You’ve been nailing your diet and decide to have a cheat day.
But, the next day you step on the scale and see that you’ve gained weight.
Many will ask if this weight gain is normal or not.
Rest assured, weight gain after a cheat day is completely normal and to be expected. This weight increase is nothing to be concerned about, as it is coming from water, not fat.
Because cheat days normally involve consuming foods with a higher carbohydrate and sodium content, the result is a temporary increase in water retention.
It is important to note that while weight gain after a cheat day is totally normal, going too far and overdoing your day of treats can negatively impact a fat loss phase.
Key Takeaways
- Depending on how much extra sodium and how many extra carbs you consume on a cheat day, you may gain 1-5lbs of water weight that will go away within 48 hours once you get back on track.
- One cheat day a week will not ruin your progress, as long as you do not turn it into several cheat days in a row where you’re consuming hundreds of extra calories per day.
- You can mitigate any potential weight gain from a cheat day by drinking lots of water, avoiding all-out binges on junk food, and limiting yourself to one cheat meal instead of having an entire cheat day.
Reasons Why You Gain Weight After A Cheat Day
The 3 reasons you gain weight after a cheat day are:
1. An Increase in Water Retention From Carbohydrates Intake
The amount of water that your body is holding onto on a day-to-day basis is largely dependent on the number of carbohydrates that you normally consume.
Therefore, the amount of extra water your body retains from your cheat day depends on how many carbs you eat.
When you consume carbohydrates, which are in higher quantities on a cheat day, your body converts them into its favorite energy source, known as glycogen.
Glycogen loves to hold onto water. For every gram of glycogen in your body, 3 to 4 molecules of water are attached to it.
If you are normally on a diet where your carbohydrate intake is roughly 120 grams a day, then you will already be holding onto approximately 420 grams of water, which equates to about 1 pound of weight on the body.
With this in mind, if you increase your carbs on your cheat day, let’s say to roughly 360 grams, your body will end up holding onto around 1260 grams of water or 3 pounds of weight on the body.
This would be a 2-pound increase from your normal day-to-day weight.
- Related Article: Should You Undereat After Overeating? (Here’s What To Do)
2. An Increase in Water Retention From Sodium Intake
A typical cheat day will usually consist of foods with higher sodium (salt) content. Fast food, in particular, is notorious for packing in a ton of sodium.
The sodium that we eat is consumed by the cells in our body, and in this process, water will accompany the salt.
If your cheat meal contains a large amount of sodium, your body will temporarily hold onto the water until it can bring cellular fluid levels back into homeostasis (i.e., back to normal).
While the American Heart Association recommends no more than 2300 mg of sodium a day, if you are eating a clean, unprocessed diet, you are most likely consuming less than this.
However, it does not take much of an increase in sodium intake to result in water retention.
Therefore, a cheat meal that consists of 3 slices of Pizza Hut pepperoni pizza would equal around 2505mg of sodium.
If your regular sodium intake is around 1500mg a day, this 1000mg increase above your normal amount would result in your body temporarily holding onto around 5 pounds of water.
3. An Increase in Overall Food Intake in Your Stomach
Unlike a refeed, a cheat day does not aim to keep certain macronutrients controlled because its entire purpose is a break from dieting, counting, or tracking altogether.
Because of this potent combination of high-carb and high-fat foods, the calorie count of a cheat day can get really high, really fast.
If your cheat day consists of eating several high-caloric meals one after the other, it is inevitable that you will experience temporary weight gain strictly because you will have a full belly and will have consumed larger quantities of food than you are used to.
This is nothing to worry about, as your weight will go back to normal as your body digests and excrete the food.
However, due to the unrestricted nature of an average cheat day, you want to be sure that it does not turn into a permission slip to binge and eat copious amounts of food just for the sake of it.
Binge eating, if left unchecked, has the potential to become a problem that can spiral out of control.
Binging on large amounts of food on a regular basis can result in weight gain from fat, and can become more and more difficult to course correct.
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How Much Weight Is Normal To Gain After A Cheat Day?
When you consider the increase in sodium and carbohydrate consumption, it would be possible to see a 5-pound weight gain from water retention after a cheat day. However, you should see this weight gain dissipate within 24-48 hours.
In order to determine what a normal amount of weight gain is for you after a cheat day, you must consider (1) the sodium and carbohydrate content in your regular diet and (2) the number of carbs and sodium consumed on your cheat day.
The table below shows how much weight you can expect to gain based on how much extra carbs and salt you eat.
| Amount of Extra Carbs and Salt | Expected Weight Gain |
|---|---|
| 120g of carbs or 200mg of sodium | 1lb |
| 240g of carbs or 400mg of sodium | 2lbs |
| 120g of carbs and 400mg of sodium | 3lbs |
| 240g of carbs and 400mg of sodium | 4lbs |
| 300g of carbs and 500mg of sodium | 5lbs |
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Will Gaining Weight After A Cheat Day Ruin My Progress?
After you have been sticking to your diet for a while and decide to indulge in a cheat day, as long as you get right back on track, your progress will not be affected.
“Consistency matters — if you are eating out much more than you used to, you will likely see some weight gain. But it’s not going to be after one or two nights out.”
Alexandra Caspero, R.D.
However, if your cheat days become a frequent occurrence or turn into “cheat weekends,” there is a good chance that you will drastically slow or even reverse the progress you have made.
The success of your fat loss phase depends directly on your adherence to a calorie deficit over a consistent period of time.
If you have been in a calorie deficit for 1-2 weeks, and decide to have a cheat day where you are in a temporary caloric surplus, overall you are still in the caloric deficit needed to achieve your goal of fat loss.
Let’s say your maintenance calories are 2200 calories per day or 15,400 per week. You drop them to 1800 per day or 12,600 per week because you want to lose weight.
During a cheat day in your weight loss phase, you consume 2600 calories, putting you in a caloric surplus that’s even higher than your maintenance-level calories. If you ate 1800 calories the other six days, this would equal 13,400 calories for the week because [1800 x 6] + 2600 = 13,400.
Overall, you’d still be in a calorie deficit for that week because you are still below your weekly maintenance calories of 15,400. Any weight you may gain is water weight and not fat.
However, if you have multiple cheat days in a week, you may slow your progress. If you eat 1800 calories Monday through Wednesday and then eat 2600 calories Thursday through Sunday, that equals 15,800 weekly calories.
In that case, you’ll likely gain some fat, especially if this pattern continues, because your average caloric surplus will be 400 calories higher per week than your maintenance calories.
- Related Article: How Many Calories Should You Eat on A Cheat Day? (Explained)
How To Limit Excess Weight Gain During A Cheat Day (5 Tips)
Despite the fact the weight that you might gain after a cheat day is most likely temporary water weight, the following tips will help you to reduce any excess, unnecessary weight gain from water retention during your next cheat day:
1. Have a “Cheat Day Plan”
It can be extremely beneficial to plan out your cheat day, just as you would your regular diet.
While a cheat day is all about allowing yourself to eat foods you don’t normally consume, having a rough idea of what you are going to eat and sticking to that plan will help to ensure that you don’t overdo it.
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2. Avoid Foods That You Know You Don’t Digest Well
For most people, a cheat day is often the time when you will indulge in processed food favorites that don’t have a place in your daily diet.
While one of the purposes of a cheat day is to satisfy any food cravings we might have while on our regular diet, if you are looking to reduce any temporary but unnecessary weight gain caused by bloating or digestive disturbances, it may be best to avoid any foods that you know you personally do not digest well.
If you know that the spicy chicken pizza will make you bloat up like a balloon, maybe go for a different, but equally satisfying option!
- Related Article: Going Over Your Calories Once A Week: Is This Okay?
3. Drink Lots of Water
Believe it or not, one of the most effective ways to mitigate water retention is to drink water.
More specifically, when we drink water, we are helping our bodies to flush out any excess sodium that we may have in our system, which will ultimately help to decrease the amount of water the body is holding onto.
The recommended daily water intake is around 3 liters a day for men and 2.2 liters a day for women.
However, if you normally consume more than this, say 3.5 liters, then make sure you are drinking that amount on the day of and the days following your cheat day.
4. Pay Attention to How You Feel
As stated above, a cheat day should not be viewed as a free pass to binge on anything and everything. It is important to make sure that you are not eating to the point of uncomfortable fullness just for the sake of it.
Even on a cheat day, it is still important to pay attention to the hunger and fullness cues that our body provides.
If you are halfway through your cheat day but start to feel uncomfortably full, don’t push it!
5. Consider Having a Cheat “Meal” Rather Than a Cheat “Day”
For some people, getting back on track after an entire day of being out of your normal eating routine can be tough. This is where it may be more beneficial to try a cheat meal, rather than a full cheat day.
Planning a cheat meal will allow you to satisfy any food cravings that you may have, all while not running the risk of overdoing it with an entire day of cheat foods.
This would also be a more favorable option if you are early on in your fat loss phase and you don’t want to lose or undo any progress that you have made.
- Related Article: Cheat Meal vs Cheat Day: Which Is Better?
Frequently Asked Questions
Will I Gain Weight If I Have A Cheat Day Once Per Week?
You may gain some weight from a cheat day, but it is likely temporary water weight due to an increased sodium and carbohydrate intake.
As long as you don’t eat thousands of extra calories and are still within your overall maintenance or weight loss calories for the week, you will not gain fat from one cheat day.
I Gained 2 Pounds After Cheat Day: Is this Normal?
Due to the fact that a cheat day normally involves an increase in carbohydrate and sodium intake, seeing a 2 pound increase caused by water retention is to be expected.
This weight gain is temporary and you should see your body return to it’s normal weight within 24-48 hours.
I Gained 3 Pounds After Cheat Day: Is this Normal?
A 3 pound weight gain after a cheat day is no cause for concern. If you normally eat a low carb diet of 60 grams of carbs per day, and decide to have a cheat day where you consume roughly 360 grams of carbs, it would not be unlikely to see a weight increase of 3 pounds on the scale from water retention.
I Gained 5 Pounds After Cheat Day: Is this Normal?
Yes, an increase of 5 pounds after a cheat day would be considered within the normal range of weight gain. Given the fact that cheat meals are typically high in carbohydrates and sodium, it is common to see weight on the scale go up due to water retention.
I Gained 6 Pounds After Cheat Day: Is this Normal?
After a cheat day, your body responds to the increase in carbohydrate and sodium intake by temporarily holding onto water. A weight gain of 6 pounds after a cheat day would be a result of water retention, not fat gain.
I Gained 7 Pounds After Cheat Day: Is this Normal?
Seeing the scale go up 7 pounds after a cheat day is caused by water retention from an increase in carbohydrate and sodium intake. This water retention is temporary, and as long as you get back on track, you will not experience weight gain from fat.
I Gained 10 Pounds After Cheat Day: Is this Normal?
Gaining 10 pounds after a cheat day can be alarming, but it is not 10 pounds of fat. You must consume 3500 calories above maintenance to gain 1 pound of fat. Unless you consumed 35,000 calories, you didn’t gain 10 pounds of fat.
This weight gain is water retention caused by an increase in carbs and sodium.
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