So, you were party rocking on the weekend, and you are very sure you ate a lot…
It probably gave you some guilt, but you didn’t worry too much; you don’t gain weight immediately after eating, right?
But then the next day, you weighed yourself, and very much to your regret, you realized that you DID gain weight. What happened? – You wonder-
If you feel identified with this story, this article is for you!
We’ll be revealing the answer to that one-million-dollar question: Do you gain weight immediately after eating?
Keep reading, and you realize that there are many factors to consider when we talk about gaining or losing weight.
How do we gain weight?
Every time we eat, we provide the body with several calories and nutrients necessary for our life and normal functions.
Depending on what we eat, those calories can turn into stored fat and cause us to gain weight.
As the World Health Organization points out: “We must balance caloric intake with caloric expenditure.” To avoid unhealthy weight gain, fat should not exceed 30% of total caloric intake.”
The calorie consumption also depends on the individual activities of the person, such as a sedentary lifestyle or physically active (exercise).
It means that once you eat, you will hardly gain weight immediately afterward!
Your daily activities should consume a good part of the calories you have ingested.
You do not lose the caloric balance that your body has to maintain in 24 hours.
But you can lose it in the medium term when you consume more calories than recommended per day.
An example that will help you understand this idea is: to gain 1 pound of weight, you need to consume 3500 calories in one meal. JUST ONE!
To reach that amount of calories, you would have to eat a lot, and many hyper-caloric products such as brownies, soft drinks, fast food, among others.
And even so, you would also have to do it regularly.
So don’t worry! No matter how much you have eaten in one day, you will not gain weight immediately.
There may be bloating from excess food, but in reality, the number on that scale will stay pretty close to what you already knew.
But I notice changes in my weight. What happened?
First case: the liquid enemy!
Let’s imagine this afternoon you ate an entire bag of large potato chips.
Well, with those high calories – plus the 2,000 that you generally consume – you would have gained only about 200 grams that day.
So, where do the extra pounds that the scale gives you come from?
There are many other factors apart from the intake that influences these daily weight fluctuations: bloating, pending stools, or an increase in body water after more spicy meals.
Besides, to gain; let’s say two pounds of fat, you would have to exceed 7,716 calories in a day, which is almost impossible!
Let’s continue the example. You ate the chips, after you had pizza for dinner and, also, you drank some soda.
The water level in your body will have increased quickly, a typical consequence of eating foods rich in salt and sodium.
Next, you weigh yourself the next day. You have gained a pound and a half or two pounds overnight.
Considering this situation, the best thing you can do in these cases is to wait a couple of days to weigh yourself again.
After you return to your routine and turn to your daily eating habits, the extra pounds will go away.
You may try to eat pineapple or other diuretic fruits to help to flush the body water.
A classic solution to return to normality and reduce bloating from these meals is to reduce salt.
Then, increase the consumption of fruits and vegetables -which are rich in liquids and potassium, and stay hydrated and active.
Second case: the gassy enemy!
So yes, body gasses are another common reason why you gain weight overnight.
For every 1,000 extra calories you eat, you store about 60 grams of fat, so the volume is too small for a person to notice it that way.
Sometimes, it is more of a bowel issue or bloating because of flatulence.
As awkward as it may sound, it’s a frequent problem and has a lot to do with a momentaneous weight gain.
Having intestinal regularity is very beneficial for our health. However, sometimes and because of a deficient diet or because you have not hydrated adequately, you can suffer from constipation.
The inability to go to the bathroom can cause you to add a few grams to the numbers on the scale and make you feel more bloated than usual.
But you must be clear that you can solve it by improving your intestinal health.
Other reasons you may see a change in your weight:
You drank a lot of water the day before:
Although it sounds very contradictory as water is related to weight loss, all excess is bad! So drink enough to get you hydrated and no more.
A lot of salt in your meals:
If in one day you ate more than usual, you have likely consumed more salt than usual, which leads to fluid retention, and as we saw, impacts your weight quickly.
Your menstrual cycle:
During the follicular phase and the luteal phase of your menstrual cycle, your weight can vary by one pound or three pounds. All of this is normal and expected, so don’t worry!
You have eaten more carbohydrates than usual:
When following a low-carbohydrate regime, having one high-carbs day can be reflected on the scale.
Simple carbohydrates also make us keep fluids on some occasions, so this may be the reason the scale has gone up.
To truly gain weight, you have to sustain excessive food eating for weeks or months. For two days of bingeing, there will not be such a tremendous change in your weight.
That is the reason that thin people also overindulge from time to time, and yet they are still thin!
In conclusion, there are many things to consider, but once again, the answer is NO; you can not gain weight immediately after eating.
why am i gaining weight while eating healthy?
This article intends to the question regarding “do you gain weight immediately after eating?
And we have already seen that it is difficult for you to add some pounds only for one or two days of not eating well.
We already talked about bloating because of fluid retention and flatulence as factors of weight gaining.
However, there are other sources you should pay attention to because they have a decisive influence on your weight fluctuations:
The metabolism:
A malfunction in metabolism is one of the most common causes of weight gain.
Blood glucose:
Between meals, the pancreas secretes a high level of insulin and causes a sudden drop in blood glucose.
Because of this hypoglycemia, the body stimulates the hunger center and causes a great desire for foods rich in sugars.
Stress:
During stress episodes, we use stored glucose quickly.
Therefore, doctors and nutritionists recommend a balanced diet, which means eating complex carbohydrates (whole grains) to help keep your blood sugar level under control.
Emotional affections:
We can link different emotional states to weight gain besides stress.
For example, we can use the pleasure of food to cover other affective deficiencies.
Here, the food acts as a placebo that helps us feel better.
The explanation for this relationship between food and feeling better is that when we swallow, we start the parasympathetic nervous system, and this calms us down.
Smoking:
A cigarette has antidepressant effects and suppresses hunger but increases the craving for sweets.
The weight gain that most quitters experience is because of withdrawal symptoms.
Doctors recommend consuming apples and other fruits rich in fiber to ease the withdrawal syndrome.
Do You Gain Weight Immediately After Eating?
As we said previously, weight gain after a meal is unlikely to happen because the body has ways of balancing those excess calories and maintaining itself.
However, if you maintain this behavior and are sedentary, it will not take long before you see a weight gain.
If you want to prevent this from happening to you, remember to be aware of what you eat (without obsessing, please!).
Plan your meals, exercise regularly, sleep well, and do activities that fill you with satisfaction and joy.
Following these healthy habits will accelerate your metabolism. And you will not even be concerned about how much weight you can gain after a meal!
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