Why such a dramatic jump in one day

hartk001
hartk001 Posts: 51 Member
edited November 22 in Health and Weight Loss
When I first started out with MFP I was 15st 2lb I set an initial target of 14st, from there my next goal would have been 13st 1/2 stone and eventually 13st. MFP set me a target of 1500 calories a day. Fitbit showed that my number of steps was in excess of 1,400 almost every day. I've been pretty good keeping within the 1,500 calorie goal though I will admit on the odd occasion I did exceed that number. On many days what with exercise and all I didn't even reach 1,500!

My weight decreased slowly by between 1 and 2lbs a week and three days ago it was 14st 7lb, then the following day it jumped dramatically back to 15st. At first I thought there was something different from the previous days: water retention, possibly a kick back from overdoing it, a decrease in the number of steps taken in the day but a quick glance at the previous three/four days suggested this was not the case. I weigh myself first thing in the morning after going to the loo. This morning it was 14st 13lb

I can't understand what is going on here. A jump of one or two pounds I could understand but a gain of 7lbs in one day I just can't get my head around. Any members out there offer me some sort of a solution

Replies

  • _persephone_
    _persephone_ Posts: 138 Member
    It's almost definitely water retention of some sort - it's impossible to gain that much fat in such a small amount of time, but perfectly possible to be carrying around that much water (for example, it's not unusual for me to go up 6lb around my time of the month!)

    A couple of things to consider - did you just increase the intensity of your exercise? Did you eat something containing a lot of sodium? Both of these can cause a jump in scale weight that has nothing to do with gaining fat.
  • mywayroche
    mywayroche Posts: 218 Member
    Factors affecting water weight (including but not limited to):
    Increased exercise or activity
    Increased carbs
    Increased salt (think processed foods)
    Decreased potassium (offsets salt)
    Increased alcohol
    Increased calories
    Illness/sickness
    Muscle damage/injury
    Stress/anxiety

    The list goes on and on. I dont find scales helpful unless theyre showing a lower number than ive seen before. Dont get so hung up on numbers

  • indrid503
    indrid503 Posts: 4 Member
    Do you move your scale at all between weigh ins? I have a digital scale and if I weigh myself with it in one corner of the bathroom it will say one thing, but if I move it just a few feet over, it will say something different, often by several pounds....not sure why this is, just thought I'd mention it in case you gave a similar issue! Good luck!
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,749 Member
    If you were dehydrated the day before, you might also retain water. Any restaurant meal can cause water weight gain because of the huge amount of salt most use. I had the same thing. I have been at about the same weight for a month. This morning I'm up 3 pounds. My husband reminded me that we went out to dinner night before last. We also went hiking yesterday and didn't drink enough.
  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
    Seven pounds is within the range I gain and lose during a day due to water weight, but it's unusual to have such a large jump when you weigh yourself at the same time of day. Some possible causes: diet related reason such as sodium, retaining water due to exercise.

    How do you feel? There are a couple of potentially serious causes for a sudden jump in weight, such as heart disease or kidney disease. If you feel all right you are probably all right, but if you feel "flu ish" get yourself to a doctor and say what's up.
  • riffraff2112
    riffraff2112 Posts: 1,756 Member
    For me that is pretty much normal. My weight fluctuates as much as 6 lbs a day.
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