did i really gain 4 pounds in a week?!?

graces109
graces109 Posts: 12 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I weighed myself August 8th, and i was 113.5 pounds. I have been maintaining around 114. Then yesterday i weighed in at 118 pounds! I was so shocked. I havent over eaten by 14,000 calories at all. I haven’t increased my calories at all. I have had a lot more sugar this past week but can eating more sugar when you aren’t increasing your calories make you gain 4 pounds in a week?? And i’ve eaten a lot more sugar than this before and haven’t gained a thing. i’m so confused. It’s not my period time either. After i weighed myself i fasted for about 19 hours. Before i broke my fast I weighed myself and i was STILL 118!

Replies

  • divcara
    divcara Posts: 357 Member
    Did you eat things that are high in sodium that make you retain water?
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  • mariluny
    mariluny Posts: 428 Member
    Weight is not a stable thing, it fluctuate easily. You listed many things that means you most likelly did not gain actual weigh that will stick around. If you ate more sugar lately you probably also consummed more carbs than usual because the sugar you ate was in cakes or flour dense food, which means more water retention.
    Eat more a more whole food diet for a few days, with less sugar, salt and unhealthy fat and i'm sure it will all come down.
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  • Lift_Run_Eat
    Lift_Run_Eat Posts: 986 Member
    graces109 wrote: »
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    There are lots of things that will cause you to retain water. You are right that you did not gain 4 pounds of fat :)
    1. Is it two weeks before your period? Many women retain water at ovulation as well. It wasn't until I started weighing daily that I realized this was true for me.
    2. Have you started a new exercise program? My scale went up 7 pounds when I started weight lifting. Took a few weeks to come back off.
    3. What about high sodium meals?
    4. Travel by plane?
    5. Stress?

    Thank you so so much! I don’t know if it’s too weeks before my period and i haven’t started a new exercise program but i have had more salt than usual! If it is water retention, how long should i wait for it to come off? and is it normal that i feel a lot bigger? my arms feel bigger and my stomach looks and feels A LOT larger. is this normal for water retention? Thank you again so much!

    I always feel bigger with water retention. Drink lots and lots of water. If it is that, your body should release it.
  • try2again
    try2again Posts: 3,562 Member
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10634529/why-did-the-number-on-the-scale-go-up-this-week-heres-why/p1
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10683010/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-fluctuations/p1
  • Zoejohnse91
    Zoejohnse91 Posts: 227 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    There are lots of things that will cause you to retain water. You are right that you did not gain 4 pounds of fat :)
    1. Is it two weeks before your period? Many women retain water at ovulation as well. It wasn't until I started weighing daily that I realized this was true for me.
    2. Have you started a new exercise program? My scale went up 7 pounds when I started weight lifting. Took a few weeks to come back off.
    3. What about high sodium meals?
    4. Travel by plane?
    5. Stress?

    This ^
    I gain randomly for any reason my body can muster up. Due on? 7lbs. Ovulating? 5lbs Sneezed east at 3pm? 10lbs. Haha I joke but it really is that unpredictable.
  • divcara
    divcara Posts: 357 Member
    If you ate meals out and typically don't, restaurants tend to use so much more sodium than I typically use when cooking. If I eat higher in salt, my weight will go up a few pounds. It's often just water retention. Make sure to hydrate well. You very likely did not gain 4 pounds in a week. Just ride it out, you will likely settle back where you were. I try not to weight myself every day for that very reason.
  • collectingblues
    collectingblues Posts: 2,541 Member
    graces109 wrote: »
    I weighed myself August 8th, and i was 113.5 pounds. I have been maintaining around 114. Then yesterday i weighed in at 118 pounds! I was so shocked. I havent over eaten by 14,000 calories at all. I haven’t increased my calories at all. I have had a lot more sugar this past week but can eating more sugar when you aren’t increasing your calories make you gain 4 pounds in a week?? And i’ve eaten a lot more sugar than this before and haven’t gained a thing. i’m so confused. It’s not my period time either. After i weighed myself i fasted for about 19 hours. Before i broke my fast I weighed myself and i was STILL 118!

    So, weight doesn't work that way -- fasting isn't going to make water weight come off any sooner just because you want it to. And if you know that you didn't eat that many excess calories, you know it's not fat. It's water. It's gonna come off when it feels like coming off.

    Was there a medical or religious reason for the fasting? Or did you do it in response to the scale number?
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,175 Member
    The extra sugar can cause some water retention, too - also temporarily. (This, like the salt thing, is true even if the amount is perfectly reasonable and within a reasonable calorie level - just more than what's typical/average for you.)

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