7 Main Causes Of Weight Gain and Fluctuation.

Does your weight bounce around by 4-5 pounds per day? Do you weigh one thing in the morning, and then, something else entirely by bedtime, no matter how careful you are during the day? Has trying to understand this up and down craziness driven you a bit nuts?

The truth about daily weight swings, is that most of the time, it’s just your body doing it’s thing. Don’t panic or let it drive you crazy, it turns out that it’s totally normal for your weight to fluctuate.

So are you really gaining weight? No. The shift of 4-5lbs on the scale is most likely due to the movement of fluids in your body’s waste processing functions (pee and poop). Now think of all of those times that you have stepped on the scale and have suddenly and unexpectedly been gut punched by seeing a 5 pound weight gain, seemingly out of nowhere. No more. Let’s replace judgement and fear with a bit of knowledge. Here are the 6 main causes of unexpected daily weight gain.

You are eating foods loaded in salt. When you eat salty foods, your body holds onto more water to balance out all of that salt in your bloodstream. The extra water is flushed out once it dilutes the excess salt, but it can cause a noticeable, temporary spike on the scale.

You might be eating foods heavy in water. Any food that holds a lot of H2O will cause a temporary increase on the scale. Once your body finishes processing the excess water in these foods, it will flush it out of your system and your weight will settle back to normal. Examples include: fruits, vegetables, soups and smoothies. Don’t avoid these foods, and don’t stress them. New Workouts. Changing up your workout routine, or upping the intensity of your workout can cause a temporary uptick in weight. When you workout, you cause micro tears in your muscles. This is actually a really positive thing, because your body repairing these tears is actually what makes your muscles stronger. This process of repair that happens after you train can cause inflammation, which means an increase in fluids in the tissues as the body goes into repair mode. Always make sure that you give yourself enough recovery time, and this will naturally resolve itself as your body becomes accustomed to the demands of your new workout routine.

You’re Thirsty. Dehydration can lead to your body retaining more water as a survival mechanism. If your body needs water, and it’s been a minute since you’ve hydrated, your body is going to assume it’s danger time, and will start doing whatever it can to keep water handy, which will cause the scale to bump up. Simply making sure that you are drinking enough water will take care of this one.

Too Much Alcohol. Alcohol causes the body to lose water, which as we just discovered, can cause emergency water retention. Alcohol can also lead to less than great food choices, including fast foods that are loaded in salt (see above) and high in carbs (see below).

You ate more carbs than usual. Did you know that carbs store water in your body? These delicious little morsels store 4 grams of water for every gram of glycogen that is produced from carb digestion. This 4:1 ratio of water to glycogen retains a lot of excess water in your body. The good news is that once the glucose is broken down and used for energy, the water gets released.

So there you have it - 6 reasons why the scale can up 4-5 lbs in a day. Bottom line, stay hydrated, stay active, watch your salt, carb and alcohol intake and everything will balance out in the end :)

If you need help with your nutrition then lets set up a time to chat. Leave me a comment below or email me back.