When do calories catch up with you?

twoeight80
twoeight80 Posts: 24 Member
edited November 28 in Health and Weight Loss
If you're counting calories and go over your limit, when does it show up on the scale?

Replies

  • earthlymaterial
    earthlymaterial Posts: 3 Member
    edited January 2016
    Immediately I believe. You normally weigh more after eating because you have food in your stomach, but if you eat a surplus it just doesn't go back to the original number.
  • adigriffon
    adigriffon Posts: 12 Member
    I find I see it three days or so later. Bad scale maybe?
  • allyphoe
    allyphoe Posts: 618 Member
    Random variance prevents you from being able to use a single scale reading like that.
  • rankinsect
    rankinsect Posts: 2,238 Member
    earthlymaterial wrote: »
    Immediately I believe. You normally weigh more after eating because you have food in your stomach, but if you eat a surplus it just doesn't go back to the original number.

    Yes, any actual mass gained has to come from the mass of the food and drink you consumed.
  • sanfromny
    sanfromny Posts: 770 Member
    I usually see it 48 hours later. Never the next day.
  • shrcpr
    shrcpr Posts: 885 Member
    You don't always even see a change. Yes, CICO rules but our bodies are good at adapting to minor fluctuations here and there. For me, I need to eat consistently over or under to see a change either way. Everyone is different.
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,486 Member
    Do you mean if you over eat your deficit for a few days when will a weight gain show on the scale?
    If that was the question.....
    If you go over your deficit but are still under your maintenance your weight loss will be less by the amount you over ate. But you won't gain.
    If you eat enough to go over maintenance you will gain the amount you over ate, approx.
    Say your deficit was 1lbs a week. And you ate to maintenance for a week you would lose nothing.
    If however you ate maintenance plus an extra 250 cals a day for a week you would gain half a pound. It would show as a plus .5 lbs at your weekly weigh in, the next week at the latest.

    Cheers, h.
  • twoeight80
    twoeight80 Posts: 24 Member
    Thank you everyone!
  • 1princesswarrior
    1princesswarrior Posts: 1,242 Member
    3500 calories is 1 pound of fat so you typically need to eat 3500 calories over your TDEE to gain or lose 1 lb of fat if all other variables are constant (i.e. activity, water intake, sodium intake, etc.). Each person generally has the same internal biology barring any medical conditions (known or unknown) so you would typically see a scale change after eating 3500 calories over your TDEE.

    But I personally don't know of a scale that accurate. My weight fluctuates by up to 5 lbs a day so I use measurements and how my clothes fit to really judge my weight loss or gain.
  • twoeight80
    twoeight80 Posts: 24 Member
    middlehaitch wrote: »
    Do you mean if you over eat your deficit for a few days when will a weight gain show on the scale?
    If that was the question.....
    If you go over your deficit but are still under your maintenance your weight loss will be less by the amount you over ate. But you won't gain.
    If you eat enough to go over maintenance you will gain the amount you over ate, approx.
    Say your deficit was 1lbs a week. And you ate to maintenance for a week you would lose nothing.
    If however you ate maintenance plus an extra 250 cals a day for a week you would gain half a pound. It would show as a plus .5 lbs at your weekly weigh in, the next week at the latest.

    Cheers, h.

    Okay, that's starting to make sense. This is all new for me. I assumed anything over the calories i'm supposed to eat to lose would actually make me gain.
  • twoeight80
    twoeight80 Posts: 24 Member
    1princesswarrior wrote: »
    3500 calories is 1 pound of fat so you typically need to eat 3500 calories over your TDEE to gain or lose 1 lb of fat if all other variables are constant (i.e. activity, water intake, sodium intake, etc.). Each person generally has the same internal biology barring any medical conditions (known or unknown) so you would typically see a scale change after eating 3500 calories over your TDEE.

    But I personally don't know of a scale that accurate. My weight fluctuates by up to 5 lbs a day so I use measurements and how my clothes fit to really judge my weight loss or gain.

    Wow. I've never heard any of this before. I've been calorie counting for four days. For days of my entire life. I am learning so much!
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