Vacation Weight "Gain"

So I am back from a week long vacation and I am up 7 lbs. Now I know this is not all weight gain if any and it's most likely water retention. I hope it does not take too long to drop off. So my question is, what is the most you have gone up on the scale after a vacation? How long did it take to go back to your pre-vacation weight?

Replies

  • SuzySunshine99
    SuzySunshine99 Posts: 2,989 Member
    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. 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.
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    Oh and don't do anything to try and speed up your vacation water weight drop. Frequent urination can play havoc on your electrolytes... trust me I know. Just let it happen when it happens.
  • etherealanwar
    etherealanwar Posts: 465 Member
    NovusDies wrote: »
    19.4 pounds - It took 8 days to return to pre-vacation weight.

    Because of my very large amount of fat loss I seem able to retain a lot more water than normal.

    Wow that is an insane amount! And I am going back to my regular diet and not trying to do anything to speed up the process. It usually takes me longer than usual to get back to where I was after a spike in water weight. Anywhere from 1-2 weeks sadly :(

  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    NovusDies wrote: »
    19.4 pounds - It took 8 days to return to pre-vacation weight.

    Because of my very large amount of fat loss I seem able to retain a lot more water than normal.

    Wow that is an insane amount! And I am going back to my regular diet and not trying to do anything to speed up the process. It usually takes me longer than usual to get back to where I was after a spike in water weight. Anywhere from 1-2 weeks sadly :(

    lol... aren't you glad you only have a measly 7 pounds to deal with?

    I say that but the reality is it is no fun to spike up on water and 7 pounds can make you feel miserable at times. It sucks but it is how our bodies operate.

    Obviously in my 8 days I experienced quite a bit of unloading. Luckily only one day was really high - 5 pounds. The rest of the big days were just short of 3 pounds.

    In the end my numbers (which I track closely) showed I only regained .5 lb of actual fat. Considering I ate enough for 2 pounds of gain that was a great end result for me.
  • brittlb07
    brittlb07 Posts: 313 Member
    I came back from vacation about five pounds heavier and dropped it within a week. And I am only 122 mind you so that seemed like a lot!
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,226 Member
    I wrote a post about a similar experience here, with full detail of calories/weights:

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10603949/big-overfeed-ruins-everything-nope

    Quick summary: Up 6.4 pounds between Thursday and following Monday; back down below starting weight by that week Friday, without doing anything extreme, just back to a slight deficit I'd been using at the time before the crazy-eating long weekend.
  • grimendale
    grimendale Posts: 2,153 Member
    Spent a day in Asheville and ate my face off. I'd done a long run the night before, so I actually stayed in my calories, but I ate a lot of food in a small window, which was a lot richer and saltier than usual, so I gained about 10 lbs overnight. It's been 8 days, and it's come off at about 1-1.5 lbs/day.
  • netitheyeti
    netitheyeti Posts: 539 Member
    About 15lbs, after a 16 day vacation and a full day of travelling in the middle of a heat wave - I'm only 5'2 so I was shocked when I weighed myself (granted, I was about 40lbs heavier back then than my current weight to begin with). I dropped all but 2lbs of that weight in about a week after I got home - I could tell it was water retention because my shoes and socks felt too tight
  • etherealanwar
    etherealanwar Posts: 465 Member
    Well it's been 2 weeks and I am STILL not back to pre-vacation weight, sitting 2 lbs away from it. This must mean I actually gained a few lbs from vacation which seems wild since I did not go crazy with the food and it was only one week. Sigh.
  • Gisel2015
    Gisel2015 Posts: 4,187 Member
    I am very careful of what and how much I eat when I am on vacation, since I don't weigh or log anything unless I am home and cook the meal myself. I don't drink alcohol and I don't have a sweet tooth, so I save a lot of calories. The other thing that I do is to eat at a deficit for few weeks before vacation (I am in maintenance), and try to lose a couple of lbs. So if I get home with extra weight, I know that a couple of lbs are due to water retention, and the rest is part of my maintenance range.
  • Hannahwalksfar
    Hannahwalksfar Posts: 572 Member
    I went from 75 to 81kg in two weeks. Took a week to get to 76.5 and then I knew that that bit was fat.
  • LyndaBSS
    LyndaBSS Posts: 6,964 Member
    My mom used to tell me "don't sweat the small stuff".

    Compared to the entire weight loss journey, vacation water retention is small stuff. 😉
  • brenn24179
    brenn24179 Posts: 2,144 Member
    i have gained as much as 7 lbs, first vacation i gained 4. The next vacation I decided to not drink soft drinks and to eat more protein and leave buffets alone and did not gain any weight. I also made sure I did not go too long without eating and then eat everything in sight.
  • whmscll
    whmscll Posts: 2,254 Member
    I’m going to France in a month and am a bit afraid of how much I will gain, as I am already drooling over cheese, baguettes and macarons. Not necessarily in that order!
  • etherealanwar
    etherealanwar Posts: 465 Member
    NovusDies wrote: »
    Well it's been 2 weeks and I am STILL not back to pre-vacation weight, sitting 2 lbs away from it. This must mean I actually gained a few lbs from vacation which seems wild since I did not go crazy with the food and it was only one week. Sigh.

    Not necessarily. It could just mean you have a second cause for water retention that overlapped the first. Have faith for a little longer that any weight gain was probably less than half a pound.

    I really hope that is the case! Trying not to let it get to me too much.
  • pierinifitness
    pierinifitness Posts: 2,226 Member
    whmscll wrote: »
    I’m going to France in a month and am a bit afraid of how much I will gain, as I am already drooling over cheese, baguettes and macarons. Not necessarily in that order!

    If it’s of any comfort to you, I always lost weight on my extended European travels despite eating like I was on the high school football team. The extra activity and lots of walking cancelled out the big eating.

    Bons voyages.

  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,226 Member
    NovusDies wrote: »
    Well it's been 2 weeks and I am STILL not back to pre-vacation weight, sitting 2 lbs away from it. This must mean I actually gained a few lbs from vacation which seems wild since I did not go crazy with the food and it was only one week. Sigh.

    Not necessarily. It could just mean you have a second cause for water retention that overlapped the first. Have faith for a little longer that any weight gain was probably less than half a pound.

    I really hope that is the case! Trying not to let it get to me too much.

    No reason to let it get you down: I always say that the wisest sign in the world is the one you see everywhere . . . it says "you are here". ;) Current reality is non-negotiable, future malleable.

    You'll be fine. If you're truly up, you know how to lose. 2 pounds is trivial. All is well. Hang in there! :flowerforyou:
  • sugarcakes38
    sugarcakes38 Posts: 80 Member
    edited August 2019
    If it helps, I had an extra bowl of Kix today. It was the best. But that’s not the worst part I also had a piece of enchilada casserole after that. I loved it. What’s worse is that I don’t know how many calories it was so I just took my best guess and logged 350cal. Have no idea if I was spot on but I’ll know in the morning. I wasn’t even on vacation this all happened here at home. I feel like I robbed a bank.
  • Danp
    Danp Posts: 1,561 Member
    edited August 2019
    Week in Fiji. Came back 5.5kg (12.1lbs) heavier than I left. It was awesome

    Didn't do anything special when I came back. Just went back to 'normal' and 2 weeks later was back where I started.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,226 Member
    If it helps, I had an extra bowl of Kix today. It was the best. But that’s not the worst part I also had a piece of enchilada casserole after that. I loved it. What’s worse is that I don’t know how many calories it was so I just took my best guess and logged 350cal. Have no idea if I was spot on but I’ll know in the morning. I wasn’t even on vacation this all happened here at home. I feel like I robbed a bank.

    That's not awful. It's fine: You made your best guess. It's fine, a drop in the ocean of life. You're fine.

    In the morning, your scale might have a blip from extra carbs or random water weight of any sort. Don't worry, regardless. It's one thing, one day.

    Roll on. In the big picture, you'll be fine. ;)
  • purple4sure05
    purple4sure05 Posts: 287 Member
    For what its worth, I got back from a month long vacation 5 days ago and my experience is not similar to everyone else. I was between 58.7 And 59.8 kg before I left. When I came back from my trip I was 60.7 the first day, less than I expected based on everyone's stories here. The next day I was down to 59.9 and was pleased with myself, but since then its gone up and up, from 60.6 again to 60.7 and now 60.8. I've been eating about 1350 calories per day so I really am not sure why my weight seems to be climbing after a vacation, the opposite of everyone else.
  • Lobsterboxtops
    Lobsterboxtops Posts: 92 Member
    I’ll tell you in a couple of weeks. This vacation will be somewhat stationary...total 4 days in the car and 6 days on a boat. Not a ton of opportunity for exercise. There will be some, daily walks (wow..I sound like a doggy), short bouts of strength training (pulling rope to lift heavy sail and small boats), and Did I mention the homemade foods including breads and desserts?

    Oh well...it’s a needed break from the world and I’ll be right back at it when I get back home so I’m not that worried.
  • watts6151
    watts6151 Posts: 905 Member
    A typical 2 week holiday and
    I’m up about 18-20lb
    Half is usually water the other fat 😂
  • cheryldumais
    cheryldumais Posts: 1,907 Member
    For what its worth, I got back from a month long vacation 5 days ago and my experience is not similar to everyone else. I was between 58.7 And 59.8 kg before I left. When I came back from my trip I was 60.7 the first day, less than I expected based on everyone's stories here. The next day I was down to 59.9 and was pleased with myself, but since then its gone up and up, from 60.6 again to 60.7 and now 60.8. I've been eating about 1350 calories per day so I really am not sure why my weight seems to be climbing after a vacation, the opposite of everyone else.

    I'm going through the same thing. You're not alone. I cut carbs for a while and it started to drop but then I got sick and gained it all back. I'm still up about 6 pounds. On holiday I was good and stuck within my calories all but maybe three or four days and admittedly I overate those days. I can't figure it out. I'm back to weighing everything and counting every bite because somewhere along the line I must be eating more than I think. The only other thing I can think of is that I stopped vaping so my metabolism may have slowed slightly from the lack of nicotine. Logically I know that I have to eventually lose it because I can't gain weight from air anymore than I can drive my car on empty. Hang in there.
  • Beka3695
    Beka3695 Posts: 4,126 Member
    grimendale wrote: »
    Spent a day in Asheville and ate my face off. I'd done a long run the night before, so I actually stayed in my calories, but I ate a lot of food in a small window, which was a lot richer and saltier than usual, so I gained about 10 lbs overnight. It's been 8 days, and it's come off at about 1-1.5 lbs/day.

    This is not difficult to do in Asheville. I feel like it is a very overlooked "FOODIE" city. I think I need to go visit again real soon! LOL
  • DreaDarling87
    DreaDarling87 Posts: 46 Member
    I recently came back from a 5 day vacation and was 14lbs heavier than when I left. It’s been 6 days since I’ve been home and I’ve lost 11 of those 14lbs. I’m guessing I probably gained about 1.5lbs of actual fat during my vacation.