How long for water/[insert] weight to come off?

Seffell
Seffell Posts: 2,244 Member
edited December 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Hey all,

Can you please tell me from your own experience how long does it take for water/(whatever this is) weight to come off?

Here is the situation:
I'm 170cm, 69-70kg. I've been on MFP for 3 months and have lost about 6kg so far (my rate has decreased a lot the last month - to less than a kilogram).
I don't workout due to health issues, however lately I've been better and started taking long walks.
Four days ago (8th May) I had more to eat (my diary is open) - around 2000cals. This should be around 200cals above my maintenance for the day (I had a 2 hours brisk walk this day). As expected the next day my weight was higher (this has happened to me before, and I presume mostly water and poo :) ) I gained 700grams (on the next day weigh in) which are obviously not from fat as this would be 5400cals above maintenance. In other similar cases the weight is gone the following day. Bit this time it is sticking for a forth day. I've been drinking a lot of water the last days to help it come of if it is from excess sodium. I've been to the toilet regularly every day so it is not that either. Also I recently got a new bath scale so I have two now and it is not the scale that's stuck.
I know that weight loss is not linear but from my own experience I never gain random amounts of weight like this (my weight is not that high to fluctuate that much in any one occasion) apart from my period and ovulation and now is not near any of them. In the 3 months so far it hasn't happened once like that.

I'm not worried much as I know it can't be fat gain. It is a new experience for me as it hasn't happened before so I was wondering for how long it is going to stick. Also is there anything I can do to help it apart from drinking more water (is it water weight to start with?). I don't know much (if at all) about the whole "water weight" or "glycogen stores" stuff.

What say you? :)

P.S. About my diary - I use the recipe builder extensively so you will see a lot of "servings". I use a scale to measure my food, I never eyeball or use volumes to measure solids. However sometimes when I scan the food the calories are given (as on the packet) for weird amounts like "a third of the packet" or a "tablespoon(X gr)" in which case I parametrise the weight in grams into the given amount.

Replies

  • I_amnr
    I_amnr Posts: 129 Member
    when on a keto diet, if i have cheat meal high in carbs on Sunday it usually takes till Wednesday. on a normal calorie deficit its usually 2 days

    but i would say look at the long term instead :)

    i think worrying about fluctuations due to water weight will drive you crazy :)

    i tend not to even factor in water weight when i start dieting .. for example i have being in a calorie deficit for a while losing maybe 0.7 kg a week and at the start of a keto diet i lost about 1.6 kg in a week. i know half of that is probably water weight and once i start eating carbs again ill put it back on.

    there was also a week where i lost 0.8 kg and 0.7 cm of my waist and the following week i lost 0.2 kg and 0.83 cm of my waist. I probably had a bit more water weight but the measuring tape told me i had probably lost more fat than the previous week.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    edited May 2016
    Don't fret over 700g ! especially if it's water weight. For me water weight can last for up to 5 days regardless of how much water I drink. It's a natural fluctuation so we gotta go with the flow :smiley:
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    I've gained 4 lbs of water weight in a day and had it stick around for 2 weeks.
  • Seffell
    Seffell Posts: 2,244 Member
    Thanks guys :)@jemhh wow two weeks! OK then I see it can stick for quite a while.
  • endlessfall16
    endlessfall16 Posts: 932 Member
    I_amnr wrote: »
    when on a keto diet, if i have cheat meal high in carbs on Sunday it usually takes till Wednesday. on a normal calorie deficit its usually 2 days
    Same here. Maybe guys are different!

    My super binge on last Sunday Mother's Day was mostly on salty foods, and gave me almost 5 lbs gain. It's all gone by this morning (Wednesday).

    If water stayed back for days or weeks, why would the body still need to hydrate normally?
  • rankinsect
    rankinsect Posts: 2,238 Member
    It depends on why you're retaining water.

    Water is retained to balance osmotic pressure - that is, to keep a balance between the amount of water and the amount of "stuff" inside and outside of your cells. Water isn't retained on its own for no reason.

    You'll stop retaining the water when the reason for the water retention is gone. For example, if you have normal kidneys, they can typically filter out excess sodium in 1-2 days, so water retention from sodium typically lasts that long. Water retention for muscle repair will last until the muscle is repaired. Water retention from increasing your body's glycogen stores will last until those stores fall back to their previous level. And so on.
  • Citycat2015
    Citycat2015 Posts: 86 Member
    My salty food and wine on the weekend added a couple pounds. I am finally back to my Friday weight today.
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