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Gained 7lbs in one day?

Is a weight fluctuation like this normal?

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  • Posts: 6,876 Member
    For me it wouldn't be, but some people have weight fluctuations like that, yes. High sodium intake and/or high volume of food the previous day, heavy exercise the previous day, air travel: those are the main culprits for fluctuations like that.

    Or it's your scale acting up. Batteries need replacing? Or perhaps you placed it on an uneven surface?

    (PS: just to be sure: you did weigh under the same circumstances both days: same clothes (or none), same time, after peeing, etc.?)
  • Posts: 25,763 Member
    It would be normal for me.
  • Posts: 116 Member
    I don't think I've ever had 7 but I have had up to 5.
  • Posts: 3,488 Member
    I have a regular 5 lb swing.
  • Posts: 41,865 Member
    I would say that it's not normal for me...like in as a matter of routine. My fluctuations are +/-3 or less, but a large swing isn't unheard of either depending. I usually see a larger swing if I've eaten a meal or two out...usually sodium as well as larger portions of food...or if I've been traveling, particularly by air, but also long stints of sitting in the car.
  • Posts: 13 Member
    edited May 2021
    I have been seeing this wild swing as well - but mine keeps going up. As of 10 minutes ago - I am currently sitting at 204.1 - a steady climb (without any deviation whatsoever) since April 22 when I weighed in at 200.8.

    I have been conducting an experiment here since April 17 (the day I got our new Eufy digital scale) - logging everything as accurately as possible, sticking hard to my current (TDEE - deficit) of 1923 and eating as healthy as possible.

    I have been weighting myself daily each morning within 10 minutes of waking (no clothes, no water, no coffee and hit the washroom)

    On April 17 (Start) I was shocked to see myself at 203.2 (after believing my analog scale for months and months) and then saw my current low of 200.8 by April 22. Seemed like I was heading in the right direction (my goal is to get back to my pre-COVID weight of 190).

    I do two bouts of exercise per day (brisk walking for 30-35 in the morning and either running/cycling/kettlebell circuit in the PM for 35-40) and I cannot get a drop of any significance no matter what I do.

    I am almost ready to check in with the doctor as I usually can drop 5-7 easy - this is very strange for me. Or I am finally just getting old....

    Sonic.

  • Posts: 92 Member
    Yesterday morning I was 238.2 on the scale.
    This morning on an empty stomach I weighed 234.9.

    Water retention, food, all contribute.

    In the past I've had an exemplary 2 week calorie deficit goal, mixed in with exercise, and then after 2 weeks to the day nothing registers on the scale. Then 2 days after that I register a drop in weight.

    I would think that a normal fluctuation of 5 pounds is normal.
  • Posts: 7,460 Member
    I think my record is 6 pounds. You beat me! Mine is mostly from overworking my body. When Iā€™m up 6 pounds my ankles look like tree trunks and my feet hurt when I just stand on them. When the swelling goes down, the weight disappears. Maybe 5 days until I am completely back to normal.
    Welcome to the world of truly learning your body and how it reacts.
  • Posts: 218 Member
    That is large, but I can have 3 lbs difference morning to night, and I have had 3 lb differenc (one morning to the next), so I guess it would be possible. Some things that can cause big changes: Inflamation (i.e. injury, over-work), change in salt intake, alcohol, carbs when you have been on a low-carb diet, steriod medications. If it is just once, I wouldn't worry. If you have heart or kidney issues and see this more than once I would talk to my doctor.

  • Posts: 1,001 Member
    The only thing that makes those spikes annoying for me is that it can take up to 4 days for my weight to stabilize back down to the right level.
  • Posts: 1,615 Member
    My weight bounces all over the place, only giving me a fairly steady reading for about a week a month and even then it's a range of about 3lbs over a day.

    Makes me rethink the whole concept of a 'goal weight'. Might need to go with a 'goal 10lbs' LOL
  • Posts: 18,842 Member
    If you setup the right conditions, yes, I've done that.

    Prior weigh-in was after prior days of eating lower sodium than normal, and lower amounts of food, and no workouts.
    That weigh-in day had a workout later, and higher sodium meal, and poor sleep.
    Next day was up a lot.
  • Posts: 1 Member
    for some 7lb can be a normal fluctuation.
    Depending on the size of your last meal, whether you've been a toilet, how much sodium you had, the volume of food the previous day, training intensity, batteries in scales etc

    Why scale weight alone doesn't tell the whole story, I would monitor it over a few days but if nothing has changed I wouldn't worry about it too much
  • Posts: 34,580 Member
    I can't recall having seen one quite that big, but I've dropped by 6+ overnight:

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10679961/this-never-happened-before-fun-with-weight-fluctuations#latest

    For me, 2.5 pounds increase overnight is totally common, and 3+ isn't unusual. I don't recall specifically what the highest overnight gain was, but scrolling back through Libra, I can see some 4 pound or so up-spikes in daily weigh-ins . . . and I'm not that big a person to start, 5'5", 125ish pounds now, so that's a decent percentage.

    If recent calories don't account for it (ballparking 3500 of the little buzzards = 1 pound), then it isn't fat, so meh. šŸ¤·ā€ā™€ļø

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