When does it stop being water and start being fat?

Thanks Russell and everyone,

I guess I didn't eat enough calories to create 2 or 3 pounds of fat in a day so it must have been water weight. The meal was fairly high in sodium as well as calories so that is probably what it is and, hopefully, the water will come back off with the lasik in a day or 2. My doctor has me weighing in every day.

Sigh, I love high salt foods and it is hard to give them up. No more dill pickles. No more of my favorite canned chili which has 2500 mg of sodium per serving and I usually eat the whole can (2.5 servings)! I know I won't be perfect so I just need to keep in mind how many calories I actually eat vs how many calories it takes to really gain fat rather than water. I do have my tracker set to show sodium.

Thanks everyone. I feel reassured.

" I have CHF so I'm supposed to watch out for water gain but if I've been naughty about my eating how can I tell if the 2 or 3 pounds is fat or water? "

I have CHF, and was not talking about Lasix as a weight loss tool ( just to clarify ), but as a daily pill that someone with CHF takes. The OP has stated that they have " been naughty ", and should expect weight gain for a few days.. far beyond what is normal for a healthy person. I can gain 10-12 lbs of water weight in a single day.

There is a big difference between water weight for no reason, and one that is caused by eating the wrong food. If the OP is on Lasix, losing the water weight may happen more quickly, since that is why CHF patients are on it. Our doctors don't intend for it to eliminate water weight caused by a bad meal, but it does that too.

This is important, because the OP should monitor their weight to make sure that they are losing the water weight. However, when reading the title, I think the OP is suggesting that they want to know when they can count the new weight as bodyfat.

You need to eat 3500 calories over what you eat to maintain to gain a lb, so if you were maintaining, and didn't eat 3500, then you shouldn't gain a lb. Even if this " naughty meal " caused an over-consumption of 1200 calories, that would be 1/3rd of a lb. as long as you get right back on track. The rest of the gain would be water weight, and will always be water, which you will need to lose, and will. It doesn't turn into fat.

So I would wait at most 3 days, and hopefully the weight drops off completely, and any small gain would mostly likely be a weight gain, not water weight. I wouldn't worry about 1 small cheat though. Weight fluctuates daily, so we have some water weight all the time, and a lb or 2 fluctuation can happen any time of the day. Just get back on track, and act like the " naught meal " never happened. In the long term it will all smooth out.

Water retention can be caused by dehydration as well.....drink lots of water, if you don't your cells just want to hold on to fluids even more.

Some veggies can act as a diuretic...get some fresh asparagus and steam it. Other high water foods should help...cucumber, celery, spinach, romaine, fresh berries, homemade veggie soup with no salt added, radishes, onions and even cauliflower.

A water pill is not to lose weight it just supports you medication.

If edema persists and your have CHF call your doctor as you do not want fluid to accumulate around your heart....and always discuss with your doctor what medical treatments and changes in your lifestyle will better your condition

Edited by: SUNSHINE6442 at: 12/6/2013 (09:45)

Do you have your Nutrition Tracker set to count sodium for you? And are you careful about tracking the specific brands of foods (because sodium content can vary widely among brands, for the same food item; jarred spaghetti sauce, for example). It's conceivable that you could've been "naughty" with high-sodium snack foods, and then even if you stayed within your calorie range for a couple days but ate higher-sodium foods, you'd still be retaining water. I should think it would take maybe 2-3 days to flush the sodium and water retention out. Assuming you got that sodium number down.

Edited by: MISSRUTH at: 12/6/2013 (07:27)

You know that you ate poorly, and if it was high sodium, you will have some water weight gain. This may take several days to go away. I'm guessing you are on Lasix, so that may help remove the water weight, but if you were losing weight, and some bad food caused water weight gain, just resume eating the healthy diet your doctor has you eating, and in a few days, the weight loss will resume.

You may be able to tell when the water weight is gone, by the swelling in your feet disappearing, so that you can see veins, or just being able to breathe easier. However, if you were already losing weight before, then you will go back to losing weight, and will eventually lose all that you gained, and set a new low.

What you need to be concerned with most with CHF is weight gain for no explicable reason. This is a sign of you not removing the water from your heart and lungs properly, for a variety of reasons, none of them good. This is why they tell you to call your doctor if you gain 5 lbs in a week, with no reason why. If you ate poorly, you have a reason why, and if you stop doing it ( harder than it sounds, I know ), the side effect of water weight gain, will also stop.

I wouldn't panic. With CHF, huge water weight gains are possible, and as long as you start dropping weight ( most often accompanied by frequent bathroom visits ), you are on the way to getting back on track.

I've had hormonal water shifts that lasted ten days -- when I know I was doing everything the same as I had the week before.

I don't think the answer to the question matters. What matters is what you do. If you know you've been "naughty", you figure out how to change that. Then you don't need to worry about the scale so much. And if you're doing things right and still unsure if you're really losing weight or have stopped (or gained), you just do what you need to do for a few more weeks and by then what the scale says should be more reliable and you can make adjustments if necessary.

Wow - I don't know, but that's a helluva good question!! My guess is 3 days????

I know that weight gain doesn't happen the minute you eat too much food but when do you know the weight gain on the scale is fat and not water? I have CHF so I'm supposed to watch out for water gain but if I've been naughty about my eating how can I tell if the 2 or 3 pounds is fat or water? I generally don't consider it fat if it was just the next day after eating but what about 2 days later?