Sudden weight gain from a few days of non-diet!

Misskittyfantastico
Misskittyfantastico Posts: 35 Member
in Motivation and Support
Hello All,

Looking for advice/support!

I have been being pretty strict with myself recently and have managed to lose a modest 8.5 lbs over the last 2 months or so. I was consistently weighing in at the same weight for a couple of days, but over last 6 days I allowed myself quite a few treats (all logged!) and weighed myself today to find that I had gained 6.5 lbs in the space of about 6 days. I wasn't going mad - I just went over my target calories (1,300) for a couple of days - hitting more like 2,000 calories every day for those 6 days.

Has anyone experienced anything similar? I'm feeling quite demotivated given that I had been working hard and have now gained a significant amount back seemingly by eating WHAT NORMAL PEOPLE EAT ANYWAY (!) for a couple of days. Is this likely to be water retention from eating ridiculously unhelpful foods like pizza, or is my body just hopeless?

Thank you!!

Replies

  • Realtree2429
    Realtree2429 Posts: 81 Member
    Good news is that you more than likely did not gain 6.5 of fat back. Drink lots of water and give it a few days. Also, you may want to think about upping your allotted calories. I lost 32 lbs but I really cut calories and just couldn't keep that up long term and ended up "snacking" my way back up. I was hungry still and I lost it and gave up. This time, I cut calories to a very doable amount, still eat pizza, chocolate, etc and I'm losing. And this I know I can continue long term :)
  • lessismoreohio
    lessismoreohio Posts: 910 Member
    This has happened to me on a couple of occasions over the past year. I took a week off from tracking and exercise and gained 4 pounds. In my case, I ate a lot of poor food choices during my week off (pizza, beer, bacon, cake) and I believe all of the sodium I consumed caused my body to hold onto water. IMHO don't over-analyze it or worry too much about it. Get back on track with your healthy eating and exercise and increase your water intake. You'll be back where you want to be soon enough.
  • Misskittyfantastico
    Misskittyfantastico Posts: 35 Member
    Eek thank you! It really helps to hear that other people have had similar experiences!! I'm going to be extra careful and cross my fingers for a few days!!
  • Gingerkid05
    Gingerkid05 Posts: 60 Member
    Quick gains like that aren't fat, it's water. You probably upped your sodium intake through processed snacks and carbonated drinks. Stay calm, drink more water and you'll be back down as fast as you went up.
  • JenniferIsLosingIt
    JenniferIsLosingIt Posts: 595 Member
    Quick gains like that aren't fat, it's water. You probably upped your sodium intake through processed snacks and carbonated drinks. Stay calm, drink more water and you'll be back down as fast as you went up.


    What She said ^^^
  • hill8570
    hill8570 Posts: 1,466 Member
    Water retention, extra glycogen, and extra "stuff" in the the intestines. Give it a week to resolve.
  • 365andstillalive
    365andstillalive Posts: 663 Member
    Hello All,

    Looking for advice/support!

    I have been being pretty strict with myself recently and have managed to lose a modest 8.5 lbs over the last 2 months or so. I was consistently weighing in at the same weight for a couple of days, but over last 6 days I allowed myself quite a few treats (all logged!) and weighed myself today to find that I had gained 6.5 lbs in the space of about 6 days. I wasn't going mad - I just went over my target calories (1,300) for a couple of days - hitting more like 2,000 calories every day for those 6 days.

    Has anyone experienced anything similar? I'm feeling quite demotivated given that I had been working hard and have now gained a significant amount back seemingly by eating WHAT NORMAL PEOPLE EAT ANYWAY (!) for a couple of days. Is this likely to be water retention from eating ridiculously unhelpful foods like pizza, or is my body just hopeless?

    Thank you!!

    It's really likely to just be water.
    Seeing that you're trying to lose a fairly substantial amount of weight, I'm pretty sure that your TDEE is over the 2000 that you went to those few days and that it was the sodium contents of those foods that pushed you over.
    I really want to encourage you to calculate your BMR and TDEE because I get the feeling you're being too restrictive which is why you feel you can't eat like a "normal person".
    Feel free to friend me or message me if you need any help figuring those out or how they affect your weight loss (because they do, majorly) and I suspect you could be eating more and enjoying "normal people food" like pizza and ice cream and still hit your goals.
    Good luck, and don't stress too much!
  • taneyah2014
    taneyah2014 Posts: 20
    Thanks for posting this I am going thru the same thing...We ALL can doooooo it!
  • girlviernes
    girlviernes Posts: 2,402 Member
    Also, if you have been cutting back on carbohydrates you'll see a water gain when you start eating more of them.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Like people said, probably water. It's normal when you increase your calories after being on deficit for a while... your muscles replenish their water reserves or something. Of course if you actually went over your TDEE, there might be a bit of fat too. I gained 4 pounds during my vacations eating a little bit over TDEE... lost 2 pounds in 3 days, but it took me a month to lose the rest.
  • Misskittyfantastico
    Misskittyfantastico Posts: 35 Member
    365 - Thank you! I know people talk a lot on here about BMR and TDEE but I've pretty much ignored it because I couldn't get to the bottom of what it was all about! So potentially that's something worth looking at, thank you!
  • Misskittyfantastico
    Misskittyfantastico Posts: 35 Member
    Girlviernes - definitely!! I reduce carbs a lot normally and they are also the go-to 'naughty' food that I crave/ eat when I'm being naughty!

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