Real Life Diet Questions Answered

One day weight gain

I weighed myself yesterday after a really motivated 5 days and had lost 3lbs which I was ecstatic about. I went out last night for a friends birthday for pizza and was drinking gin and slimline tonic. I know I shouldn't have, but I weighed myself again this morning and have put on 4 lbs. How is this possible? Every Sat for the last few weeks and the next few weeks I have things on with friends and am worried this is going to happen every week. It feels like it's impossible to have one night of enjoyment and relaxing and I hate ruining all my hard work through the week. Any tips and advice?

Our expert says...

Hi, and thanks for your query!

This can indeed be a very frustrating experience, but can I reassure you that it’s completely impossible to put on 4lbs of fat (or even fat and muscle) overnight!  More likely, I think, is that you ate a salty meal which then caused you to retain fluid. Of course if you overdo it calorie wise, you might not lose as much this week as last, but one night out does not a complete disaster make, as long as it’s only an occasional misdemeanour!

What you must also bear in mind was that you may have weighed yourself previously on a “good” day, when hormones, salt intake or any number of other factors conspired to mean you were carrying a little less water weight than usual.

I know it’s tempting to weigh yourself every day and I’m not going to lecture you to stop (though, honestly it’s better if you try to stick to once a week and the same time of day every week!) However if you do wegh daily you need to know that there will be disappointing fluctuations (and some happy-making ones too). The main point is checking the trend over a period of time. If it’s overall down, you’re on to a winner!