can you gain 5+ lbs in a few days?!

Okay, so last weekend I went crazy with some friends and managed to gain 5 lbs in 2 days.  Luckily it was mostly water weight so the next day I was back down 5 lbs. 

HOWEVER, this weekend I went crazy again (I know, I know)... and I managed to gain 7 lbs!!  So I thought alright, by tomorrow you'll be alright again.

Well today is tomorrow and I am still 7 lbs more than what I used to be at the beginning of the weekend.  Basically, I want to know, what happened?!  I didn't go binge eating or anything, I just ate out a lot more than usual (usual being never). 

Please explain, thanks :/ (btw this is a worried expression)

hmmm i would think it is still some water weight hanging around... keep chugging that water! and stay off the scale for a couple days (as hard as that is!). there could be a variety of things affecting it like bloating, BM (or lack thereof), etc...

you may have gained a pound or two, if that, from the calories of eating out and whatnot, but it would be VERY hard to gain 7 :) So, try not to worry too much about it, drink LOTS of water and stay within your cal. range, and try again in a couple days!

To gain 5 "real" pounds, you would have to eat 17,500 calories above your daily calorie need. (3500 calorie surplus=1pound)

My experience has been that it takes 4-5 days to normalize after doing something like that.

is it possible to start lossing wieght and then in like one day gain back 5 pounds of that wieght ?? I am doing my best to lose the wieght but then I step on the scales and it tells me instead of losing I have gained 5 pounds in 24 hours. the real funny thing about it is that the day befor I gained it was the best wieght watching day I have had to date.

jim, the body does not react to our calorie surplus or deficit immediately.  I always heard that it was 3 days before the binge showed up on the thighs. 

Unless you've eaten for a family of 8 over the past weekend, it's nearly impossible for you to gain that much weight in such a small span of time.

My guess is just as good as everyone else's- water retention. Your hormones may be working against you and could be causing the retention to occur for longer than usual, or maybe your sodium uptake is higher than usual (or you're not drinking enough water.) My suggestion is to not worry about it and get on a scale at the end of the week.

thank you to everyone for sharing!  I weighed myself again and it turns out that totally (since last weigh in) I've only gained 2 pounds total... which is still bad, but hey... better than 7!!  :D

Weight being the number associated to the total mass of your body (which includes what is in your body at the time of scale stepping), then yes, it is possible to gain 5 lbs in a day.

First, it is possible for the scale to read 7lbs heavier in 2 days.  I've experienced it several times.  Last year, I was on a diet and exercise routine that included a gallon of water a day. I visited the doctor on a Saturday weighing 163.  That following Thursday I returned for something unrelated and my weight was 173. I had been in the ER and hadn't been exercising or feeling well for a few days.  When the nurse read my chart and said, " Saturday you weighed 163, which nurse took your weight?" So I told her.  She said that " Oh, haha, that nurse doesn't know what she's doing half the time, did you tell her to put down 163?" I was so mad! So the doctor and the nurses thought I had lied and "forced" that nurse to write that on my chart. The truth is I retain so much water that if I don't follow my regular routine my weight will fluctuate that much! ( Side note, the nurses DO NOT take off any lbs for clothing or shoes which I find ABSURD especially this one time they made me get on the scale with my sneakers which alone weigh about 3lbs) So, I would just drink a lot of water and eat a lot of fiber to remove all the excess waste and water that has been stored in your body. It does take a few days to regulate. 

well every one knows that shoes and clothes weigh 5 pounds!! haha at least they should....