Can I Gain Weight Overnight?

Dear Dr. Katz:
I weigh myself every morning at the exact same time, before I have consumed anything. Some days I'm two to three pounds heavier than the previous day. Is it possible that I can gain this much weight in one day?



Response:
The answer depends entirely on what you mean by weight. Sure, you can fluctuate by two or three pounds from day to day, but not because you've gained or lost that much body fat.

To gain a pound of fat requires taking in 3,500 to 4,000 calories (and to lose a pound requires a deficit of the same magnitude). The only way you could put on three pounds of fat in one day would be to eat roughly 12,000 more calories than you need, which is usually enough food for an entire week. The pounds that appear and disappear so quickly on the scale are due to factors like water weight, which goes up and down constantly depending on how hydrated you are, and the amount of food in your GI tract at any one time.

So don't rely on a daily weighing. Focus instead on healthful living, and look to the scale only once a month (once a week if you're trying to lose weight) for the occasional reality check.

Dr. David L. Katz, M.D.

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Q: I have been stuck at the same exact weight for a week now (I go up a pound one day and back down the next day) and I'm not sure why. I'm really frustrated, because I started lifting weights on Monday; I've been walking on all the days and I've really been trying to watch what and how much I'm eating. Do you have any thoughts or suggestions? A: Do not worry about daily weight when you first start muscle building. You will accumulate water in these newly worked muscles—it takes time to get rid of this new water. So weight gain (or lack of loss) is water that will go away with time. It is the opposite of weight loss when you go on a low-carb diet where you'll get rid of water in your muscles. Water loss in muscles will come back like an unwanted boyfriend when you eat carbs again. So your steady weight now is actually progress.

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I'm doing everything right. Why have I gained weight?
Expect to put on five, six or seven pounds of water when you start this program, especially if you've been inactive for a couple of years. Simultaneously, you may be losing fat, and you'll break even, but it's just water weight. It doesn't change the way your clothes fit. It's a slower process this way—there's no doubt about it—but it's the right way. It's the permanent way. Your body has to re-hydrate itself before your metabolic engine can be set up properly. That's the best sign—those four or five pounds—that a person is going to be successful.

Goal weight

starting _{^{weight 108kgs 28.02.06}}

1 year on TF 28.02.07 weight 69.7
maintenance program 1.09 07 = 70
restart 10.02.08 NO more bloody excuses tour weight = 81.5
2 years ..... lost 300 = 79.1
week 108 gained =82.1
week 109  lost 200 = 81.9
week 110 weigh 82.7
week 111 weigh 84
week 112 weigh 83.4
week 113 weigh 83.3
week 114 DNW packed scales for the move
week 115  moved in 84.7
week 116 did not weigh
week 117 restart number 3 86.5
week 118 gained 87.1
week 119 gained again 88.5
week 120 lost 1.1
week 121 gained 1.0
week 122 lost 400 = 88  

14.04.08 starting weight : 84
week 1    83.4
week 2    83.3 
week 3 DNW packing
week 4 gained = 84.7
week 5 dnw
week 6 restarting 86.5
week 7 gained 87.1 
week 8 gained 88.5
week 9 lost 1.1
week 10 gained 1
week 11 = 88 lost of 400 

	DATE	WEIGHT	LOST	TOTAL LOST
	2.1.07	146.8	0	0
Week 1	9.1.07	142.8	4 kg	4 kgs
Week 2	16.1.07	No weigh in	On Holidays
Week 3	23.1.07	139.8	3 kg	7 kgs
Week 4	31.1.07	135.9	3.9 kg	10.9 kgs
Week 5	7.2.07	134.1	1.8 kg	12.7 kgs
Week 6	14.2.07	132	2.1 kg	14.8 kgs
Week 7	21.2.07	130.1	1.9 kg	16.7 kgs
Week 8	28.2.07	128.5	1.6 kg	18.3 kgs
Week 9	7.3.07	127.2	1.3 kg	19.6 kgs
Week 10	14.3.07	No weigh	in couldn’t	Chemist
Week 11	21.3.07	125.9	1.3 kg	20.9 kgs
Week 12	28.3.07	123.9	2 kg	22.9 kgs
Week 13	4.4.07	122.5	1.4 kg	24.3 kgs
Week 14	11.4.07	121.4	1.1 kg	25.4 kgs
Week 15	18.4.07	119.9	1.5 kg	26.9 kgs
Week 16	25.4.07	118.7	1.2 kg	28.1 kgs
Week 17	2.5.07	No weigh	In – sick
Week 18	10.5.07	117.4	1.3 kg	29.4 kgs

Royal Challenge

My ticker - height 175cm age 45 - this is my maybe goal, I shall see when I get there.

My hubby - height 188cm age 48  - Started at 120 kgs, now at 97 kgs - goal around high 80's (not currently running a ticker).

Both started TF 29th Nov 06 - weigh in on Wednesday mornings at home for tickers.

     Thanks Mally!