Sudden weight gain in a week

(Courtney Wickham) #1

Hey guys!
Firstly I’ve been reading everything on this forum for so long so thank you to everyone for all the tips and knowledge you provide!
I’ve been on keto for about 7 weeks now and had lost 8kgs! I went from 73.6 to 65.2 as of last week, yay! This week though I’ve stepped on the scale and it’s jumped back up to 67.7!!! It’s absolutely shattered me and I don’t know why this has happened. I’ve noticed fluid retention in my legs and a puffy face and I’ve been struggling with my bowels for a few days. I don’t know what’s changed though and it’s really disheartening. My confidence has dropped and wanting to do keto is weakening now.
If anyone has any ideas as to why this has happened I’d love to hear them.

#2

How is your sodium intake? Both constipation and water retention can be caused by low sodium.

(Robert C) #3

Hi and welcome @Courtney_Wickham,

You should let this get you down at all.
65.2 KG last week could have been slightly more fasted or lower hydration.
67.7 KG this week was likely the just a fuller stomach and higher hydration.
Bloating weights a lot.
Fat and muscle cannot easily be added to or leave the body at that rate on Keto (except maybe under some odd situations of morbid obesity or if you have actually been severely calorie restricting).

So, you very likely have about the same amount of body fat as your previous weigh in.
Keto is likely not the problem causing swelling etc. if you had 7 good weeks with it prior to that.
Overexercise, monthly issues, stress or maybe just a plain old medical issue but, very likely not Keto.

Obviously, if you are in pain or the swelling is alarming you at all - you should go see a doctor (i.e. it doesn’t sound like stopping Keto would fix that but, I am a male so hopefully some females will jump in).

#4

The initial weight losscan be inspiring, but many of us hit a stall after some weeks. For me it happened after 5-6 weeks, I didn’t track it too well. After that, my weight has been swinging up and down with a variation of 2-3 kg. But every odd norning when I hit a low weight, it will be a couple hundred grams lower than the last time it went low, and it goes up somewhat less. This variation is due to hormonal changes, activity levels, and different eating. And it’s likely all water and stomach content.

Don’t stress. You’re already at a low weight, and your body might need some time to adjust before getting ready to let fat go.

#5

Hey and welcome! It sounds like it’s water weight. It could be inflammation due to a hard exercise session, something you ate that you’re reacting to, stress or a poor night of sleep…
Even with that recent jump, you’re looking at 6kg loss in 7 weeks, which is fantastic, especially at your size. (It’s harder to lose when you’re close to a health weight).

(Alec) #6

Weight loss is not linear, please don’t expect it to be. Your weight will go up and down, but over a few weeks should trend downwards. If it doesn’t you’re in a stall, and this is normal. It means your body is doing some healing and doesn’t feel like letting go of weight right now. Very natural, very normal, just go with it.

Do not let this discourage you from your keto plan. You are doing just fine.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #7

Something you might want to double-check is what we call “carb creep” or “hidden carbs.” It is possible that your carbohydrate intake has increased somewhat without your awareness. Take a good look at what you are eating to make sure you are staying under your limit. Particularly take a look at any processed foods you are eating, to see if they contain sugar you don’t know about (be sure to look in the list of ingredients, not just in the nutrition panel). Sometimes products that were formerly safe get reformulated, and we don’t realize.