How did I gain 6lbs just eating 2 meals today??

jonnie256
jonnie256 Posts: 169 Member
edited November 18 in Health and Weight Loss
Have only had 2 meals today and gained 6lbs!!!! Wtf! So frustrated. Didn't even eat THAT bad. Yes my diary is open. Just happened to had weighed myself this morning and weighed myself after I took a shower after dinner.
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Replies

  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    Because there's more food and drink in your digestive system than there was this morning. Your weight is always fluctuating throughout the day. It's normal and it should be back down in the morning.
  • galgenstrick
    galgenstrick Posts: 2,086 Member
    jonnie256 wrote: »
    Have only had 2 meals today and gained 6lbs!!!! Wtf! So frustrated. Didn't even eat THAT bad. Yes my diary is open. Just happened to had weighed myself this morning and weighed myself after I took a shower after dinner.

    This just shows you how unreliable the scale is. Your body water can fluctuate at least 5 pounds during the day just by how much salt you eat.

    Weigh yourself every day at the same time and under the same circumstances.

    Find a few other metrics to track your progress. Tape measure, body fat calipers, progress pictures, etc.
  • missiontofitness
    missiontofitness Posts: 4,059 Member
    Because you ate food, and probably have waste in your lower intestine.
    Unless you ate 21,000 calories today, you did not gain 6lbs of fat.
  • finefitandfabulous
    finefitandfabulous Posts: 4 Member
    The best time to weigh yourself is in the morning after you have emptied your bladder. Throughout the course of a day you will gain that much and sometime even more. It is more than likely water weight. Try weighing yourself first thing in the morning and let me know.
  • barbecuesauce
    barbecuesauce Posts: 1,771 Member
    I went through a phase where I weighed after pretty much everything. 2 cups of coffee and a piece of fruit turned into four pounds. It was actually kind of fun for me.

    But maybe just weigh in the morning, OP. That's the only time you'll get an accurate reading.
  • aDivingBelle
    aDivingBelle Posts: 49 Member
    edited May 2015
    Did you lift today or yesterday? Your muscles could be holding water. Or you have a lot of water and food in your stomach and you should be fine after a nice *kitten*. Don't worry so much. It is impossible you gained that much "fat" in two meals. If it were possible I would be 600lbs by now.
  • maineapple
    maineapple Posts: 133 Member
    You didn't gain 6 lbs. in one day. Clearly, when you weigh yourself again tomorrow morning you will not be that weight. You always weigh more at night than you do in the morning. So, I am confident, that unless you eat an entire bag of pretzels tonight, you will weigh back where you started this morning, when you weigh tomorrow morning.
  • jonnie256
    jonnie256 Posts: 169 Member
    I guess it was just the shock factor of seeing a 6lb gain on the scale that freaked me out and had me flabbergasted. Guess I will just weigh myself first thing in the mornin only from now on.
  • abmo32
    abmo32 Posts: 6 Member
    you really can ignore weight fluctuations over short time spans. During 1-2 days the weight change you can measure is usually water, e.g. glycogene stores in your muscles.
    When I eat chocolate I feel I gain 10 times the weight of the chocolate temporarily. Sugar like salts and some food additives bind water - that is what your scale tells you in numbers. Theese are no fat/muscle gains.
    Also naturally your bowel movement and hydration/blatter status are reflected in weight.

    I suggest only weighing one self once a week and doing this strictly under the same conditions (clothing, fasting status, day time, after morning toilet etc)
  • jonnie256
    jonnie256 Posts: 169 Member
    Did you lift today or yesterday? Your muscles could be holding water. Or you have a lot of water and food in your stomach and you should be fine after a nice *kitten*. Don't worry so much. It is impossible you gained that much "fat" in two meals. If it were possible I would be 600lbs by now.

    I lifted weights Thursday.
  • jonnie256
    jonnie256 Posts: 169 Member
  • Firefly_71
    Firefly_71 Posts: 16 Member
    What abmos32 said... and to add to that:

    I almost always weigh myself in the morning. A couple of times - for a point of comparison - I have weighed myself at night (after eating a few meals, and drinking a lot of water). The number can vary by 2 to 5 pounds. Water retention is a big factor. For every gram of carbohydrates that you eat, your body will retain approximately 3 grams of water. A pound is about 450 grams, so if you eat around 200 grams of carbs, then expect to retain at least 600 grams of water (1.5 pounds right there). Sodium is another variable. And working out strenuously can also cause your body to retain water. Day to day variations are to be expected. It is better to see how things are trending over the week, and month. Also have a secondary measurement to see other gains: i.e. measure your arms, waist, legs, etc. and use that for a reference to see how those those shrink or grow (depending on your goals).

    That scoobysworkshop video is insane.
  • Firefly_71
    Firefly_71 Posts: 16 Member
    Also - I like and use the Happy Scale app. It helps with figuring out how my weight is trending and projecting weight loss rates.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    jonnie256 wrote: »
    Have only had 2 meals today and gained 6lbs!!!! Wtf! So frustrated. Didn't even eat THAT bad. Yes my diary is open. Just happened to had weighed myself this morning and weighed myself after I took a shower after dinner.

    Don't weigh yourself both times of the day. Pick one or the other. What you're describing is normal weight fluctuation.

    Keep in mind that to gain one pound, you have to eat 3,500 calories over your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE). To gain six pounds you would have to eat 21,000 calories over your TDEE.

    Did you do either of these things?

    By the way, fat gain does not happen overnight. :)
  • G33K_G1RL
    G33K_G1RL Posts: 283 Member
    I went through a phase where I weighed after pretty much everything. 2 cups of coffee and a piece of fruit turned into four pounds. It was actually kind of fun for me.

    Hahaha I do the same. I only log in the morning using a trend app, but I'm curious to see how food and activity can make weight vary during the day.

    A day at the spa really lowers water weight ;)
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  • jonnie256
    jonnie256 Posts: 169 Member
    MrM27 wrote: »
    Because undigested for a water retention.

    What?
  • ncboiler89
    ncboiler89 Posts: 2,408 Member
    jonnie256 wrote: »
    Have only had 2 meals today and gained 6lbs!!!! Wtf! So frustrated. Didn't even eat THAT bad. Yes my diary is open. Just happened to had weighed myself this morning and weighed myself after I took a shower after dinner.

    You are trying to lose fat. You didn't gain six pound of fat. It takes a surplus of 3500 calories to gain one pound of fat. I'll let you do the math to figure out how this is virtually impossible to do via two meals.
  • ncfitbit
    ncfitbit Posts: 1,058 Member

    I was going to post the Scooby video, too! Ever since I saw it, I no longer freak out about those fluctuations.

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  • happysquidmuffin
    happysquidmuffin Posts: 651 Member
    You gotta remember, drinking water and eating food immediately add physical weight in your belly. Weight goes up and down all day long. You shouldn't really take into account what you weigh at different times of the day. I only weigh myself in the mornings, after going to the bathroom, before I drink any water. If I looked at my end of day weight on some days, I'm sure I'd wanna pass out.
  • ncboiler89
    ncboiler89 Posts: 2,408 Member
    You gotta remember, drinking water and eating food immediately add physical weight in your belly. Weight goes up and down all day long. You shouldn't really take into account what you weigh at different times of the day. I only weigh myself in the mornings, after going to the bathroom, before I drink any water. If I looked at my end of day weight on some days, I'm sure I'd wanna pass out.

    I think people need to learn the the concept of losing weight and what it means. It should be one of the first things a person learns before beginning the process.
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
    Some people drink as much as a gallon of water a day, so there's 8 1/3 pounds right there. Then you add your food to it and you have even more.
  • ncboiler89
    ncboiler89 Posts: 2,408 Member
    Some people drink as much as a gallon of water a day, so there's 8 1/3 pounds right there. Then you add your food to it and you have even more.

    But as long as their pisser is working I don't think they are going to store a gallon of water. Well I guess they might if they were stranded in a desert for days. :)
  • Sarasmaintaining
    Sarasmaintaining Posts: 1,027 Member
    jonnie256 wrote: »
    Have only had 2 meals today and gained 6lbs!!!! Wtf! So frustrated. Didn't even eat THAT bad. Yes my diary is open. Just happened to had weighed myself this morning and weighed myself after I took a shower after dinner.

    Besides the food and liquids you consume throughout the day having weight until digested, you can also weigh more after a shower. It's a fun little experiment-weigh yourself before taking a shower and then afterwards. My weight always goes up a couple pounds afterwards :p



  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
    Don't weigh yourself more than once a day. It'll just mess with your mind.

    Think of it this way: If you drink 8 glasses of water, 8oz x 8 = 64oz of water. That's 4lbs of water alone and doesn't even count any food you eat. Until you digest it and get rid of the waste, that's in your system and it's gonna show up on the scale.
  • missallenxox
    missallenxox Posts: 175 Member
    i just use common sense. weigh myself in the morning before eating, after peeing lol. usually once a week, same time. or less than that even at times. if i know I'm retaining water from the time of the month, i stay away from the scale. if i know i ate something high insodium.. i just wait an extra day or two to weigh.
  • jonnie256
    jonnie256 Posts: 169 Member
    Well woke up this morn and 2lbs was gone. About to go do a 10k run, I'm sure that will help.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    Dude...ya gotta stop weighing
This discussion has been closed.