Is it normal to put on 7 pounds after a weeklong vacation?

DupreeTheTRex
DupreeTheTRex Posts: 105 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have been dieting for about a year now and have lost close to 80lbs (prior to my “vacation”). One of my goals with my weight loss journey is to learn to adapt to life, recognizing that there’ll be moments in my life where careful scrutinization of my meals won’t be possible.

I found myself without any appliances for a week (no fridge, freezer, stove or microwave) and so I decided this would be a good opportunity for me to attempt taking a “vacation” from counting calories.

Instead of counting calories, I listened to my body and ate when I was hungry. I had been doing physical labour from 7am to 12am daily (taking boxes from the garage to other parts of the house, doing chores that I didn’t have to do previous because I didn’t have a yard, putting together furniture weighting 200+ lbs) getting everything set-up in my new home. Normally I sit at a computer desk all day and get in very little exercise and as a result I felt like I was starving. I ate more than I normally would and decided I would just cut back a few extra calories if I ended up putting on any weight when things settled down.

Fast forward to yesterday, I step on the scale and weigh myself in noticing that I’ve gained 7lbs. I expected a couple of pounds but 7 seems excessive. Did I eat way more than I thought? I skipped lunch and had no snacks during this period, just two meals (breakfast and dinner) at local takeout. What happened?

Now I’ll admit I haven’t weighed myself in properly. I normally fast on Sundays until 4pm and weigh myself in before ending my fast. So I’m wondering if I’ll see a smaller change when the time finally comes. But still, 7lbs for me is 7 weeks of work gone in a week. It’s disheartening.

Replies

  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,265 Member
    Pretty normal really, I wouldn't worry about it.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,622 Member
    I agree with what others said about most if not all of it being water weight or temporarily higher digestive contents on their way to becoming waste, or some combination, not fat gain.

    Improbable that you ate 24,500 calories above *maintenance* calories (not just above weight-loss goal calories) - an entire 3500 extra per day on average on top of whatever your maintenance calories would be (with the extra activity considered!). It's possible to eat 3500 over maintenance, but seems unlikely. You probably have some feel for the probability, even if not hard numbers.

    If you're going to be discouraged about this, at least wait a week or two before giving in to that discouragement.** I'd predict that if you go straight back to your normal routine, most of all of the extra weight will drop off in a week, maybe two.

    ** I know that's unrealistic. I'm kind of joking when I say that . . . but figuring out how to accept and roll with these things, recognizing it'll probably work out OK, is a useful skill to develop. (Skills develop by practicing them.)

    Discouragement feels unpleasant, and feeling discouraged now will turn out to have been an *unnecessary* unpleasantness - not to mention waste of time and energy - when it turns out that you didn't gain 7 pounds of fat. Part of reaching ability to take it calmly is seeing these pseudo-gains happen, then seeing the drop some days later: Experience that it will work out OK is calming.

    I don't know what your normal schedule is - sounds like weekly? - but I'd consider a daily AM weigh-in until the inevitable drop happens. That will give you some good insights about how your personal body handles these things. How and how fast the drop happens is sort of individual, could be gradual, could be sudden, etc. You have a learning opportunity about how it works in your body, right now.

    However, if that daily weighing would be super-stressful on top of the initial shock, I'm not saying it's essential to do it. Do what *you* need to take this calmly, to the extent possible.
  • rosebarnalice
    rosebarnalice Posts: 3,488 Member
    I bounced 8 lbs IN ONE DAY last week. Definitely salt/ water retention and a little bit of constipation.

    I was back down two days later.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    That would be pretty normal for me.
    Sun, more food, more food that is salty, more booze, air travel all contribute.

    Actual fat gain though is likely to be the minority part of that 7lb gain.
    I'd expect most of the water weight gain to have resolved itself within a week of returning home just leaving a bit of genuine surplus to be addressed over the next few weeks.
  • MercuryForce
    MercuryForce Posts: 103 Member
    rosebarnalice wrote: »
    I bounced 8 lbs IN ONE DAY last week. Definitely salt/ water retention and a little bit of constipation.

    I was back down two days later.

    My personal best was 10 lbs. I went cross-country skiing for the first time that season and went 6 miles, then went home and at a chicken parm sandwich and a beer or two. Between the workout, all the water from the work, the sodium bomb of a sandwich, and the beer my body held onto water like crazy. It was fascinating to see that go up so fast and just plunge over the next 4 or 5 days. That's when I really grasped that daily fluctuations don't mean much, it's the long-term trajectory.

    I've also gone on vacations and "gained" several lbs and they are all usually gone within a week, especially if I make sure to stay on top of drinking my water and avoiding salt heavy foods. I don't worry about vacation gain unless it lasts over a week, and it never has. I might lose a week of progress, but I'm going so slow now that losing no weight in a week vs my usual .5lbs or less doesn't really change my progress much.
  • jdbly3373
    jdbly3373 Posts: 26 Member
    Yes, I think so.

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