gained 5 pounds on vacation!?

its_whisper
its_whisper Posts: 112 Member
edited November 20 in Health and Weight Loss
Is it really possible to gain 5 pounds in a week?

I went on vacation for 10 days and 8 of those days I admit I didn't watch my calories and hardly worked out so I know i might of gained at least 1 to 2 pounds but today before I ate breakfast the scale says I gained 5 pounds :o

I don't feel bloated which is weird because I know I had a lot of salty and sugary food..and as of yesterday I started drinking water normally again

I just don't want this to set me back..before vacation I finally lost those 5 pesky pounds I'd been trying to lose for months and now I might of set myself back again :/

Replies

  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    Did you fly? "Airplane weight" can be 3Lbs or so and takes a couple of days to diminish.
  • its_whisper
    its_whisper Posts: 112 Member
    Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
    Did you fly? "Airplane weight" can be 3Lbs or so and takes a couple of days to diminish.

    No, I drove. I didn't know flying does that.
  • cosmonew
    cosmonew Posts: 513 Member
    Give it a couple days. I also just got back from a 10 day vacation. I weighed 130.6 yesterday (my first day home) and 126.6 today... so get back to your normal schedule and you should balance out.
  • its_whisper
    its_whisper Posts: 112 Member
    cosmonew wrote: »
    Give it a couple days. I also just got back from a 10 day vacation. I weighed 130.6 yesterday (my first day home) and 126.6 today... so get back to your normal schedule and you should balance out.

    That gives me hope! I hope you're right :) where'd you go for vacation? :smiley:
  • FernRunner
    FernRunner Posts: 79 Member
    I jumped up to 142.2 the day after I got back and was 138.8 the very next day. An irregular eating pattern can definitely mess with the initial weigh in. My actual gain for my week away was more like one pound.
  • Morgaen73
    Morgaen73 Posts: 2,817 Member
    Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
    Did you fly? "Airplane weight" can be 3Lbs or so and takes a couple of days to diminish.

    Scuze my ignorance but what is "airplane weight"?
  • skymningen
    skymningen Posts: 532 Member
    Probably airplane weight is nothing but retained water, because of prolonged sitting in a plane and eating food which is usually high in sodium (as people taste less in high altitude somehow, so airplane caterers try to make their food more "spicy").
  • subcounter
    subcounter Posts: 2,382 Member
    its_whisper wrote: »
    Is it really possible to gain 5 pounds in a week?

    I went on vacation for 10 days and 8 of those days I admit I didn't watch my calories and hardly worked out so I know i might of gained at least 1 to 2 pounds but today before I ate breakfast the scale says I gained 5 pounds :o

    I don't feel bloated which is weird because I know I had a lot of salty and sugary food..and as of yesterday I started drinking water normally again

    I just don't want this to set me back..before vacation I finally lost those 5 pesky pounds I'd been trying to lose for months and now I might of set myself back again :/

    Water weight. You probably carb-ed up during the vacation. Simply go back to your regular diet and you ll lose those pounds. My weight fluctuates up to 6-7 lb's.
  • strongerbytheday
    strongerbytheday Posts: 116 Member
    I returned from vacation last week, I was also 5 pounds heavier! I wasn't super strict with my food, while on vacation, but I was still watching it. I weighed myself daily when we got home and believe it or not, I lost all 5 lbs of vacation weight in just 4 days! I think it's mostly water retention from eatting more carbs than usual (glycogen stores more water in your muscles when you increase your carb intake). Drink extra water and weight/track your food like it's your job. I think you will be surprised how quickly it disappears! Please do keep us posted :)
  • its_whisper
    its_whisper Posts: 112 Member
    strongerbytheday wrote: »
    I returned from vacation last week, I was also 5 pounds heavier! I wasn't super strict with my food, while on vacation, but I was still watching it. I weighed myself daily when we got home and believe it or not, I lost all 5 lbs of vacation weight in just 4 days! I think it's mostly water retention from eatting more carbs than usual (glycogen stores more water in your muscles when you increase your carb intake). Drink extra water and weight/track your food like it's your job. I think you will be surprised how quickly it disappears! Please do keep us posted :)

    That's great! I wasn't strict with my food at all. I admit I ate a lot of ice cream and pizza and went out to eat to many times. I was worried at first but I told myself "You eat healthy all year..one week of bad eating won't kill you" now I think I went crazy lol. I will, thanks :)
  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
    Nearly everyone gains scale weight on vacation. How much of it is fat and how much is water/food will depend on how lax you were. Get back to dieting and it'll go.

    Hopefully you enjoyed yourself which is what counts most.
  • inertiastrength
    inertiastrength Posts: 2,343 Member
    edited July 2017
    I had a weekend of my son's birthday party plus 2 other high 3500 calorie days in the week. I gained 7lbs... over the course of the week afterwards I lost them too. Glycogen and water weight can be substantial but that's all it is. In reality I maybe gained 1lb of fat, which I made the conscious decision to do because well... it's my life haha.
  • inertiastrength
    inertiastrength Posts: 2,343 Member
    I will say I love how my muscles look full of glycogen and water tho hahaha pros and cons!
  • fitmom4lifemfp
    fitmom4lifemfp Posts: 1,572 Member
    its_whisper wrote: »
    Is it really possible to gain 5 pounds in a week?

    I went on vacation for 10 days and 8 of those days I admit I didn't watch my calories and hardly worked out so I know i might of gained at least 1 to 2 pounds but today before I ate breakfast the scale says I gained 5 pounds :o

    I don't feel bloated which is weird because I know I had a lot of salty and sugary food..and as of yesterday I started drinking water normally again

    I just don't want this to set me back..before vacation I finally lost those 5 pesky pounds I'd been trying to lose for months and now I might of set myself back again :/

    LOL! I know people that gain 15 pounds in a week, on a cruise. Done VERY easily.
  • EnglishRose1385
    EnglishRose1385 Posts: 7 Member
    Don't worry about it!! Don't beat yourself up!! It happened, it happens to all of us, we're human. We're to support you Girlie!!! Pick yourself up and go at it again harder, If it doesn't Challenge you it doesn't Change you!!! ❤️
  • SuzySunshine99
    SuzySunshine99 Posts: 2,989 Member
    Water and fluid retention happens very frequently for a number of reasons. My recent example: I maintain my weight between 125-130. Before leaving for a week-long vacation, I weighed myself at 126. After my trip, I weighed myself at 136. Did I really gain 10 pounds of fat in 7 days? Unless I ate 35,000 calories above my maintenance for the week, then no. Here were the main factors for water and fluid retention in my case:

    -Air travel: 6 hours of flying each way.
    -Eating out at restaurants: Sodium and carb-heavy foods, alcohol.
    -Increased exercise: Strenuous mountain hikes.
    -Injury: Got flipped out of a raft into whitewater and slammed against rocks. Bruising and swelling.
    -Dehydration: Was probably not drinking enough water for the amount of activity.

    So, after returning from the trip, I got back to my regular eating habits, rested, and drank a ton of water. The 10 pounds was gone a week later.
  • bbell1985
    bbell1985 Posts: 4,571 Member
    I just got back too. Didn't weight myself because I could SEE it. I think it's about 10 lbs. Then I immediately got my period so I'm not stepping on the scale for another good 8 days. I look like hell.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    skymningen wrote: »
    Probably airplane weight is nothing but retained water, because of prolonged sitting in a plane and eating food which is usually high in sodium (as people taste less in high altitude somehow, so airplane caterers try to make their food more "spicy").

    Yes. We retain quite a bit of water with air travel, whether we eat or not.
  • taziarj
    taziarj Posts: 243 Member
    I gained 17 lbs on a 17 night trip in May. I just this past week got back down to under the weight I was when the trip started. So it set me back about two months.
  • kellyfeb78
    kellyfeb78 Posts: 65 Member
    I'm off to lanzarote for 10 days very soon my diet will go out the window for that time plus major sunbathing so I'm expecting a big weight gain but I know a week or so back on mfp will sort that out
  • Seffell
    Seffell Posts: 2,244 Member
    Last year I gained 5lbs on a 2 week vacation (I'm 138lbs). All of it was fat (I was still logging so I expected this gain).
    Took me 2 months to lose it as I lose at 1lbs a month.
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