Have you woken up in the morning, stepped on the scale and noticed that you have gained
weight overnight?
While it’s understandable to gain a few pounds after vacation or if you haven’t
been exercising or eating healthy, it can be shocking when you gain weight for no freaking
reason.
You swear you’re not eating more or exercising less, it can feel like there’s some dark
magic at play.
Well, fluctuations in weight happen most of the time and it is totally normal, especially
when you eat or drink water and juice.
There are many reasons for sudden weight gain and in today’s video, we will tell you what
they are.
From eating more sodium than usual, eating late, more carbs, starting new medication
to lack of physical activity and more, watch till the end to learn about all of them.
You ate more sodium than you usually do: Your body may retain excess water for a few reasons,
but the most likely is related to your sodium intake.
If you eat more sodium than normal on a given day, your body will retain more water.
Some people are more sensitive to this.
For example, if you typically eat very fresh, whole, clean foods and work out regularly,
and then forgo a workout and eat a super salty meal, chances are your weight fluctuation
will seem more drastic than someone who typically eats more salt.
Mild dehydration can also cause your body to retain fluids.
It sounds counterintuitive, but drinking more will help your body get rid of fluids more
efficiently and flush excess sodium.
For most fluid-related weight gain, assuming you go back to your normal eating and drinking
habits, the weight gain should really only last 24 to 48 hours.
A lot of it will depend on how quickly your kidneys remove the excess water from your
body, and whether or not you sweat out some of the excess fluid.
You Are Constipated: As you eat throughout the day, your weight may increase a few pounds
until the next time you effectively empty out your bowels.
If things are a little backed up, not only will you feel and look bloated, but your body
will contain more weight than if you were to efficiently clear out the old to make room
for the new.
Make sure you're eating enough fiber, staying hydrated, and keeping active so that your
bowels can do their thing.
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You Worked Out Too Hard: After a heavy workout, especially if you perform big, compound movements
that recruit a lot of large muscles, you can easily weigh a few extra pounds for several
days.
Those microscopic tears that occur in your muscle cells after every workout heal through
a process of natural inflammation.
That involves some pooling of fluids around the muscle cells, which can make you puff
up.
This does not mean you should skip those calorie torching strength moves.
Just let your muscles recover and forget about the scale.
You Drank A Ton Of Water: It’s true that staying well-hydrated is a good move if you’re
trying to lose weight.
But the first few days of upping your water intake could actually cause the number on
the scale to creep up, too.
This is because weight is not just the measurement of fat in your body.
It is the weight of your bones, organs, muscles, fluid and waste.
When you’re dehydrated, you actually weigh less, but that doesn’t mean you are healthier.
Let’s say you don’t drink much fluid one day, and the next morning you wake up and
your weight is down.
Then you drink a ton of water and the next day it looks like you gained 2 pounds.
That does not mean you gained 2 pounds of fat; it just means that your body was depleted
of water the day before.
You Ate More Carbs Than Usual: Though carbohydrates are not the enemy of weight loss, eating an
unusual amount of them over the course of one day or even a few days can make it seem
like you’ve gained weight.
Carbohydrates can result in water weight showing up on the scale.
This is why people lose weight faster initially on a lower-carbohydrate diet.
The body doesn’t hold onto the extra water.
It’s also why people may gain weight quickly when they eventually go off that lower-carbohydrate
diet.
That water weight comes back and the scale bounces up.
It’s The Weekend: One study found that people’s weights tended to go down during the workweek,
hitting their lowest point on Friday morning.
Weights went up over the weekends to their highest point on Monday mornings.
People who lost weight overall still followed this pattern, they just lost more weight during
the week than those who remained the same or gained weight over the course of the study.
While just one small study cannot be applied to the population at large, it does allow
some insight into normal weight patterns.
It signifies that even though the scale is going up and down, over time, your overall
weight can change.
You ate your last meal later than usual: If you pushed dinner back later than normal,
you might be seeing food mass on the scale the next morning.
And if you keep a regular schedule, you’re likely accustomed to weighing yourself at
a specific point in your digestion.
So you might simply be seeing your weight at a different stage in the digestive process.
You upped your fiber intake: Fiber is great for you.
But if you up your fiber intake too quickly, it might take some time for your body to catch
up.
And you might see that reflected on the scale.
More fiber will turn into a heavier, bulkier, waterier, and more massive bowel movements.
This will hold onto water, also increasing weight.
However, as soon as you have that bowel movement, that weight will be shed, so this would not
be true weight gain, such as fat or lean mass.
Your period is coming up: People who menstruate, listen up.
Right before Your periods, you hold onto water and gain weight, but it’s not always as
simple as holding some extra water.
Hormonal shifts can also compel women to reach for saltier foods, which may additionally
result in excess water weight from increased sodium.
But it shouldn’t be cause for alarm because once you get your period, the hormone shifts
again.
This leads you to shed that water weight, and the scale to come back down.
You switched to intermittent fasting: There are plenty of studies that show the benefits
of intermittent fasting.
One such benefit is getting to consume larger meals, since the eating window is smaller.
But if you just started eating this way and ate a bigger meal than usual, the scale could
jump temporarily.
And while several factors on this list may be contributing weight gain, it could also
be something you never considered.
The scale might jump from larger portions based on the sheer increase in blood volume
from large meals.
This increase can derive from two sources: water inherent in food and water retained
as a result of excess sodium.
You Started New Medication: Some medications include potential side effects of weight gain.
In most, it’s due to a change in hormones causing an increased appetite and consuming
more calories causing true weight gain.
However, there are some medications, like steroids, that cause water retention resulting
in what may seem like weight gain but is simply a fluctuation due to fluids in the body.
These fluctuations can be larger than those caused by diet based water retention, and
may not resolve until you go off the meds.
With this type of water retention you’ll likely feel the physical side effects in your
extremities, puffy feet and hands.
Lack Of Physical Activity: A lack of exercise is a major factor in gaining weight overnight.
During the night, your body makes use of the energy stores to repair damaged cells, build
up new muscles, and replenish the body after physical activity.
But if you haven’t been doing any physical activity, all the excess calories in your
body will simply be stored as fat, leading to weight gain.
Make regular exercise a part of your daily life in order to get better quality sleep
each night.
Late Night Snacks: We all know about the rule of not eating after 6 p.m., but it doesn't
stop us from late dinners or midnight snacks.
However, studies remind us that eating late leads to weight gain.
Additionally, it may increase cholesterol, insulin levels, and negatively affect our
hormonal markers.
Remember that if your calorie intake is much bigger than what you're burning, it eventually
leads to weight gain.
You Didn’t Sleep Well: A healthy amount of sleep is about 7-8 hours per night, but
if it's less than this on a daily basis, that's when many health problems begin.
Studies have proven that there's a link between sleep deprivation and negative changes in
metabolism.
Another decisive factor might be that not having enough sleep leads to fatigue, less
physical activity and more weight gain.
Have you faced overnight or rapid weight gain?
Was it due to any of the reasons we mentioned?
Let us know in the comments section below!