![\"\"](\"https:\/\/bod-blog-assets.prod.cd.beachbodyondemand.com\/bod-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/17110850\/gaining-weight-overnight-600-late-meal.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/p>\nForget Monday morning blues or seeing a post from your ex on social media \u2014 what can really start your day on the wrong foot is the scale telling you that you gained weight overnight.<\/p>\n
Sometimes you see it coming (looking at you, morning after\u00a0Thanksgiving). But other times can feel like a shock because you\u2019ve been doing everything\u00a0by the book.<\/p>\n
First things first: If you\u2019re on a healthy eating and fitness program, don\u2019t change a thing.<\/p>\n
A one-day fluctuation doesn\u2019t warrant reconfiguring your meal plan, and there\u2019s a very real risk you\u2019ll overcorrect and over-restrict in an attempt to get \u201cback on track.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s what\u2019s actually happening with that mythical scale number, and why it might have jumped so much while you slept.<\/p>\n
Yes, but the unhealthy eating pattern that produced that weight gain would have to continue for it to last.<\/p>\n
The amount you can gain in a day is relatively small, and your body generally prefers maintaining the status quo.<\/p>\n
So you\u2019re less likely to see a true, lasting effect on the scale if you go back to eating well \u2014 perhaps at a slight caloric deficit \u2014 and working out the next day.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why getting back on track\u00a0\u2014 not necessarily compensating by undereating \u2014 is essential. \u201cTrue, lasting weight gain takes days, weeks, or even months,\u201d says Danna Hunnes, Ph.D., MPH, RD, a senior dietitian at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven during the holidays, most people will put on at most two to three pounds.\u201d<\/p>\n
The problem arises when you don\u2019t return to normal, thus the pounds stick around.<\/p>\n
Still, Hunnes underscores that \u201cin general terms, we cannot gain significant amounts of true weight in one day or night.\u201d<\/p>\n
If you see the higher number linger a week or more, then it might be time to look into other\u00a0reasons why you\u2019re gaining weight.<\/p>\n
The number on the scale should never upset you. If it does, Jim White RD, ACSM EX-P, and owner of\u00a0Jim White Fitness and Nutrition Studios, suggests finding some other way to track your health and fitness progress, like strength goals or measurements.<\/p>\n
But if you\u2019re going to weigh yourself, here are the factors you should consider before altering your diet or fitness plan when you see your weight increase overnight.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
If you pushed dinner back later than normal, you might be seeing food mass on the scale the next morning.<\/p>\n
And if you keep a regular schedule, you\u2019re likely accustomed to weighing yourself at a specific point in your digestion.<\/p>\n
So you might simply be seeing your weight at a different stage in the digestive process.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou may have had a meal loaded with sodium, which could explain why your morning weight is up,\u201d White notes. \u201cSodium retains water.\u201d<\/p>\n
And you might not even be aware of this, especially if you\u2019re not a label hawk.<\/p>\n
Certain store-bought foods, like frozen meals and canned soups and veggies, can be packed with a day\u2019s worth of sodium.<\/p>\n
So even if you choose the low-calorie entree or veggie-heavy soup, you could see that salt reflected on the scale.<\/p>\n
Carbs are also a notorious cause of this heart-stopping scale surge. Just look at the name: \u201ccarbohydrate,\u201d emphasis on the \u201chydrate.\u201d<\/p>\n
One gram of this macronutrient (stored as glycogen) retains\u00a0three grams of water, which is where it gets its name.<\/p>\n
So if you follow a\u00a0low-carb diet in general but reached for the bread last night, extra water may be driving that higher number this morning.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cMore fiber will turn into a heavier, bulkier, waterier, and more massive bowel movement. This will hold onto water, also increasing \u2018weight\u2018,\u201d Hunnes explains.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, as soon as you excrete that bowel movement, that weight will be shed, so this would not be true weight gain, such as fat or lean mass.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/bod-blog-assets.prod.cd.beachbodyondemand.com\/bod-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/17110847\/gaining-weight-overnight-600-constipated.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/p>\n
Essentially, the same thing is going on here as in the point above, but the cause may not necessarily be fiber.<\/p>\n
Before you alter your diet or workout routine, make sure you\u2019re adequately hydrated and your bowel movements are on a regular schedule.<\/p>\n
People who menstruate, listen up. \u201cRight before our periods, we hold onto water and \u2018gain\u2019 weight, which can be devastating for some women,\u201d Hunnes explains.<\/p>\n
And it\u2019s not always as simple as holding some extra water.<\/p>\n
Hunnes points out that hormonal shifts can also compel women to reach for saltier foods, which may additionally result in excess water weight from increased sodium.<\/p>\n
But it shouldn\u2019t be cause for alarm because, as Hunnes points out, \u201conce we get our periods, the hormone shifts again, leading us to shed that water weight, and the scale will come back down.\u201d<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t get us wrong: There are plenty of studies that show the benefits of intermittent fasting.<\/p>\n
One such benefit is getting to consume larger meals since the eating window is smaller.<\/p>\n
But if you just started eating this way and ate a bigger meal than usual, the scale could jump temporarily.<\/p>\n
And while several factors on this list may be contributing to weight gain, it could also be something you never considered.<\/p>\n
The scale might jump from larger portions \u201cbased on the sheer increase in blood volume from large meals,\u201d White explains.<\/p>\n
This increase can derive from two sources: water inherent in food and water retained as a result of excess sodium.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/bod-blog-assets.prod.cd.beachbodyondemand.com\/bod-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/17110844\/gaining-weight-overnight-600-strength-training.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/p>\n
Resistance training can cause microscopic tears in muscle tissue. While that\u2019s a good thing overall because it helps you\u00a0build muscle, you might not like the effect on the scale the next day or two.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s because muscle damage, even if it leads to stronger muscles in the long run, can cause inflammation.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s completely normal \u2014 indeed, it\u2019s essential to the adaptation process that helps you build muscle and grow stronger \u2014 but it can also cause slight swelling that can nudge your number on the scale up a bit.<\/p>\n
But don\u2019t sweat it \u2014 this extra \u201cwater weight\u201d usually goes away in a week or two.<\/p>\n
Hunnes and White both note that certain medications can cause your scale weight to increase. You might notice that effect suddenly.<\/p>\n
And while whether it stays around differs from person to person, this is something to discuss with your doctor.<\/p>\n
If the increase concerns you, talk over your options with your prescribing physician who might know alternatives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Forget Monday morning blues or seeing a post from your ex on social media \u2014 what can really start your day on the wrong foot is the scale telling you that you gained weight overnight. Sometimes you see it coming (looking at you, morning after\u00a0Thanksgiving). But other times can feel like a shock because you\u2019ve […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2150,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-2700","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fitness","tag-fitness"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2700","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2700"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2700\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2701,"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2700\/revisions\/2701"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2150"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2700"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2700"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2700"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}