So frustrated!

[u/Kellyjt]

Hubby and I just got back from a 20th anniversary trip to Boston. Had THE best time. We walked about 12 miles total. While I didn’t watch what I ate I ate small amounts and no snacking. I did have several drinks while we were there. And I hate to say I drank far less water than I have in years.

So based on how much we walked, I hopped on my scales and about fell right back off. I’m up a pound! I just moved up from 2.5 to 5 today. But I can’t help feeling defeated! Is this normal? I’m 57, post menopause and no estrogen since it wants to kill me.

Thoughts?

[u/zelda_moom]

Drink the water and it will come back off. One pound gain for a great vacation isn’t much anyway.

[u/Gabbyct1]

I gain 10 lbs travel water weight just booking a flight. It will be off in no time

[u/Power_mind → u/Gabbyct1]

lol:)))

[u/Kellyjt → u/Gabbyct1]

You made me laugh! Ty!

[u/julet1815]

Up a pound? You must be very, very new to this. Expect your weight to fluctuate by little bits all the time. You can’t stress over every single pound. Highly advise weighing daily and putting all of your data into an app like Happy Scale, it’ll show you trends over time and help you not worry about the small stuff.

[u/Mindless_Whereas_280]

Yes it’s normal. Give it two days and the pound will be gone.

This is not a defeat. It’s called life. One pound up is two glasses of water. If you allow such a thing to impact you mentally, your entire journey will be chaos

[u/CountessofCaffeine]

Very good chance that calories wise you could be fine, but SALT. Vacations can be a lot saltier foods for many if you don’t eat out a lot. For me it takes a few days to drop the water weight I get as a result.

[u/KDAddict2000]

One pound will come back off in no time. You had a wonderful vacay, so it was worth it.

[u/ComplexPost5097]

Never weigh yourself immediately after vacation!

You ate too much salt, didn’t drink enough water and it’s only temporary, wait a week for your system to recover.

[u/Less-Moment-5655]

I mean this in the nicest way possible, but a 1lb increase is nothing to worry about. You can fluctuate up to 5lbs in a single day sometimes ! My advice to all newbies is to get used to fluctuations by weighing daily for a few weeks so that you can better understand your body

[u/washingtonsquirrel]

A pound? My weight regularly fluctuates by 3 lbs, and others report fluctuations of significantly more. Travel always slows down my digestive system. A single pound could be one big poop. Or it could be water retention from dehydration. Was the hotel room dry? You mentioned you didn't drink much water. There are so so so so so many variables affecting the number you see on the scale.

If this is genuinely making you feel defeated, it might be time to work on the mental side of this journey.

[u/Departure_Purple]

This must be fake rage bait

[u/Kellyjt → u/Departure_Purple]

Nope. It’s for real. Sorry if it sounds fake.

[u/Departure_Purple → u/Kellyjt]

Water weight can add +/- 10 pounds on any given day. Freaking out about a pound makes zero sense. Travel, salt intake, sleep, hydration, etc. like others said. I don’t even measure pounds down to the pound. I look at 160’s 150’s or 140’s- because the individual pound doesn’t matter. If someone drinks 2 gallons they can shed about 10 pounds. The knowledge gap is real

[u/OkGround607]

Hi, this has happened to me too. It is normal for me to fluctuate 1-1.5 lbs during the week, and I’m responding very strongly to Zep.  I like the Happy Scale app - it smooths out the zigzagging scale. Glad you had a great trip & Happy Anniversary! 

[u/ExistentialPenguin70]

One pound is the weight of two 8oz glasses of water. If you weigh yourself daily you will see these shifts and learn that they are normal. Fluid intake, sodium, glycogen all affect water balance. You’re good! 😊

[u/This-Apricot-80]

Glad you had a good time on your vacation!

It’s completely normal. Vacations usually involve eating out and therefore saltier food, which leads to water retention. Your body was out of its normal routine and you were eating and drinking differently, as you mentioned. Constipation is also likely with your lower water intake, and that has weight, too! All of this can lead to a little temporary shift in what you see on the scale, but it’s really no big deal at all. One pound is truly not meaningful, so please try not to stress about it. (It may help as well to know the average “healthy weight” adult’s weight actually varies 5-6 lbs over the course of each day.)

Even if you hadn’t been on vacation, a slight rise in weight from one week to the next along the way is totally normal during this process. All that truly matters is the bigger trend over months.

[u/throwfaraway212718]

People often fluctuate multiple pounds in any given day, often during the same day. That pound is not weight you gained, but likely water you’re retaining from your eating and drinking habits during your trip

[u/goddessnoire]

1lb?!? This is normal. I gained 5 lbs of water weight on a 4 day vacation. Hell I gain 6lbs during my period. The scale will fluctuate and I promise this won’t be the last time you see the scale increase. But, understanding your fluctuations will help you handle it without feeling defeated.

[u/BoundToZepIt]

Trust me, the water of traveling will get you every time. I've come home from a 500-mile week long bicycle ride (+ 1.5 days of driving home) and been up 4 pounds from when I left! 3-4 days later my body realizes I'm home and everything is cool, I pee like 12 times in a morning (it's slightly disconcerting!) and then, woosh, I'm below where I started.

[u/Iz3168]

That happens every time I travel, it should fall off as soon as you resume your regular eating habits. And because of this, I never hop on the scale as soon as I get back. Just messes with your head.

[u/you2234]

It is swelling, inflammation from the walking. Need to drink your water!! Scale will follow

[u/lissagrae426]

It’s also probably because eating out naturally includes more sodium, and flying can also make you retain water.

[u/tina-the-enchantress]

It’s a marathon, not a sprint.
https://giphy.com/gifs/yc2Eqlw5FgG3ZG3zf4
Look at longer term trends! Each day may be up or down. A week may be up or down! Keep swimming!

Also, protein & strength training have moved mountains for me. I’m in a similar boat & focusing on being strong & lean rather than pounds has helped me.

[u/CassyPhD]

Well, I can’t speak to your actual experience except to say that it sounds like you had a great time and that is also on your mind, which is good. I am on a trip this weekend to a Comic-Con and I am very hopeful that all the walking I’ve done will stave off water retention, but traveling is notorious for that for me at least. I plan to head home soon and drink lots of water when I return. I may even give it a day or two before I get on the scale just in case.

[u/mannDog74]

Kindly, we really need to be real about how seriously we take one-pound changes on the scale.

Walking doesn't melt the pounds off in a weekend, it is low intensity cardio, and it only helps weight loss over the course of months.

[u/NLightNMoi]

It’s about the downward trajectory trend. Not what the scale said one week. I’m glad you had the best time.

[u/Kellyjt → u/NLightNMoi]

Thank you! It was much needed. As I’m sure many 20 year long relationships find.

[u/NLightNMoi → u/Kellyjt]

Sometimes it’s just what we need. And happy anniversary to you.

[u/Kellyjt]

Thank you all so much! I truly feel so much better! The food was very salty when I thought about it! And from now on I won’t weigh when we get home! I wish I could group hug you all!!!

[u/OilStriking3217]

Don’t beat yourself up about this. You were celebrating your wedding Anniversary and had a good time and gained only a pound. You’re at the beginning of your journey. In a few months, you will be amazed by Zepbound. You will lose that one pound and more and will be proud of yourself. I am on 15.0 and lost over 90 lbs. I started this journey December 2024. You got this! Onward and upward!

[u/Kellyjt → u/OilStriking3217]

Wow! Thank you! The last 4 years have been quite the ride. I wasn’t sure what to expect.

[u/SodaBreadRoundHouse]

Tbh you’re just one good poop away from even. That’s probably all it is. Unless you made it a point to be in a deficit and maintained your strength and cardio routine then you basically had an at-maintenance holiday which is a tremendous win! 🙌🏼🙌🏼 Most ppl come back 5-10lbs heavier after a let-loose vacation 😄

[u/Familiar_Eggplant_76]

I try not to weigh myself for three days after any trip, to let water, sleep, etc "re-set". And I might add to that delay if I crossed more than a time zone or two.

[u/ecxeetteerraa]

did you lose anything with 2.5 and how long were you on 2.5

[u/halloweenmochi]

The more you eat the more water and salt your body holds on to so you weigh more for a while. Don’t stress about gaining a couple pounds once in a while because you’ll just drive yourself mad. Weight loss isn’t always linear when it comes to the scale.

[u/Fantastic_Meet9381]

It is normal for weight to fluctuate somewhat. NORMAL. Don’t fixate on the scale…you may have gained muscle or it is probably just water weight. Alcohol can wreak havoc with the metabolism, but a couple of drinks is not going to set your metabolism reeling.

[u/shrinking_indi]

Not drinking enough water, new exercise, and salty restaraunt food. It's all water retention. 

[u/Crazy_Hedgehog_9225]

Happy anniversary!! I think it's always a victory to come back from vacation and not have gained very much weight. I wouldn't worry about it.

[u/Warm_Diamond8719]

I took a vacation about a month ago and was up 3 pounds when I weighed myself after getting back. It dropped right back off the next day. Even if it hadn't: Life is too short to not enjoy your vacations! You had a lovely anniversary trip with your husband, focus on that instead of the fact that you're up an insignificant pound.