Gained 5 pounds in 4 days... help!!

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  • vold94
    vold94 Posts: 256
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    5 pounds in 4 days is just water weight. It takes 3,500 calories to lose/gain a pound of fat.. so unless you ate an extra 14,000 calories it's not actual weight gain.

    It sounds like you're doing a lot of exercise but barely eating anything.. so I'd suggest eating more. You may be bloated at first, but once your body gets used to it, that will go away.

    I agree, especially if when you do an intense exercise day you are feeling weak and hungry, you're body is trying to tell you that you need to eat more calories. Give it a couple of weeks doing it and your body will start to respond.
  • Hellbent_Heidi
    Hellbent_Heidi Posts: 3,669 Member
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    Are you watching your sodium intake? When I go on vacation and eat in a lot of restaurants, I swell up pretty quickly too!
  • steffiejoe
    steffiejoe Posts: 313 Member
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    What types of food are you eating? I can't see your food dairy.
  • sweettoothfairy
    sweettoothfairy Posts: 212 Member
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    mostly I eat home made indian food.
  • keengkong
    keengkong Posts: 83 Member
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    You DID NOT gain 5 pounds of fat in four days. Doing so would have required that you eat 17,500 calories more than what your body was burning. That's highly unlikely no matter how much you pigged out.

    Yesterday, I weighed myself and weighed 190.5 lbs. Today, after I went to the bathroom, I weighed 185 lbs. That's a 5 1/2 pound difference. Five days ago, I weighed myself at 181.5 lbs. (I was likely dehydrated at the time because I had run several miles.) You'll notice my weight varied 9 pounds in less than a week.

    Our weights change during the day. Five pounds is about the maximum range for me in one day.

    I suspect you ate more while on vacation and have more salt in your body right now. I expect you'll be back to normal, or close to it, within a few days.
  • gritgirl
    gritgirl Posts: 95 Member
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    keengkong, i think i love you. i just got back from a week at a conference and showed a 5 pound weight gain. i was about to have yet another mid-life crisis simply because it took so dang long for me to lose the 6 pounds i did lose.

    but now i feel much, much better. you are a god. did i say that already? it's true. thanks for talking sense back into me.
  • UsedToBeHusky
    UsedToBeHusky Posts: 15,229 Member
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    It's water weight. Eat some fiber and drink a lot of water. It will fall off momentarily.
  • YoungerNextYear59937
    YoungerNextYear59937 Posts: 90 Member
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    It may not be the number of calories, but the types of food you're eating, and when you eat them. I'm 52 years old, 5'1" and weighed 143.5 yesterday. I met with a personal trainer yesterday as a last resort, because I was losing so slowly. This was her advice. 1300 calories a day on days I work out. 1200 calories a day on days I don't. 100 grams of protein, 150 grams of carbs, and less than 40 grams of fat. Be sure to eat breakfast every day, as early as possible when you wake up. Eat 5 times a day, ideally every 2-3 hours. Try not to eat carbs after 4 pm. Drink 1/2 ounce of water for every pound of body weight you have--every day. (In other words if you weighed 200 pounds, you would drink 100 ounces of water daily).

    It's too soon to tell if this is going to work, but I did lose one pound yesterday.
  • kellyscomeback
    kellyscomeback Posts: 1,369 Member
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    This article may explain a lot, it explained why 1 gained 2 lbs after I upped my weights:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/200544-why-do-you-sometimes-gain-weight-when-starting-a-new-exercis
  • SuperKatie
    SuperKatie Posts: 94 Member
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    Without reading the rest of the replies, I'd say you have a food allergy or intolerance. I went and had my blood tested and found that I was significatnly intolerant to a lot of the foods I was eating on a daily basis. I found that by taking them out, I was able to lose 20lbs in 7 weeks, with nothing more than a diet change (no working out b/c of knee surgery).This is something you should look into. I got my test through an NMD.
  • BackToPreBaby
    BackToPreBaby Posts: 84
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    have you tried a diet cosistig of high fibers,no white breads, and lots of protein? Try that for two weeks.
  • sweettoothfairy
    sweettoothfairy Posts: 212 Member
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    Thank you everyone for such an overwhelming response, I feel much better already and all set for a fresh start.. love you all xoxo
  • Skinny100
    Skinny100 Posts: 77
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    Please get checked for food allergies. Get the blood test done. Hidden food allergies can cause a lot of symptoms. I didn't read this whole article, but there are many stories out there. Just google "Hidden food allergies and weight gain"

    http://annapolis-nutrition-fitness.com/articles/96-hidden-food-allergies-are-they-making-you-fat

    Hope you feel better!!
  • TrailRunner61
    TrailRunner61 Posts: 2,505 Member
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    Most likely it is water weight you have gained from consuming too much sodium in your diet. I don't know what you eat but check the sodium content. I'm willing to be it's much higher than you think. Drinking water will not make you retain water. Drinking water helps reduce water weight gain by flushing out the sodium. Try to limit your sodium to 1500-2500 per 24 hours. You can change your settings on here to track it.
    Good luck to you!
  • NU2U
    NU2U Posts: 659 Member
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    Unless you're eating super- sized high calories meals throughout the day....I wouldn't worry about it. Weight can change from hour-to-hour, day-to-day......especially for women. Water and hormones can cause a yo-yo effect.

    Ditch the salty, high fat foods for a couple days, and see if it helps:-)
  • JennyZD
    JennyZD Posts: 176 Member
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    Lady you need to eat more. Eating 1200 and exercising like a maniac will only make you fatter in the long run. Your body needs fuel and if you don't nourish it properly you body is gong to start eating away muscle tissues and retaining fat because it "thinks it's starving". So I suggest you eat up, increase it to 1500 cals a day and see what results you get in three weeks
  • MyaPapaya75
    MyaPapaya75 Posts: 3,143 Member
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    With your diary private its anyones guess...but i will say that if you are not tracking your sodium no matter how much water you drink or cals you eat you very well may be going way over on sodium and retaining water...if your gaining something isnt working right and perhaps you need to increase cardio....I personally try to stick to 1200-1500 cals per day regardless of workouts...having that range allows me to eat when Im hungry without the guilt....and if im not hungry i stay to my 1200......watch those carbs and sodium give it 2 weeks and see i the weight comes off
  • netsirk12
    netsirk12 Posts: 220 Member
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    I have IBS so that rules out constipation, regarding water retention i am drinking enough water plus its not one time story, its been happening since i started this journey, max i have gained was 10 pounds in a week but i always keep negative thoughts aside and start a fresh but this time i m losing my mind.

    I have IBS too and honestly it dosnt rule out constipation. I have it happen every once in a while... shounds gross but you could be "backed up" and be experiencing the softer stuff going around it. Drink some OJ and the acids will cause gas and help push it though if thats the case. Also weight yourself only once a week, its hard I know, I struggle with it too! Most peoples weight changes 3-5 lbs day to day.

    Don't worry about it, It will be gone in no time!!!
  • Laoch_Cailin
    Laoch_Cailin Posts: 414 Member
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    I had a lot of issues with IBS and weight gain for a long time. My symptoms made me quite miserable and hard to be around at times. Went to the docs as someone mentioned Cealiacs disease to me. I had a great talk with my doctor, she couldn't believe how little I was losing on a healthy diet with exercise. She did the blood tests and thank god I wasn't cealiac but I have a high intolerence to wheat. So I cut this out for a long time, lost the weight, and decreased all the very uncomfortable and unsocial symptoms of IBS. I eat a little wheat now but not very often. Maybe go have another word with your doctor, tell her your symptoms, show her a food and exercise diary and see what else she can offer you.

    Otherwise, I'd say you probably do need to eat a bit more too, mainly proteins and good carbs if you are working out so often. (there are lots of wheat and gluten free tasty products out there which you could try substiting in for a while). Best of luck with your journey x
  • Coco_Puff
    Coco_Puff Posts: 823 Member
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    I would do the same thing every time I came back from vacation, gain 5 pounds. Then I switched from cardio workouts to lifting weights. I've built muscle that keeps my fat burning engine on all the time. I can't wait to workout now, cause it means I can eat unhealthy from time to time and still maintain while on vacation.

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