Seven Reasons Why the Scale Says You Gained Weight Overnight

By Mike Bryant

Trying to lose weight? Do you weigh yourself every day? Don’t. Why? Because your weight will fluctuate and you will get discouraged. Here’s why:Trying to lose weight? Do you weigh yourself every day? Don’t. Why? Because your weight will fluctuate and you will get discouraged. Here’s why:

• You ate more salt than usual. If you increase your salt intake, you will see a weight gain based upon the retention of water.
• You are weighing yourself at different times during the day. Depending on your eating, sleeping and exercise schedule, your weight can vary throughout the day.
• You could be having constipation issues. Depending on how much fiber you are eating and your retention of the food that you eat, that could have an effect on how much waste you have in your body which will affect your weight.
• The type of food you are eating. This can play a role. If you are carb loading or eating heavy carbs, you can see an increase in weight, again because of retention of water.
• The type of medication you are on. Some medications are known to cause water retention or constipation issues which would play a role in your daily weight gain.
• Gender. Women will see increases based upon their menstruation cycle or retention of water both before and after that time period.
• You could have consumed something that causes your body to react more significantly. It is not unusual for individuals to have certain foods that, when they are ingested, can play a role in the amount of weight they gain overnight. Items such as beer or bread can cause this.

The best way to deal with these issues is to keep a diary as to when you see these increases, the type of foods you are eating and what other things changed in your activities to make decisions about what the increase may be caused by. If the weight increase is not long-term, it probably doesn’t mean anything of significance, but may give you clues as to what causes long-term effects on your body.