Can sodium really make me bloat this much?!

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pianoplaya94
pianoplaya94 Posts: 185 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Last night I unfortunately binged. It wasn't my biggest binge, but it did include A LOT of salty snacks. Mainly, popcorn, pretzels, graham crackers, cheezits (sp?) and goldfish (which I could tell were very salty). Due to me not being hungry and having a very busy day, I did not eat again until tonight. Right before dinner tonight I weighed myself, assuming it wouldn't show much difference than usual (I usually weigh in the morning but I assumed weighing right before dinner tonight would be ok since I didn't eat all day). But the scale was up 4 pounds! I also noticed I am a bit bigger in the stomach region (waist was an inch bigger when I measured today!), my face and even my calves! I was wondering if this could all be due to what I ate last night? How long before it goes away? Thanks!

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  • godlikepoetyes
    godlikepoetyes Posts: 442 Member
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    Weighing tonight meant nothing. Weigh yourself the same time wearing the same clothes. Yes, eating a lot of salt can bloat you but so can lots of other things, like eating a bunch of junk food.
  • MissusMoon
    MissusMoon Posts: 1,900 Member
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    Yes, you can fluctuate that much from water retention. I don't know your portions, but keep in mind it takes 3500 excess calories to gain a pound.
  • hiyomi
    hiyomi Posts: 906 Member
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    Yep, my weight fluctuates as much as 2-5 lbs if I eat big meals or things with a ton of sodium.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    edited May 2016
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    Yes. Try not to be hard on yourself. If it's water weight it will dissipate.
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
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    You put stuff in your body all day, like filling a shopping bag and it takes time for the body to process all of that and then dispose of what it can't use. Weighing a few hours after eating and drinking means absolutely nothing. Vast majority of people are heavier at night than in the morning.

    And IF you are still 4lbs heavier in the morning then yes it can easily just be water weight and fluctuation. It can't really be anything else after 24 hours.
  • bellabonbons
    bellabonbons Posts: 705 Member
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    I never add add add salt to foods. And I don't have a saltshaker in the house. But on the rare occasion's when I do eat something super salty like Chinese food, I can gained 4 to 5 pounds of water weight plus I never Way at night that's the worst time to way. I always weigh first thing in the morning.
  • badnoodle
    badnoodle Posts: 216 Member
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    Yup. I'm pretty sodium sensitive, and if I get much more than the 2500MG RDA, I know I'm going to retain some water - as much as 10 lbs once. It generally takes me a couple days to clear it, counterintuitively by drinking water and iced tea like a fish.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
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    VintageFeline wrote: »
    You put stuff in your body all day, like filling a shopping bag and it takes time for the body to process all of that and then dispose of what it can't use. Weighing a few hours after eating and drinking means absolutely nothing. Vast majority of people are heavier at night than in the morning.

    And IF you are still 4lbs heavier in the morning then yes it can easily just be water weight and fluctuation. It can't really be anything else after 24 hours.

    ^^ this is great way to explain bloat/weight :smile:

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