weight gain after three days

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cwilkersi3
cwilkersi3 Posts: 9 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I had lost six pounds according to my scale on Saturday morning. I had a long weekend moving my daughter into a new place. I didn't overdo my eating and ate decently well for a long weekend. I didn't even go out for Mother's Day breakfast. Today, I weighed myself and I have gained all six pounds back! How could this happen? Has this happened to any of you?

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  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
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    Possibilities: you've started or are about to start your period. You consumed a lot of sodium. You're stressed. Your sleep schedule is off. You weighed yourself at a different time of day wearing more clothing than while last week.

    There is also the possibility you consumed an additional 21000 calories beyond maintenance, but highly unlikely as you'd have remembered that!

    Many things have a temporary effect on the scale. Hormones/TOM and sodium being the biggest two. Then there is normal daily fluctuation. If you wake up in the morning, use the bathroom and get on the scale nude you'll obviously weigh less than 3 hours later when you've had 2 cups of coffee and breakfast and are wearing clothes.
  • 0somuchbetter0
    0somuchbetter0 Posts: 1,335 Member
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    Maybe your scale is wonky? Did you weigh yourself at the same time of day as on Saturday morning? How long did it take you to lose the six lbs? Weight can vary a lot based on water, menstrual cycle, whether you've pooped that day, etc. Don't give up. And don't weigh yourself for another week. :)
  • Branstin
    Branstin Posts: 2,320 Member
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    Three days are not long enough to panic. It is more than likely due to water or sodium retention. Are you accurately tracking?
  • links_slayer
    links_slayer Posts: 1,151 Member
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    Patience. Get some.
  • kwantlen2051
    kwantlen2051 Posts: 455 Member
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    This only happens to me if I overeat on the weekend, then I gain a lb or 2 come Monday/Tuesday. But the lbs go quickly once you get back into the routine.:)
  • bjshields
    bjshields Posts: 677 Member
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    In addition to patience, get either tape to measure or a pair of pants (that won't get shrunk in the dryer!) to measure by. The scale is a sucky way to measure progress. Good luck!
  • hellodmo
    hellodmo Posts: 23
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    Weight fluctuations are normal. Give it a couple of days. Even for a guy it goes up and down. It's not a fully linear process.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
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    I had lost six pounds according to my scale on Saturday morning. I had a long weekend moving my daughter into a new place. I didn't overdo my eating and ate decently well for a long weekend. I didn't even go out for Mother's Day breakfast. Today, I weighed myself and I have gained all six pounds back! How could this happen? Has this happened to any of you?

    Your body doesn't weigh a single amount, it is in constant flux changing weight day to day hour to hour based on the amount of water you are retaining. Water retention is influenced by sodium levels, activity levels, your monthly cycle and many other things that would be hard to all track.

    Fact is I don't weigh 178 pounds I weight 178 +/- 5 pounds most days.

    The idea that you weigh yourself once and that is your starting weight and that several days later when you are 6 pounds heavier you have "gained" weight is flawed. Chances are your weight hasn't changed at all that is just a natural fluctuation associated with water retention.
  • mebepiglet123
    mebepiglet123 Posts: 327 Member
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    Some people weigh everyday. I do (same time every morning) and it can fluctuate anywhere between 2-4 lbs and I weigh 161lbs. I don't let it worry me, if I weight lift one the the next day I'm up 2lbs. If I'm getting my period it can be 4 lbs. if I overdose on sodium then whoa those scales shoot up.
    if you really want to track it. Weigh everyday. And start a spreadsheet that tracks fluctuations. I have an aria scale that bluetooths to a website called trend weight.
    Otherwise if you don't want to do that, have some patience if you are eating enough (tdee with a cut %) or mfp guidelines and eating back exercise calories then you will lose.. It does take time tho... Surely you did not put on the 50lbs you want to lose overnight so why should it come off any quicker.
  • cwilkersi3
    cwilkersi3 Posts: 9 Member
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    Thanks all! I'm going to weigh myself tomorrow and see if it changes. I weigh myself at the same time everyday so that I can track. Its only been two weeks and I don't give up easily so I'm going to stick with it. It may be water weight. Thanks for all the good advice. If any of you want to friend me I'd appreciate it!
  • bwogilvie
    bwogilvie Posts: 2,130 Member
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    Every day the typical person takes in about 13 pounds of water, food, and oxygen, and excretes about the same amount of carbon dioxide, liquid waste, and solid waste.

    But those are averages. A number of factors can affect the balance any given day. I weigh myself once in the morning, and there are days when I have weighed nearly 5 pounds more or less than the day before.

    If your goal is to lose 2 pounds a week, that's still only 4.6 ounces a day - a whole order of magnitude less than daily fluctuations due to water and solids. So you should expect your weight to bounce around. You can use a weighted average to figure out how the fluctuations relate to actual success, following John Walker's advice in The Hacker's Diet (http://www.fourmilab.ch/hackdiet/e4/) or using a site like TrendWeight.com.
  • albayin
    albayin Posts: 2,524 Member
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    but why doesn't my weight fluctuate downward? :(
  • gelar93
    gelar93 Posts: 160
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    You can literally put on 5lbs throughout the day as you eat/drink and once you're body gets rid of it, you would be back to normal. Also make sure you're using a reliable/accurate scale, weigh yourself in the morning before you eat anything, and take your clothes off, at least the heavy ones, to make it as accurate as possible
  • albayin
    albayin Posts: 2,524 Member
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    I had lost six pounds according to my scale on Saturday morning. I had a long weekend moving my daughter into a new place. I didn't overdo my eating and ate decently well for a long weekend. I didn't even go out for Mother's Day breakfast. Today, I weighed myself and I have gained all six pounds back! How could this happen? Has this happened to any of you?

    Your body doesn't weigh a single amount, it is in constant flux changing weight day to day hour to hour based on the amount of water you are retaining. Water retention is influenced by sodium levels, activity levels, your monthly cycle and many other things that would be hard to all track.

    Fact is I don't weigh 178 pounds I weight 178 +/- 5 pounds most days.

    The idea that you weigh yourself once and that is your starting weight and that several days later when you are 6 pounds heavier you have "gained" weight is flawed. Chances are your weight hasn't changed at all that is just a natural fluctuation associated with water retention.

    but then how would we explain those who lost 5 pounds? did they lose that 5 pounds or just fluctuation? Is it safe to say within 5 pounds it's just all water?
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
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    I had lost six pounds according to my scale on Saturday morning. I had a long weekend moving my daughter into a new place. I didn't overdo my eating and ate decently well for a long weekend. I didn't even go out for Mother's Day breakfast. Today, I weighed myself and I have gained all six pounds back! How could this happen? Has this happened to any of you?

    Your body doesn't weigh a single amount, it is in constant flux changing weight day to day hour to hour based on the amount of water you are retaining. Water retention is influenced by sodium levels, activity levels, your monthly cycle and many other things that would be hard to all track.

    Fact is I don't weigh 178 pounds I weight 178 +/- 5 pounds most days.

    The idea that you weigh yourself once and that is your starting weight and that several days later when you are 6 pounds heavier you have "gained" weight is flawed. Chances are your weight hasn't changed at all that is just a natural fluctuation associated with water retention.

    but then how would we explain those who lost 5 pounds? did they lose that 5 pounds or just fluctuation? Is it safe to say within 5 pounds it's just all water?

    No its not safe to say its all water. Its also not safe to say its all fat. Its safe to say we don't know. Now if it is 5 pounds in one day then yeah its water, no one is going to lose 5 pounds of fat in a day and no one is going to gain 5 pounds of fat in a day.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
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    OP here is what I suggest you do. You don't have to do it this way but try it out, see what you think.

    Weigh yourself everyday in the same manner at the same time of day and record the number, try not to have an emotional response associated with this...just record the number.

    After one week of measurements average the 7 measurements and record that number. Do that from week to week to week. Rather than compare any individual day to any other individual day compare those weekly averages to one another. Are they going down? If so, congratulations you are losing weight.

    Now keep in mind it can take several weeks to see this trend manifest, I'd say six weeks before you can definitely tell.
  • cwilkersi3
    cwilkersi3 Posts: 9 Member
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    Thanks! I will give that a shot!
  • cwilkersi3
    cwilkersi3 Posts: 9 Member
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    :laugh: :laugh:
    but why doesn't my weight fluctuate downward? :(

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