9 POUNDS OF WATER?!?! No way, right?

kickivale
kickivale Posts: 260 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Diary is open…nothing to hide, I'm a diligent logger.
My last weigh in was a few days ago and I was 123 lbs.
For some reason I got on the scale this morning (even though I typically wait 5-7 days between weigh ins) and it said 132 which is pretty insane difference.
I def had a couple of cheat meals (Sunday was a bit indulgent) but nothing so crazy as to cause this sort of thing.
I posted asking my friends what they think…could it really be water retention?
This has never happened to me in the few years I've been watching my diet and exercise.
Either my scale is broken, or drinking all that beer wine and tequila really dehydrated me and caused me to hold onto nearly 10 lbs of water….
Has anyone here had this happen?
I'm so distracted by it today!

Replies

  • stephdmash
    stephdmash Posts: 16 Member
    This happens to me all the time! My weight fluctuates 5-10 lbs weekly...I'm actually speaking to my doctor about this tomorrow!
  • tonyrocks922
    tonyrocks922 Posts: 172 Member
    Water is heavy. A gallon of water weighs 8 1/2 lbs. It's easy to retain that much from a single day of salty foods and alcohol.
  • eyecandyrayce
    eyecandyrayce Posts: 260 Member
    I've had this exact thing happen. I had too much sodium in my diet and when I cut out the sodium, I lost 9 pounds in 3 days.
  • Heather68462
    Heather68462 Posts: 49 Member
    This happens to me all the time! My weight fluctuates 5-10 lbs weekly...I'm actually speaking to my doctor about this tomorrow!


    MINE DOES TOO! UGGHH
  • PinkyFett
    PinkyFett Posts: 842 Member
    I was 209 the other day, I had taco bell yesterday (I even logged it) and I got on the scale today like a dummy and it showed 215. I KNOW I didn't eat over 20,000 calories in just 2 days lmao.
  • Heather68462
    Heather68462 Posts: 49 Member
    My weight will fluctuate 3-4 pounds up or down every couple days, it is very bothersome. I take hydrochlorothiazide, so I dont think it is water retention.
  • MB2MN
    MB2MN Posts: 334 Member
    You're fine...its probably water/sodium/any number of other factors.
  • kickivale
    kickivale Posts: 260 Member
    Water is heavy. A gallon of water weighs 8 1/2 lbs. It's easy to retain that much from a single day of salty foods and alcohol.


    I can't tell you the sigh of relief I got from this single fact.
    It just seems INSANE!
    But I def drank a very gross amount of booze.
    Too much socializing.
    And the salt was equally out of control.
  • mufamuscles
    mufamuscles Posts: 57
    Funny you mention this because I had a 10+-pound water weight gain last weekend and was thinking about posting it! I am 127, had a HUGE cheat meal (sushi, salty soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, etc) on Saturday night. Sunday I weighed in at 138.8!!!!!!! By Sunday it had already gone down to 134, then 130 by Monday. I think it's definitely possible if your cheat meals are extra epic :)
  • eddiesmith1
    eddiesmith1 Posts: 1,550 Member
    You don't log the water so it's hard to tell but it was a seriously sodium heavy weekend (and some alcohol to boot - though not crazy -so yeah it's likely water
    Whenever this happens to me I watch the sodium for a couple of days and drink a ton of water and boom it's gone
  • somefitsomefat
    somefitsomefat Posts: 445 Member
    A gallon of water weighs a little more than 8lbs. That's not that much water if you think about it being distributed throughout the body. Since there's probably no way you ate enough to gain 9lbs of fat I'll go with water on this one.
  • fallinlove_notinline
    fallinlove_notinline Posts: 5
    On a hungover day i can way about 8lbs more than i normally do, I can also lose those 8lbs in a single day. My mantra on water retention days goes like this.

    Water Weight is just H20 + differing levels of Potassium, Magnesium, and Sodium.
    It is not fat,
    It is not a true weight,
    it is a response to alcohol or food,
    it will go away.
  • beastmode_kitty
    beastmode_kitty Posts: 844 Member
    Water is heavy. A gallon of water weighs 8 1/2 lbs. It's easy to retain that much from a single day of salty foods and alcohol.


    I can't tell you the sigh of relief I got from this single fact.
    It just seems INSANE!
    But I def drank a very gross amount of booze.
    Too much socializing.
    And the salt was equally out of control.

    that will do it,
  • kickivale
    kickivale Posts: 260 Member
    You don't log the water so it's hard to tell but it was a seriously sodium heavy weekend (and some alcohol to boot - though not crazy -so yeah it's likely water
    Whenever this happens to me I watch the sodium for a couple of days and drink a ton of water and boom it's gone


    Yeah, I don't log water because I have a 32 oz Nalgene that I am sure to fill and drink 3 times daily….so I'm always right around 100 oz of water a day which I think is pretty good.
    I doubt I made my quota on my party nights though (Friday and Sunday)
  • mkemmis73
    mkemmis73 Posts: 29 Member

    I can't tell you the sigh of relief I got from this single fact.
    It just seems INSANE!
    But I def drank a very gross amount of booze.
    Too much socializing.
    And the salt was equally out of control.

    Alcohol does it to me every time, and I have to work twice as hard to get it back off the following week or 2. I've decided I'm not going to drink right now. I'm not going to say I will never drink again, I'm just going to cool it for a while.
  • Redheadllena
    Redheadllena Posts: 353 Member
    This would explain a lot....
  • Redheadllena
    Redheadllena Posts: 353 Member
    I've had this exact thing happen. I had too much sodium in my diet and when I cut out the sodium, I lost 9 pounds in 3 days.

    How much is "too much sodium", like what amount are we talking here. Want to make sure I'm keeping this in check!
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    I've never had water gain of 9 pounds, and I LOVE sodium. I don't know, you would have had to have eaten quite a bit to gain fat, I would eat normally and wait it out and check the scale in a few more days. If it's water weight, it will come off within a few days.
  • kickivale
    kickivale Posts: 260 Member
    I've had this exact thing happen. I had too much sodium in my diet and when I cut out the sodium, I lost 9 pounds in 3 days.

    How much is "too much sodium", like what amount are we talking here. Want to make sure I'm keeping this in check!

    I wonder the same thing….I'm always over on daily salt intake, but I've never seen it lead to retention like I have this week. I think its a salty (not home cooked) eating day, plus alcohol that makes it a dangerous combo.
    The salt thing seems to be totally based on personal opinion, I can't seem to locate a common thread on whats 'optimal'

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