How did I gain 5 pounds in one day? (2023)

Why did I randomly gain 5 pounds in a day?

Daily weight fluctuation is normal. The average adult's weight fluctuates up to 5 or 6 pounds per day. It all comes down to what and when you eat, drink, exercise, and even sleep. Read on to learn more about how these factors affect the scale and when to weigh yourself for the most accurate results.

Since many people can't eat enough in a day or two to actually gain 5 or 10 pounds, if you notice a dramatic increase on the scale, chances are it's due to water, says Anita Petruzzelli, M.D., owner and medical director of BodyLogicMD.

Why does my weight fluctuate so much? “Everyone's weight fluctuates throughout the day, and especially from morning to night,” says dietitian Anne Danahy, MS, RDN. “The average change is 2 to 5 pounds, and it's due to fluid shifts throughout the day.” If you see fluctuations of less than 5 pounds, you needn't worry.

Transitioning from a very low calorie and low carbohydrate diet to a low calorie and moderate carbohydrate diet often leads to a weight gain of 1-2 kgs in a matter of one day. This is mainly because of a sudden increase in the carbohydrate content which is stored along with water in the body.

The length of time that it takes to lose water weight depends on how much water you're retaining, the cause of the water weight gain, and the action taken to lose it. If you have one high-sodium meal and then return to normal, healthy dietary habits, you'll likely return to your normal weight in 1-2 days.

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.

People who drink too much water might gain weight suddenly due to swelling and excess water in the bloodstream. If you're drinking more than 10 cups of water each day and notice swelling or discoloration in your hands, lips, and feet, consider cutting back on your water intake and see if your symptoms subside.

Unintentional weight gain occurs when you put on weight without increasing your consumption of food or liquid and without decreasing your activity. This occurs when you're not trying to gain weight. It's often due to fluid retention, abnormal growths, constipation, or pregnancy.

Why am I gaining weight while water fasting?

You will lose some fat, but most of the weight you lose during your fast is going to be water weight, and it will come right back when you start eating normally again. As soon as you increase your calorie, and especially your carb intake, you're going to gain weight just as fast as you lost it.

But for those of you who aren't squeamish, we'll explain. When you have a bowel movement, you're emptying your colon. Depending how much you go, that visit to the ladies' room can add up to half a pound a day—hence the reason you feel so much lighter after you poop.

One of the greatest diet pitfalls is waking up and thinking you have 'blown your diet', but apparently it's your following day that's the real decider. According to Women's Health, the secret clue to how much weight you can gain in one day is actually a lot less than you probably imagined… a single pound.

Just because the scale goes up does not mean that you're gaining fat; it is completely normal for your body to fluctuate from 2-6 pounds within a day, sometimes more, depending on the day.

Water levels can make a person's weight fluctuate by as much as 2 to 4 pounds in a single day. Severe water retention can be a symptom of heart or kidney disease. More often, it is temporary and goes away on its own or with some simple lifestyle changes.

Therefore, the amount of weight you temporarily gain or lose throughout the day from fluid intake depends on how much liquid you drink. However, keep in mind that any weight gained from drinking water is temporary, and your weight will decrease again once you urinate.

Thus, eating enough potassium-rich foods like bananas, avocados, and tomatoes is essential to support healthy fluid balance. Potassium plays a key role in fluid balance and may reduce water retention by increasing urine production and decreasing the effects of sodium.

If you press on your skin and an indentation stays there for a couple of seconds, that's a sign you have water weight. One way to check if you're retaining water is to press on swollen skin. If there's an indention that stays for a little while, that's a sign that you could be retaining water.

How do you know if its water weight or fat?

If you push on your skin with your finger or thumb and your skin remains depressed, you're probably experiencing water retention. Fat cells are more springy, so the skin will bounce back.

Keith Kantor, a leading nutritionist and CEO of the Nutritional Addiction Mitigation Eating and Drinking (NAMED) program. “After a swim or a shower, your body can absorb 1 to 3 cups of water, increasing your true weight by a few pounds.”

"We can weigh 5, 6, 7 pounds more at night than we do first thing in the morning," Hunnes says. Part of that is thanks to all the salt we consume throughout the day; the other part is that we may not have fully digested (and excreted) everything we at and drank that day yet.

Bloating, gut health issues and hormonal changes can make you hold onto more water weight. The water weight usually settles down after your period. If you are not regular, or your fiber intake has been inconsistent, this can be a reason why you gained weight overnight.

Drinking at least 64 ounces (eight cups) of water every day may help with weight loss. Downing liquid is not the only way to meet this goal. About 20 percent of your hydration needs can be met through your diet, says Caroline Susie, RDN, a national spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Bloating may occasionally add a pound or two, but it doesn't actually signify weight gain. A simple way to tell the difference between bloating and weight gain or fat is how your stomach looks and feels. If your stomach is tight and hard, then bloating is the cause. If your stomach is soft and thick, then that's fat.

There is no “magic” number of glasses of water that you should drink each day to lose belly fat. However, aim to drink 8-10 glasses of water per day, or enough to keep your urine a light yellow color. This will help to ensure that you are properly hydrated and on your way to losing belly fat.

According to Dr. Kavaler, one of the most common natural diuretic foods include fruits, especially watery ones like watermelon, grapes, and blueberries. Lemons and pineapple can also have a diuretic effect on the body.

If the kidneys do not work properly, they cannot remove waste material, including fluids and sodium. The fluid will therefore stay in the body. People with chronic kidney disease, for example, may notice swelling in the lower limbs, hands, or face.

Even if you read one sentence and leave this article, make sure you know the following: You will not gain weight from eating too few calories. There are many reasons why it can seem like under-eating can lead to weight gain. But, science has shown over and over again that this isn't physiologically possible.

Why did I suddenly gain weight?

Weight gain and fluctuations in weight can happen for a variety of reasons. Many people progressively gain weight as they age or make changes to their lifestyle. However, fast weight gain can be a sign of an underlying health condition, such as a problem with the thyroid, kidneys, or heart.

A Slower Metabolism

Eating too few calories can cause your metabolism to slow down, meaning you won't burn as much fat off when you engage in physical activity.

Eggs. As another high-protein food, eggs are one of the best foods to eat after fasting. Eggs are a complete source of protein, which means that they contain all nine essential amino acids. They also contain several important vitamins and minerals.

“There's no reason to weigh yourself more than once a week. With daily water fluctuations, body weight can change drastically on a day-to-day basis,” says Rachel Fine, registered dietitian and owner of To the Pointe Nutrition. “Weighing yourself at the same time on a weekly basis will give you a more accurate picture.”

You're eating too much during your eating window.

“If you end up consuming the same number of calories (or more) during your eating windows as before you started intermittent fasting, then you won't lose weight.”

For the average human of a height from 5 - 5 1/2 feet (1.5 - 1.7 meters), the colon can hold approximately 20-25 pounds (9.5 - 11.3 kilograms) of fecal matter. Typically, a one-foot length of colon can accumulate approximately 5 or more pounds and a 5-foot tall person has roughly a 4- to 5-foot colon.

The average poop weighs around 1/4 pound to 1 pound. Larger people who eat and drink more, or people who have less-regular bowel movements, have heavier poops. It takes an average of 33 hours for food to be processed into poop and pass out of your body.

You should step on the scale first thing in the morning. That's when you'll get your most accurate weight because your body has had the overnight hours to digest and process whatever you ate and drank the day before.

You Ate Your Last Meal Later Than Normal

"Food eaten at night is more often stored as fat because we tend to be less active, so we increase fat storage at that time, especially depending on the composition of the food you ate later in the evening," says Dr. Covington.

Since many people can't eat enough in a day or two to actually gain 5 or 10 pounds, if you notice a dramatic increase on the scale, chances are it's due to water, says Anita Petruzzelli, M.D., owner and medical director of BodyLogicMD.

Why is 5 pounds heavier in the morning?

"We can weigh 5, 6, 7 pounds more at night than we do first thing in the morning," Hunnes says. Part of that is thanks to all the salt we consume throughout the day; the other part is that we may not have fully digested (and excreted) everything we at and drank that day yet.

And it turns out, you'd have to take in a ridiculous amount of food to gain even just a pound in one day. “It's virtually impossible to gain weight overnight, even if you really blew it on bar food,” says Cassetty. “The reason comes down to calorie math.

“Your skin is the largest organ in the body and absorbs fluid easily,” says Dr. Keith Kantor, a leading nutritionist and CEO of the Nutritional Addiction Mitigation Eating and Drinking (NAMED) program. “After a swim or a shower, your body can absorb 1 to 3 cups of water, increasing your true weight by a few pounds.”

The amount of water weight your body stores can vary a lot, but the average person carries one to five pounds, Clayton says; athletes (or anyone training at least 90 minutes a day) can train their bodies to stash away double that (a good thing, he notes, because they'll use it the next day).

"Water weight is real for some people," says Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D., a specialty nutritionist and dietician with the Mayo Clinic and coauthor of The Mayo Clinic Diet. "Having too much salt or sodium in the body is a big factor, and so is being sedentary and not moving around enough."

Inconsistent Scale Readings:

If your scale gives inconsistent readings between items of the same weight, this is one of the more obvious signs that it may need to be replaced. If you are unsure, take one item (such as a 10-pound free weight) and place it on the scale platform multiple times.

The balance between energy in (eating) and energy out (burning off those calories) is why your weight goes up and down. If you take in more than you burn, you gain weight -- sometimes right away.