Water weight from fried foods and bread

donjtomasco
donjtomasco Posts: 790 Member
edited November 16 in Health and Weight Loss
I started my diet on January 1 at 217 pounds. I was consistently losing weight up till last Thursday when I was craving bread and fried seafood and decided to see what a lunch and dinner combined with these two food groups would do to my weight. On Thursday morning I weighed 186.8. My prior seven days weights were 186, 185.8, 187.2, 188.4, 186.6, 187.2 and 187.2.

Friday morning I weighed 190.2, Saturday morning I weighed 192.6 and this morning I weighed 194.

Caveat, I continued mixing in bread and fried foods on Friday and Saturday but was within my daily calorie goal which is set for me to lose 1 pound per week. After a golf outing this morning our group went to get fried catfish, so I decided to have one last meal which included fried foods and starches, but I will end the day well within my calorie goal to lose 1 pound per week.

So I am interested to see what my weight is on Monday morning. My personal experiment of adding in my own personal sin foods has resulted in my weight "ON THE SCALE" reversing my downward trend.

I realize that a lot, OR POSSIBLY ALL of my increased weight may consist ENTIRELY OF WATER due to the SODIUM from the fried foods. What I don't know is how much this is due to the bread, the fried foods, or the combination of both. But I do know that even though I have stayed in my caloric goal (except for Thursday), here I am three days later either still retaining water or maybe my metabolism just is not able to process the white bread and fried foods.

How long has it taken others to recover from splurge days? The final part of my PERSONAL EXPERIMENT is to see how long it takes to get back to 186 or 185, my weight before adding these foods into my diet on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and lunch today.

I was hoping to see a spike in weight due to WATER RETENTION, then my weight working its way back down, but this just is not happening. I guess all of our body's process food differently.

What have your experiences been?
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Replies

  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    probably sodium.

    i went on vacation and ate all the foods including a pound and a half of chocolate peanut butter fudge - BY MYSELF- and only gained 1.8 pounds over the week, and lost it and more within one week of my return home.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    If you have been eating foods that cause water retention every day since Thursday, why would you expect to see your weight working its way down?
  • Cortelli
    Cortelli Posts: 1,369 Member
    You mentioned in the other thread that you tend to stay away from fried foods and bread generally. If, during the course of your weight loss efforts you've been relatively low carb, and especially if you're regularly doing any sort of exercise (even walking), then a big chunk is likely to be due to the fact that you've replenished what was otherwise depleted glycogen stores. This adds a bunch of water weight on its own. You can see that water weight drop off again when you return to a lower carb regular diet, and use up some of your stored glycogen - in my experience this takes a few weeks (and is why so often new posters see dramatic weight loss for a few weeks when beginning a new diet) -- again in my experience, this isn't a day or two thing - this is a good week or two for me. And please note: I don't think you should be hung up on the scale weight if you're reasonably confident that it is due to glycogen / water.

    Additionally, the higher sodium intake from your fried foods will in itself add a bunch of water weight. This often drops back off more quickly than glycogen / water weight and again in my experience I hold onto water after a high sodium day or two for 2 - 4 days.

    Finally, just to share my personal experience, when I move from deficit to maintenance or surplus, I typically add the additional calories in the form of carbs. I am not "low carbing" it as a diet strategy, but my carbs often are reasonably low while on an extended deficit simply because I prioritize protein and fat. All of which means I routinely expect to add a quick 5 - 7 pounds when I up my carbs going into maintenance or surplus. And where I am still staying in a deficit, but tend to have several carb-heavy days in a row (family gatherings, social events, what have you) that added water weight sticks around with me for at least a week and sometimes two.
  • scb515
    scb515 Posts: 133 Member
    There's a takeaway near me that does the most tasty pizza. If I order the pizza, I will put on half a stone overnight. Not even kidding, it's that high. It's not real weight, but with normal eating, it takes up to a week for the scales to go back down - just shows what salt can do.

    I still occasionally eat said pizza because it's delicious, but I know better than to order it if I'm at the higher end of my maintenance weight or if I'm feeling emotional fragile, as the scales will go crazy the next day.

    I know some people can't cope with daily weigh ins, but it's made me so much more aware of the impact of certain foods on me and the scales.
  • melimomTARDIS
    melimomTARDIS Posts: 1,941 Member
    I eat fried fish and white bread quite often, I don't note the changes you are experiencing. I however don't eat much french fries, so I miss a lot of salt by cutting those out. Anyways, my bet is water retention, nothing more.
  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,590 Member
    edited April 2015
    Since the last "bad" food is consumed, it takes me three days of "good" eating to drop most of the weight back off. sometimes it takes even longer. But I'm female and going through the "change" and I take HRT so there are complications when it comes to water weight. I guess if I estimate 3 or 4 days that's more or less what it will be. I also know that if I eat fried things any more, I get sick. X( I have de-accustomed to them or something.
  • Zedeff
    Zedeff Posts: 651 Member
    I noticed the same trend in my weight. It takes me a full week typically to get back to my lowest weight.
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  • maidentl
    maidentl Posts: 3,203 Member
    MrM27 wrote: »
    Well as it was pointed out to you in the other thread, blaming the bread makes no sense when you also ate over 2700 calories including a foot long chilli dog, french fries, popcorn then in the other days a waffle, 36 oz of beer, more popcorn, home fries. Also that you think you can see any kind of real trends when your intake varies from 2700 to 1000 calories per day. All a bunch of assumptions by you.

    QFT

  • donjtomasco
    donjtomasco Posts: 790 Member
    Thanks Cortelli and Callsit. I am hoping to see some of that weight drop off this week. I appreciate your input.
  • donjtomasco
    donjtomasco Posts: 790 Member
    Goth and Zedeff, good to hear your experience of three to seven days to return to normal.

  • donjtomasco
    donjtomasco Posts: 790 Member
    Glad you reviewed my diary mrm. You saw my worst days of dieting.
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  • nonoelmo
    nonoelmo Posts: 3,941 Member
    edited April 2015
    I am not at all low carb. I eat at least 50% carbs most days. I am, however, very gluten intollerant and have been gluten-free since diagnosed in 1995. The rare times I get exposed to even a tiny spec of a gluten-containing food with everything else being good and normal -- and this is only ever by accident that I inject something containing glutent - such as a soy sauce in another sauce that is not clearly marked then upon that exposure I will add about 10 pounds (and other symptoms) almost immediately - within 8 - 10 hours for sure. It takes my body about 3 weeks to clear all the bloat and aches and other symptoms. My experience is not at all "normal" but I added it for another perspective.

    I have had nightmares about eating toast. :smiley:
  • maidentl
    maidentl Posts: 3,203 Member
    nonoelmo wrote: »
    I am not at all low carb. I eat at least 50% carbs most days. I am, however, very gluten intollerant and have been gluten-free since diagnosed in 1995. The rare times I get exposed to even a tiny spec of a gluten-containing food with everything else being good and normal -- and this is only ever by accident that I inject something containing glutent - such as a soy sauce in another sauce that is not clearly marked then upon that exposure I will add about 10 pounds (and other symptoms) almost immediately - within 8 - 10 hours for sure. It takes my body about 3 weeks to clear all the bloat and aches and other symptoms. My experience is not at all "normal" but I added it for another perspective.

    I have had nightmares about eating toast. :smiley:

    Oh I definitely believe that people have these sorts of issues, certainly! But it's hard to take an "experiment" seriously when, rather than add a slice of bread or two to a normal day, someone goes on a sodium binge and then blames the bread! :laugh:
  • nonoelmo
    nonoelmo Posts: 3,941 Member
    :smiley:
  • donjtomasco
    donjtomasco Posts: 790 Member
    This mornings weight is 190.2. So, it appears that eating these foods will just hold onto the water and not let go. I guess the only weigh to get back to my regular weight is to stop the bread and fried foods and see if I can get back on track. It this is all water, them I am holding 4 pouds of water since last Thursday.
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  • donjtomasco
    donjtomasco Posts: 790 Member
    Non alcoholic beer mrm. I am a non drinker. I think this makes for a healthy source of carbs.
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  • donjtomasco
    donjtomasco Posts: 790 Member
    Like I have said before, I am not opposed to including bread as part of my diet. I just need to make sure that it is super healthy all grain bread and not white bread, since white bread seems to be my nemesis. Early on in this diet I added wheat bread back and my weight loss stalled. It was suggested by numerous MFP members that I should make sure that the bread says 100% Whole Grain bread, even pumpernicle bread was suggested, and I love pumpernickel. So I just need to stick to the local Trader Joe's store. In my bread experiment I ate white bread on my poboy sandwich, a white hot dog bun with my hot dog for dinner, and my waffle and breakfast sandwich was white bread. So there seems to be a pattern there. I am going to add JUST super healthy 100% WHOLE GRAIN bread now and see if w my weight continues to adjust downward by cutting out the white bread. This is starting to shape up now as a good long term diet plan for me, but we will see. Because I would really like to keep bread in my diet since I really like bread. But tortilla chips? NO CHANCE!!!!! They for sure do not work well for me.
  • PRMinx
    PRMinx Posts: 4,585 Member
    donjtomasco wrote: »
    Non alcoholic beer mrm. I am a non drinker. I think this makes for a healthy source of carbs.

    tumblr_lruquaQjUW1qatfmro1_500.gif
  • donjtomasco
    donjtomasco Posts: 790 Member
    She looks like she is a drinker and smokes crack. Lol. Good one!!!!!
  • PRMinx
    PRMinx Posts: 4,585 Member
    donjtomasco wrote: »
    She looks like she is a drinker and smokes crack. Lol. Good one!!!!!

    Zooey Deschanel looks like she smokes crack? What?
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    donjtomasco wrote: »
    Like I have said before, I am not opposed to including bread as part of my diet. I just need to make sure that it is super healthy all grain bread and not white bread, since white bread seems to be my nemesis. Early on in this diet I added wheat bread back and my weight loss stalled. It was suggested by numerous MFP members that I should make sure that the bread says 100% Whole Grain bread, even pumpernicle bread was suggested, and I love pumpernickel. So I just need to stick to the local Trader Joe's store. In my bread experiment I ate white bread on my poboy sandwich, a white hot dog bun with my hot dog for dinner, and my waffle and breakfast sandwich was white bread. So there seems to be a pattern there. I am going to add JUST super healthy 100% WHOLE GRAIN bread now and see if w my weight continues to adjust downward by cutting out the white bread. This is starting to shape up now as a good long term diet plan for me, but we will see. Because I would really like to keep bread in my diet since I really like bread. But tortilla chips? NO CHANCE!!!!! They for sure do not work well for me.

    For your experiment, you'll be keeping your carb, sodium, beer, and fried food levels all the same to help account for other variables, right?
  • HeySwoleSister
    HeySwoleSister Posts: 1,938 Member
    donjtomasco wrote: »
    This mornings weight is 190.2. So, it appears that eating these foods will just hold onto the water and not let go. I guess the only weigh to get back to my regular weight is to stop the bread and fried foods and see if I can get back on track. It this is all water, them I am holding 4 pouds of water since last Thursday.

    FFS, it's the SODIUM, not the bread. SODIUM.

    Stop eating tons of salt. And, seriously...if you want a healthy form of carbs, try some vegetables.
  • donjtomasco
    donjtomasco Posts: 790 Member
    She does in your little video clip. Or what were you trying to say with your little video of her?
  • PRMinx
    PRMinx Posts: 4,585 Member
    donjtomasco wrote: »
    She does in your little video clip. Or what were you trying to say with your little video of her?

    I'm trying to say that there is no difference between the carbs in bread and the carbs in your non-alcoholic beer. And, actually, non-alcoholic beer has more carbs than regular beer.
  • donjtomasco
    donjtomasco Posts: 790 Member
    Thanks for your input PR. But is it okay if it still fits in my daily caloric goal? Or are you saying that non-alcoholic beer can affect my weight?
  • PRMinx
    PRMinx Posts: 4,585 Member
    donjtomasco wrote: »
    Thanks for your input PR. But is it okay if it still fits in my daily caloric goal? Or are you saying that non-alcoholic beer can affect my weight?

    Yes, you can drink beer/eat bread/etc. as long as it fits into your caloric goal. If you are retaining water (usually from sodium) drink more water to flush it out.

    Calories affect your weight. Eat too many calories and you will gain weight. So, whether it's real beer or non-alcoholic beer doesn't matter. All that matters is if you go over your calorie allotment for the day or week, depending on how you manage your goals.
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