How is this possible?!

cara2411 · July 2017

Ok, so I've been following mfp for a few weeks and lost 4lb. I had a cheat on saturday night and had a pizza and crisps. On saturday morning when weighed myself I was 155lb. I weighed myself Sunday morning after my cheat just out of curiosity (I only usually weigh myself every Saturday morning). I weighed 157lb! I out it down to water weight, but now, this morning I weigh 158. How?! How am I putting on weight so fast?

Finkelstien · July 2017

water retention from salty chips and pizza

cara2411 · July 2017

Thank you

TavistockToad · July 2017

cara2411 wrote: »

Ok, so I've been following mfp for a few weeks and lost 4lb. I had a cheat on saturday night and had a pizza and crisps. On saturday morning when weighed myself I was 155lb. I weighed myself Sunday morning after my cheat just out of curiosity (I only usually weigh myself every Saturday morning). I weighed 157lb! I out it down to water weight, but now, this morning I weigh 158. How?! How am I putting on weight so fast?

still water weight

cara2411 · July 2017

TavistockToad wrote: »

cara2411 wrote: »

Ok, so I've been following mfp for a few weeks and lost 4lb. I had a cheat on saturday night and had a pizza and crisps. On saturday morning when weighed myself I was 155lb. I weighed myself Sunday morning after my cheat just out of curiosity (I only usually weigh myself every Saturday morning). I weighed 157lb! I out it down to water weight, but now, this morning I weigh 158. How?! How am I putting on weight so fast?

still water weight

How long does it take to get rid of water weight?

Seffell · July 2017

cara2411 wrote: »

TavistockToad wrote: »

cara2411 wrote: »

Ok, so I've been following mfp for a few weeks and lost 4lb. I had a cheat on saturday night and had a pizza and crisps. On saturday morning when weighed myself I was 155lb. I weighed myself Sunday morning after my cheat just out of curiosity (I only usually weigh myself every Saturday morning). I weighed 157lb! I out it down to water weight, but now, this morning I weigh 158. How?! How am I putting on weight so fast?

still water weight

How long does it take to get rid of water weight?

Your weight will always fluctuate up and down due to water. Water is not a bad thing. Your body uses it. Unless you are preparing for a bekini competition or you want to fit in a particular boxing category for your next Sunday fight, there is no need to get rid of it.

richb178 · July 2017

It's not like your body actually stored 3lbs of fat from a small cheat one evening. Don't chase the scale or you'll drive yourself crazy.

tweedledee16 · July 2017

richb178 wrote: »

It's not like your body actually stored 3lbs of fat from a small cheat one evening. Don't chase the scale or you'll drive yourself crazy.

amen to that. I weigh once a week on the same day at the same time. And even then I think it might be too frequent!

Silentpadna · July 2017

cara2411 wrote: »

TavistockToad wrote: »

cara2411 wrote: »

Ok, so I've been following mfp for a few weeks and lost 4lb. I had a cheat on saturday night and had a pizza and crisps. On saturday morning when weighed myself I was 155lb. I weighed myself Sunday morning after my cheat just out of curiosity (I only usually weigh myself every Saturday morning). I weighed 157lb! I out it down to water weight, but now, this morning I weigh 158. How?! How am I putting on weight so fast?

still water weight

How long does it take to get rid of water weight?

I would urge you to reset your mind about water weight. If you don't, you're liable to make decisions based on things that are not true.

For instance:

Your body consists of somewhere in the neighborhood of 60% water. I weigh 195 pounds, which means the component of my weight that is water is about 120 pounds give or take. Furthermore, your body keeps or loses water as it needs it and it fluctuates much quicker than any fat (or muscle) loss or gain. Most of the time it is a good thing and a normal process. During those processes it is not only necessary (such as during muscle repair), but not a controllable thing. Plus, why deprive what your body uses normally?

The problem with water retention is not the function, but that it can fool you on the scale - making you think the process you are using to lose weight (i.e. eating at a deficit) isn't working when it very well could be.

I fluctuate as much as 5 pounds in a single day - and I'm a guy. That means that even when I was losing fat at the rate of 2 pounds per week, water retention would mask it - or exaggerate it. BTW I gained 3 pounds this weekend at a 2000 calorie overall deficit. It...... was..... not..... fat. It will whoosh away whenever it does. I don't know when exactly.

If you want to weigh yourself every day, you can, but understand it's for data. You can't make a decision on it. You need time to see the real thing happening and there is no way to shortcut that. Day-to-day, the scale will lie. A trend of 6-8 weeks, it will show what's really going on - but not likely until then.

Be patient and trust the process.

cara2411 · July 2017

Thanks for the replies.
Also, I usually go to a spinning class once a week, but last week I went 4 times as I had more free time, could dramatically increasing exercise cause me to retain more water?

Silentpadna · July 2017

cara2411 wrote: »

Thanks for the replies.
Also, I usually go to a spinning class once a week, but last week I went 4 times as I had more free time, could dramatically increasing exercise cause me to retain more water?

It absolutely can.

inertiastrength · July 2017

I gained 7lbs after a 2 day carb fest at my son's birthday party. I over ate not even enough to kill my weekly deficit so while I gained 7lbs of weight, I actually lost .5lbs of fat

Took about a week to see it fall off, just let the time pass and don't stress.. it's going to pass anyhow

ETA: I meant so specify that this was mostly water and replenished glycogen stores

Silentpadna · July 2017

cara2411 wrote: »

Thanks for the replies.
Also, I usually go to a spinning class once a week, but last week I went 4 times as I had more free time, could dramatically increasing exercise cause me to retain more water?

Your body also has a stress hormone, cortisol, which also results in more water retention. When you exercise a lot, your body releases this hormone too. So many who decide they need to increase their exercise because they aren't seeing results only continue to up the ante and release more cortisol - then become more stressed because they aren't seeing results - releasing even more, etc. The best advice here, if that's you, is to chill out. I know, easier said than done. But again, patience is the best thing you do mentally while your trying to become healthy.

It doesn't happen overnight, but done right, it does happen.

mmapags · July 2017

tweedledee16 wrote: »

richb178 wrote: »

It's not like your body actually stored 3lbs of fat from a small cheat one evening. Don't chase the scale or you'll drive yourself crazy.

amen to that. I weigh once a week on the same day at the same time. And even then I think it might be too frequent!

For some folks, maybe even many, I think you are right. I weigh each morning under the same conditions, right after elimination, naked, before eating or drinking anything. That number can vary by 2 to 3 pounds, though is usually within a pound or so. The key, for me, to not obsessing is to then log it into a weight trending app and look at the graph. Over time, it is consistently downwards. Winning!

Also, I know that from cortisol, diet etc, I'm going to be up and down, but about every 2 to 3 weeks I'm going to have a whoosh day and move the average downward. That helps me to chills on the days it goes up.

ninerbuff · July 2017

It's from the extra weight of anxiety.

Weight fluctuates DAILY especially if you have a sodium blowout one or two days prior. Drink some water, that should help.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

bkbirge · July 2017

A pound of fat is approx. 3500 calories, just remind yourself of that whenever you see the scale move up. If you ate 3500 above your maintenance level the previous day or 2 then maybe it's real otherwise it's almost always going to be water weight. Just keep at it, sometimes it feels like there is no change at all for a long time and then boom the scale drops a nice chunk, other times it drops a little each day, and then other times it goes up a little. For me salt is a big culprit here.

MsMaeFlowers · July 2017

I weigh myself daily (or at least several times a week) just so I can catch the low times in my weight as it fluctuates so darn much from water weight. I don't think that would work for people who get upset seeing themselves go up and down constantly though.

How is this possible?!

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