how likely is this weight gain?

I weighed myself last Thursday, and I weighed about 121lbs.  I weighed myself on Sunday and I was at about 129lbs.  I weighed myself again this morning and I was still at 129lbs.  I figured that the Sunday weigh in was mostly water weight.  But now I am a little more worried.  I have consumed about 18300 calories over the course of the last five days/ about 3600-3700/day.  I should note that my water intake has actually been a little lower then normal.  My face feels a little slightly puffy and this morning was the first morning in the last five days that I woke up and didn't have a huge buldge in my stomach...

Is this actual weight gain or am I really retaining this much water?   

You are trying to gain weight, right?  I am positive that most of that weight is water, since you haven't been drinking as much.  Have you eaten a lot of salty foods too?  I sometimes gain huge amounts of weight after eating chilli for dinner!   Try not to worry about exact numbers on the scale (I know it's hard!!) because these things are not exact.  There is no way you could have gained 8 pounds in less than a week unless... no, there's no way!  Try to look on the bright side though, because gaining weight should be your goal, right?  It's really hard to see a big gain, I know, so maybe it would be best to put the scale away for a while because it really can be triggering. 

I think you need to limit your scale use. This is going to drive you crazy and even my weekly weigh in does so more I can't even imagine. I read in a past post you vary calories from 3000-4000 daily and I wonder if your body would do better if you had a more narrow range like 3800-4000 or what ever. I wonder if the 1000 calorie changes on and off are confusing your body. I am no expert but a thought.  Was this a big increase from what you were eating before in a short period? You are a guy I see from your picture and many young guys need over 3000 for weight maintence. I am not sure your goals of where you need to be at but try to remind yourself your body will settle at its set pointand won't make these jumps once it gets stable. If you see this continue to happen you may want to go to your gp because water weight that is extreme can have associated problems. Hang in there

don't be "worried" the gain is not physically possible and even if it were your mentality should be one that embraces the gain...you are severely underweight and it would be a good thing if the gain were "real" but more than likely it's a combination of actual gain and a retention of water, which would explain the puffy face. I know it's hard to mentally cope with but you really need to try to accept the thought of gaining, even if it's more than expected. thoughts like this increase the possibility of relapsing so although this gain isn't "real" completely, maybe you should ask yourself what different it makes if it really were...at 129, you would have quite a way to go in order to fall within a healthy range...so what does it matter whether  it takes you 2 months rather than 3? if you want to be healthy the ultimate outcome is the same. i completely understand though, sometimes i get "worried" when i get ready to step on the scale because part of me doesn't want to see ANY gain at all but then I realize how distorted my thinking is and i come back to reality. i hope you feel better and really, just give this some thought :)

how long have you been eating at that amount? only the last 5 days?? Yous should really ignore the scale for a week if not two when you first bump up your cals since your body weight will flucuate lots as it get adjusted to the new amount of food!

Good luck and I wish you the best!!

~Sarah

I really don't use the scale that much.  But I was truely shocked to see a 8lb gain.  Yes the sodium intake was high with a low water intake.  I want to gain, and yes there is some fear, but I am pretty sure that I would be comfortable with being 129, but I don't know about being 129 and looking all puffy and whatnot.  Man I can't wait to reach that set-point.  I will try to narrow the calorie intake, and yes it was a major leap from an average of 2600-3000 to 3700+ for 5 days....  Thanks again for the advice, it is much appreciated.

I understand your fears BUT you need to push through for health. When I said narrow cals I meant to a good high range. You are a young guy and I would think this is not your set point weight. May I ask your goal? Also I saw on your journal  you have some eating where you skip breakfast and lunch often and that will mess with your body and set for binging.Iam sure that does not help with wayer weight. Can you be more balanced with meals and snacks?Lastly good job on making the cal leap but it has been a short time. Give your body time and if this continues go to the doc for water weight issues. I had severe edema with one of my refeedings. It did settle down and I didn't stay looking puffy but it was at first uncomfortable and mentally hard and had to be kept an eye on. Hang in there and try to estabilsh a balanced weight gain plan. I think you will feel better all around

My goal is 140 by the beginning of August, preferabbly sooner, so I can tone up at the gym a little before I go see my family for the first time since christmas...  But that seems really unlikely.  I only skipped the breakfast lunch once, and that just had to be done, there was no way any more food would fit in my stomach...  Thanks for the addvice though abbie.