Yup sounds like water weight. Happens to me all the time when I start a new program or start up again after a break. Could also be a diet higher in sodium which I find adds too (esp after takeout or a weekend of eating away from home etc).

Keep at it and eventually the scale will start to come down again.

Even if you can handle high sodium from a blood pressure perspective, it doesn't stop the sodium from causing water retention. It just means it won't give you dangerously high blood pressure!

Salads from restaurants are not always low calorie. If they have croutons, nuts, seeds, loads of dressing, meat, cheese, avocado, dried fruit, or come with bread, they may have more calories than you realize. (Not that all those additions are individually bad for you, just that they can contribute calories that sometimes make salads worse options than, say, grilled chicken sandwiches or something.) There is a salad at Chili's that has more than 1400 calories, as an example.

Bloating does sound like water retention. You don't have to discuss the next part if you don't want to, because it's kind of personal and not everyone is comfortable talking about it, but constipation can also be a problem when you are eating a reduced calorie diet. So increased fiber intake may help you feel full and solve that problem, if you happen to have it.

I also notice you said you often had something GF for breakfast. If you have celiac disease or a gluten allergy/intolerance, of course GF foods are medically advisable, but if you don't need to eat GF, you may want to avoid highly processed GF foods -- a lot of them are loaded with potato starch, tapioca starch, white rice flour, etc. (There are some whole grain GF foods out there, but you really have to drill down into the ingredients lists to see.) Starchy things are easily digestible calories and produce a lot of glucose as they're broken down (because starch is a polymer of glucose...). Go for more whole grains, whether they are GF or not -- they will help you develop a healthy gut bacteria population due to their fiber content, which can also help with bloat (and they will make you feel fuller). (A probiotic or eating yogurt also could help.)

I agree with others that water retention is the issue. Controlling salt intake will definitely help. Most importantly, don't get discouraged, you need to keep going. Results will come. I also have read quite a few research articles about how cardio alone is not effective in losing weight; you need to add strength training. I am now a firm believer that weight training is extremely important for adding muscle mass and reducing fat. I personally don't like weight lifting, instead I prefer yoga. My challenge is that I just have to keep at it and gradually increase the intensity. Good luck on your journey!

I have the same thing happen to me too. I've also noticed that with the lovely hormone fluctuations that come with peri menopause don't help much either. I can literally go up and down 5+ pounds overnight. Frustrating!

I also have food allergies. Including gluten. If I venture into gluten land, I blow up like a balloon.

It makes the process more difficult. But be vigilant and mindful with food and stick to those workouts. You'll get there.

Maybe you need to get rid of the splurge day.