Up Almost 3kg Overnight!?

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donut0420
donut0420 Posts: 44 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So, I wasn't very good this weekend. Friday I had a Dubai brunch and while I still tried to log, I know I went waaaaay over my calorie limit. Drink'll do that. I'd planned for this by eating well and exercising a lot during the week, knowing my weekly calories would be used up. Saturday there was a small increase on the scale, but I'd expected that.

Saturday I kept under my calorie limit again. I didn't make it to the gym due to an unfortunate incident that was a) very stressful and b) made going to the gym a likely cause for an awkward and possibly dangerous confrontation. Still, I thought that since I was still under my daily intake, I would be safe for one day.

Lies! I wake up today and I find my numbers have jumped almost 3kg - overnight! I'm over halfway back to where I was when I started this whole thing a month and a half ago!! Someone please help me understand why I'm seeing what I'm seeing, because I'm extremely discouraged over this. I didn't think that one day could set me back over a month...

Replies

  • joyfuljoy65
    joyfuljoy65 Posts: 317 Member
    edited February 2015
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    you know you don't put 3kg of fat on it a couple of days - honest you do know it somewhere in your logic head, but your irrational head says "OMG I put half my weight back on"..... you haven't. Its a mixture of water retention, salt intake and stress as well as a few ounces of extra weight. Take a deep breath, keep going on your calorie intake, drink some water, relax and think nice thoughts and over the next couple of days the excess will go away. Give up and binge and the 3kg will become a real 3kg and more....
  • Merkavar
    Merkavar Posts: 3,082 Member
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    Weight fluctuates.

    I had +1kg gain for the week. Next day -1kg lost. 2kg change over night.

    Weigh your self in a few days. Same ircumstances.
  • flumi_f
    flumi_f Posts: 1,888 Member
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    joyfuljoy65 wrote: »
    you know you don't put 3kg of fat on it a couple of days - honest you do know it somewhere in your logic head, but your irrational head says "OMG I put half my weight back on"..... you haven't. Its a mixture of water retention, salt intake and stress as well as a few ounces of extra weight. Take a deep breath, keep going on your calorie intake, drink some water, relax and think nice thoughts and over the next couple of days the excess will go away. Give up and binge and the 3kg will become a real 3kg and more....

    ^^^This. Add a bit of potassium rich foods and lots of water the next few days and it will all come off in a jiffy.
  • BeTheChange352
    BeTheChange352 Posts: 253 Member
    edited February 2015
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    did you eat 21,000 calories above your TDEE this past week? then stop obsessing and stop weighing yourself so soon after a bad day.
  • cheshirecatastrophe
    cheshirecatastrophe Posts: 1,395 Member
    edited February 2015
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    I have great respect for the power of social drinking, but you did not eat and drink 21,000 extra calories in one brunch. That would be six boxes of Franzia. >:)

    3 kg overnight is on the upper end for me in terms of daily fluctuations, but still well within normal range. Salt, hormones, IBS, stress, all that jazz. And yes, usually I see a change the next morning, but sometimes it doesn't follow any logic of timing.

    I've found some stuff online that suggests short-term emotional stress--which, ahem, YES--can cause water retention. This makes logical sense to me, since your muscles would be wanting to cling to glycogen (which is what makes your retain the water in the first place) in order to be primed for fight-or-flight at all times. Lookin' for some more reputable sources now...

    BAM! Science agrees. Emotional duress => water retention => you did not drink six boxes of Franzia.
  • mumblemagic
    mumblemagic Posts: 1,090 Member
    edited February 2015
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    I weighed myself every day for 3 months last year, to track how weight varies over time. Even on days when I restricted my calories (and therefore the weight of my food), my weight could vary by up to 1 kg day-to-day even though the overall trend was down. Likely reasons for this are different levels of water in the system (water retention), eating at slightly different times, and weighing myself at slightly different times relative to ... ahem... the end of the digestive process. I also find that drinking alcohol disrupts my digestive process and it takes a couple of days to settle back down. I normally weigh myself after my morning 'Heave Ho' and before I eat or drink anything, as this is the easiest way to ensure consistency, so if my digestive processes are irregular this can mess up my measurements.

    If you ate a lot more on one day, you would physically have a lot more food in your system, which would make you weigh more. Any water retention due to excess salt would also add to this. And any disruption to your digestive process will also add to that. It's likely that you did put on some fat if you ate over your maintenance TDEE but it's unlikely to be a whole 3 kg.

    as @Merkavar‌ said, weigh yourself in a few days and you will see what the true weight gain is.

    Edited to fix grammar. Doh!
  • donut0420
    donut0420 Posts: 44 Member
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    cheshirecatastrophe wrote: »
    I have great respect for the power of social drinking, but you did not eat and drink 21,000 extra calories in one brunch. That would be six boxes of Franzia. >:)

    3 kg overnight is on the upper end for me in terms of daily fluctuations, but still well within normal range. Salt, hormones, IBS, stress, all that jazz. And yes, usually I see a change the next morning, but sometimes it doesn't follow any logic of timing.

    I've found some stuff online that suggests short-term emotional stress--which, ahem, YES--can cause water retention. This makes logical sense to me, since your muscles would be wanting to cling to glycogen (which is what makes your retain the water in the first place) in order to be primed for fight-or-flight at all times. Lookin' for some more reputable sources now...

    BAM! Science agrees. Emotional duress => water retention => you did not drink six boxes of Franzia.

    You are seriously one of my favourite people. I laughed out loud at this. And most of these responses actually.

    Thanks to everyone for their feedback. My logical mind of course didn't believe it, but my irrational side was fighting me. Your input has been very helpful. So was a nice, long run. I've decided not to let the fear of a confrontation stop me - the situation isn't worth rearranging my life over!

  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    It's water retention-normal daily fluctuation.
  • niecey61
    niecey61 Posts: 54 Member
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    Be kind to yourself! Stop the torturing

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