingg_ Posts: 395 Member
    I definitely did not over eat by 7000calories but I am just worried that it may be the calories accumulated because I might have been eating the wrong maintenance calories.

    Calories don't like accumulate in the stomach, and then get added all at once to cause a big weight gain.

    After every single meal, once your liver glycogen stores are topped, once your muscle glycogen stores are topped off, once you've used extra carbs and any fat for immediate energy needs, once any protein has been used as needed, after that 3-5 hrs post meal you'll have stored any truly excess as fat.

    So the difference that is very obvious - fast vs slow weight gain, or loss for that matter.

    If you ate 250 calories over your true maintenance for 2 weeks - you would only gain 1 lb slowly if fat. And actually, if lifting, it wouldn't even be mostly fat.

    Pick valid weigh-in days to minimize water weight changes.
    Morning after rest day eating normal sodium levels, not sore from last workout.

    That's about the best you can get.

    I weigh myself after I go to the bathroom every morning so I think it's pretty consistent.
  • Wingg_
    Wingg_ Posts: 395 Member
    I'm maintaining now but I've gained a kg since yesterday and I'm not sure if it's water retention or fat gained how can I differentiate it?

    Up 1 kg in 24 hrs? Don't forget option 3 - slowed GI motility (i.e., temporary constipation). I know it's gross, but hey... things other than fat and water can influence the scale.

    Totally didn't think of that...
  • Wingg_
    Wingg_ Posts: 395 Member
    Well...you don't gain 2 Lbs of fat overnight...so yeah...water.

    Two Lbs of fat would be 7,000 calories...that would be 7,000 calories over your maintenance calories. Even then, the body is an amazing thing and you wouldn't actually put on 2 Lbs of fat if you did that. Overriding your body's ability to maintain requires consistent effort.

    Your maintenance is going to be a range, not an exact number...your weight isn't static. You have water retention and release as well as timing of food in and out, etc. Hell, maybe you just need to take a big dump. You better wrap your head around this, or maintenance is going to be a real kick in the nuts.

    Natural weight fluctuations can be 3-5 Lbs easily day to day.

    3-5 lbs from day to day. I've gain a kg and the kg stayed for a few days already. I'm not sure if my sore muscles one of the cause though.
  • cschiff
    cschiff Posts: 209 Member
    Best thing you can do while in maintenance is to quit weighing yourself every single day. You'll go mad!

    I agree. I sometimes get myself all freaked out over a couple lbs up and remember there are so many reasons weight can change all the time (food, water, sodium, BM regularity, hormones just to name a few). If you are maintaining maybe try weighing just once a week or every two weeks or something like that...daily you are likely to see fluctuations so you don't want to make yourself worry for nothing!

    ps. congrats on getting to goal!

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