salt and weight gain

according to my scale, i gained a full pound since 2 days ago (i didnt weigh myself yesterday). even though i didn't exercise yesterday, i also know didn't go over my calorie limit- in fact, i might not have even eaten my daily quota!

however, i did have a bunch of whole pickles last night (4 i think). could my weight gain be attributed to salt intake? in which case, it should be gone again in a day or 2, right?

thanks!

That's definitely possible, though 2 lbs would be a lot from just that. As long as you stayed within your calories, as you said; it is either muscle gain, water retension, or both. Your sodium intake shouldn't be more than 2500mg / day, so you may want to try to keep it at or below that level. In the meantime, don't sweat the 2 lbs (and especially don't allow it to discourage you), and see how you're doing in a couple more days. (also don't forget about menstral weight gain, if it's that time in your cycle)

Two pounds could definitely be explained by water retention due to salty food.  If you normally eat healthy with a reasonably low salt intake (i.e. under the 2500/day recommended max), you could easily see a temporary jump by up to five pounds on the scale after an evening of salt/sugar/alcohol.  The good news is that it goes away fairly quickly.

Did the OP not say it was one lb?!

Oh yeah, that was me last week -- I ate two high sodium meals in a row on an unusually humid day while taking a prescription drug that is known for causing fluid retention.  My weight was high for a week -- at worst, four pounds higher than my previous weight.  I could literally feel the excess fluid in my abdomen, face, and extremities. 

I wound up going low on sodium (<1000 mg) for a couple of days to help encourage my body to just let it go and I think that helped, but it still took about a week to get completely back to normal.  Just let your body do its thing and chances are things will be fine.

With only a one pound 'gain', though, it could well be gone by tomorrow!

i can gain 2 or 3 lbs a day or two after eating out or drinking alcohol. i control my sodium really well otherwise. its interesting how much our body can respond with sodium/alcohol bloat. once you learn to recognize your body's particular reaction in your daily weight then you can expect it and it wont bother you.