How much could you gain in a week?

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tarcotti
tarcotti Posts: 205 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So, I've lost over 30 lbs so far and my weight last week was 174. Last Saturday I went on my vacation in 5 years. It was also my husband and I's 5 year anniversary and birthday this past week! We went to the beach and my favorite food in the whole world is fried seafood so I ate some of that. We had lots of sandwiches to save money, and I basically went off of the diet from Sunday to Sunday. Just 7 days. I hopped on the scale this morning after using the bathroom like I always do for more accurate results and I'm 180?? What the crap? Granted, yes I stopped the lifestyle but I didn't eat 5000 calories a day or anything! Am I just retaining some food still? Surely the jump won't be as big tomorrow. I thought maybe I'd gain 1 lb, and I was ok with that, but 6 seems like an awful lot for just one bad week. :(

And for the record, after just a few days, I really missed eating well. Its good to know that I can get back on this right away because I WANT to and not because I have to. Its definitely a lifestyle change and not a diet to me. I don't think I'll take a vacation from this change ever again, it honestly wasn't very fun. Even WITH the fried seafood.
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Replies

  • jeffpettis
    jeffpettis Posts: 865 Member
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    Pretty sure you didn't gain 6 pounds of fat in one week. More likely it is water retention due to all the fried foods. Give it a few days.
  • gypsy_spirit
    gypsy_spirit Posts: 2,107 Member
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    It was one week. Your anniversary, vacation and birthdays all rolled into one? I think you've already answered your question.

    Did you have a good time? Did you eat your favorite food? Move on. I bet by the end of this week, you'll be close to, if not exactly, where you were before vacation

    Relax a little. This is your life. There will be days and yes, weeks where you will indulge a little. Learn to log it and move on. Do not punish yourself for living a little. :flowerforyou:
  • BigT555
    BigT555 Posts: 2,068 Member
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    its water weight. give it some time

    plus you know how to lose weight, and you say that you missed eating healthy, so whats the big deal if those 6 lbs really are a true weight gain? you have the tools and knowledge to lose it again
  • alliemay1024
    alliemay1024 Posts: 83 Member
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    Honestly, unless I keep myself in check I could probably gain at least 5 to 6 pounds a week. Unfortunately I have a binge eating disorder.. No purge, just binge.
  • christinet2013
    christinet2013 Posts: 6 Member
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    My body holds on to water like its about to die of thirst at any moment. A good workout and one salty meal can bump me up 5 pounds overnight easy. My suggestion: Go back to your normal diet and weigh yourself in a week. If its still there, feel free to freak out a bit.
  • ClairePear14
    ClairePear14 Posts: 47
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    I very much doubt that you gained 7lbs of fat in a week. Most of it is likely to be water retention.

    You were celebrating an amazing thing. You are allowed to let go once and a while, you just have to pick yourself back up after and carry on.
    Just return to your normal routine of eating healthy and exercising daily and you'll see if fly off easily!
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
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    I'd guess most of it is water weight. I did gain 2 pounds from my last vacation though, so it's definitely possible to gain.
  • yellowsnowdrop
    yellowsnowdrop Posts: 154 Member
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    I gained 8 lbs in 2 weeks once whilst on holiday in Thailand. I ate fairly healthily but still managed to gain. WHY WORRY, it'll come off again. As long as you had a good time then stop fretting, start eating healthily and loose that weight again.
  • wgaue
    wgaue Posts: 222 Member
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    The only time I really question weight gain, is when it's getting close to mother nature visiting. Then it's anywhere from 5-8 pounds. Usually, with in a couple of days of starting, the weight starts coming off.
  • McCloud33
    McCloud33 Posts: 959 Member
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    It's water weight...but more than that it's your carb intake. For every 1 gram of carb that you eat, your body will store approx. 4 grams of water (this works out to about 1 lb of water for every 100 g of carbs). The average american diet contains 200-400 grams of carbs per day. If you weren't paying attention to calories for a couple days and eating a lot of carb heavy foods, you could easily be 400-500 grams over your normal intake. Add in a high salt content and you can add another couple lbs of water weight.

    I generally try and keep my carbs low/moderate (around 100grams per day) but the other night we had a big pizza/beer party (I ate WAY too much) and the next day I was 9 pounds heavier!!!! I know that I didn't eat 9 lbs worth of food and I for sure it wasn't 31,500 calories for it all to be fat!

    Give yourself a week for your body to even itself back out with your regular eating and it will all come back off.
  • tarcotti
    tarcotti Posts: 205 Member
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    Your right everyone, I guess I did fly off the handle today. As soon as I got of the scale, I came here to post the topic. I should have waited and thought about it a little before freaking out haha. Thank you MFP community, I really appreciate it!!
  • ninav1980
    ninav1980 Posts: 514 Member
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    my rule of thumb, dont weigh yourself until 2 weeks after a trip, lol. By then, you will be back to normal (assuming you resume your usual routine)
  • acjohns5
    acjohns5 Posts: 1
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    I agree it's water weight. And don't give up! You'll always have ups and downs and you'll get rid of those extra lbs with water and eating veggies to flush it out. I always gain weight on vacations but am able to get back on track within a week of returning. Eating out is always higher in salt than eating right at home.
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
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    To gain 6lbs of fat in a week, you would have had to eaten 21,500 calories over your maintenance calories for the week. Something tells me you didn't do that ;) I'm guessing water weight as well.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
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    Don't know. Never tried, lol.

    You put a few pounds on. Now you take a few off. If you are all that unhappy, then next time, maybe you make a different choice.

    What's done is done. You knew it wasn't the best food when you did it. But you chose to do it and had a good time. So just chill. It'll be fine. Get back on the wagon. :)

    It will probably even out soon, as it may not be actual fat. :)
  • lisaanne1369
    lisaanne1369 Posts: 377 Member
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    Gained 8 pounds on my 9 day Jamaica trip...One week later down 3...all just a thing.
  • laurie04427
    laurie04427 Posts: 421 Member
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    I've gained 6 pounds overnight before because of drinking so yeah waterweight can do that.

    Give it a week and just drink ALOT of water to flush yourself out.
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,134 Member
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    I wouldn't worry about it. I gain 5# just by having working female anatomy.
  • Listeninguponyou
    Listeninguponyou Posts: 507 Member
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    Your right everyone, I guess I did fly off the handle today. As soon as I got of the scale, I came here to post the topic. I should have waited and thought about it a little before freaking out haha. Thank you MFP community, I really appreciate it!!

    Sorry for posting on the topic so late.

    Yes, giving it some time is the best thing. It really is probably water weight, I don't think you gained 6lb in a week. IF that is true you can lose it. It will be fine, we will all support you!

    Stay positive!
  • JourneyingJessica
    JourneyingJessica Posts: 261 Member
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    It's water weight...but more than that it's your carb intake. For every 1 gram of carb that you eat, your body will store approx. 4 grams of water (this works out to about 1 lb of water for every 100 g of carbs). The average american diet contains 200-400 grams of carbs per day. If you weren't paying attention to calories for a couple days and eating a lot of carb heavy foods, you could easily be 400-500 grams over your normal intake. Add in a high salt content and you can add another couple lbs of water weight.

    I generally try and keep my carbs low/moderate (around 100grams per day) but the other night we had a big pizza/beer party (I ate WAY too much) and the next day I was 9 pounds heavier!!!! I know that I didn't eat 9 lbs worth of food and I for sure it wasn't 31,500 calories for it all to be fat!

    Give yourself a week for your body to even itself back out with your regular eating and it will all come back off.

    Omg thank you! I'm going to watch that. I knew there was a relationship with carbs but no idea on the actual relationship.

    Two weekends ago, i gained 8lbs in three days. But I had pasta Friday, pizza Saturday & thai Sunday. :blushing: I'm still struggling to lose it. Too many carbs definitely affects my weight loss -- even if im under my calories (i have a love/hate relationship with popcorn).

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