The 14 Bad Habits That Make You Fat While You Sleep

Have you ever gotten out of bed in the morning, stepped on the scale, and discovered that you had gained weight overnight? While it's natural to gain a few pounds after a vacation or if you haven't been exercising or eating healthily, it can be shocking to gain weight for no apparent reason. You swear you're not eating more or exercising less, but it can feel like dark magic is at work.

Weight fluctuations are common and completely normal, especially when you eat or drink water and juice. There are numerous causes of unexpected weight gain, which we will discuss in today's blog. From eating more sodium than usual, eating later, eating more carbs, starting new medication, to a lack of physical activity, and more, read on to find out about them all.

1. You consumed more sodium than usual:

Your body may retain excess water for a variety of reasons, the most common of which is sodium intake. When you consume more sodium than usual on a given day, your body retains more water. Some people are more sensitive to this than others.

For example, if you typically eat very fresh, whole, clean foods and exercise regularly, and then skip a workout and eat a super salty meal, your weight fluctuation will likely be more pronounced than someone who eats more salt.

The  14 Bad Habits That Make You Fat While You Sleep


Mild dehydration can cause your body to retain fluids as well. It may seem counterintuitive, but drinking more will help your body get rid of fluids and excess sodium more efficiently.

Most fluid-related weight gain should be temporary, lasting only 24 to 48 hours if you resume your normal eating and drinking habits. Much will depend on how quickly your kidneys remove excess water from your body and whether or not you sweat some of it out.

2. Late Night Snacks:

We've all heard the rule about not eating after 6 p.m., but that doesn't stop us from eating late dinners or midnight snacks. However, studies show that eating late causes weight gain. It may also raise cholesterol, insulin levels, and have a negative impact on our hormonal markers.

Remember that if your calorie intake exceeds your calorie expenditure, you will gain weight.

3.. You Consumed More Carbohydrates Than Usual:

Though carbohydrates are not the enemy of weight loss, eating an unusual amount of them in one day or even a few days can cause you to appear to have gained weight. Carbohydrates can cause water weight to appear on the scale.

This is why people lose weight faster on a low-carbohydrate diet at first. The word'responsibility' comes up a lot. It's also why people may gain weight quickly after discontinuing their low-carbohydrate diet. The water weight returns, and the scale rises.

4. You Drank A Ton Of Water:

It's true that staying hydrated is a good idea when trying to lose weight. However, the first few days of increasing your water intake may cause the number on the scale to rise as well. This is due to the fact that weight is more than just a measurement of fat in your body. It is the sum of the weight of your bones, organs, muscles, fluid, and waste.

Although dehydration causes weight loss, it does not imply improved health. Assume you don't drink much fluid one day and wake up the next morning with a lower weight.

Then you drink a lot of water, and the next day you appear to have gained 2 pounds. That does not mean you gained two pounds of fat; it simply means your body was dehydrated the day before.

5. You Worked Out Too Hard:

You can easily gain a few pounds after a heavy workout, especially if you perform large, compound movements that recruit a lot of large muscles. The microscopic tears that form in your muscle cells after each workout heal naturally through inflammation.

This involves some fluid pooling around the muscle cells, which can cause you to puff up. This is not to say you should avoid calorie-burning strength exercises. Allow your muscles to rest and forget about the scale.

6. It’s The Weekend:

According to one study, people's weights tend to fall during the workweek, reaching their lowest point on Friday morning. Weights rose over the weekend, reaching their peak on Monday mornings.

People who lost weight overall followed the same pattern; they just lost more weight during the week than those who stayed the same or gained weight throughout the study. While one small study cannot be applied to the entire population, it does provide some insight into normal weight patterns. It denotes that, even if the scale is moving up and down, your overall weight can change over time.

7. You ate your last meal later than usual:

If you ate dinner later than usual, you may see food mass on the scale the next morning. And if you follow a routine, you're probably used to weighing yourself at a specific point in your digestion. So you could simply be seeing your weight at a different stage of digestion.

8. You upped your fiber intake: 

Fiber is extremely beneficial to your health. However, if you increase your fiber intake too quickly, it may take some time for your body to adjust. And you may notice it reflected on the scale. More fiber results in heavier, bulkier, waterier, and larger bowel movements.

This will retain water, increasing weight. However, as soon as you have that bowel movement, you will lose that weight, so this is not true weight gain, such as fat or lean mass.

9. Your period is coming up:

The term "celebrate" refers to the act of celebrating. You hold onto water and gain weight right before your periods, but it's not always as simple as holding some extra water. Hormonal changes can also cause women to crave saltier foods, which can lead to an increase in water weight from the sodium. However, this should not be cause for concern because the hormones will shift again once your period arrives. This causes you to lose the water weight and the scale to return to normal.

10. You switched to intermittent fasting:

There have been numerous studies that demonstrate the benefits of intermittent fasting. Because the eating window is smaller, one advantage is that you can eat larger meals. However, if you just started eating this way and ate a larger meal than usual, the scale may temporarily rise. While several of the factors on this list may be contributing to weight gain, it may also be something you never considered.

Larger portions may cause the scale to jump due to the sheer increase in blood volume caused by large meals. This rise can be attributed to two factors. Water naturally present in food, as well as water retained as a result of excess sodium.

11. You Started New Medication:

Some medications may cause weight gain as a side effect. Most cases are caused by a change in hormones, which causes an increase in appetite and increased calorie consumption, resulting in true weight gain. However, some medications, such as steroids, cause water retention, resulting in what appears to be weight gain but is actually a fluctuation due to fluids in the body.

These fluctuations can be more severe than those caused by diet-based water retention, and they may not resolve until you stop taking the medication. You will most likely notice physical side effects from this type of water retention in your extremities, such as puffy feet and hands.

12. Lack Of Physical Activity:

A lack of exercise is a major contributor to gaining weight quickly. During the night, your body uses energy reserves to repair damaged cells, build new muscles, and replenish the body following physical activity. However, if you haven't been exercising, all of the extra calories in your body will simply be stored as fat, leading to weight gain.

Make regular exercise a part of your daily routine if you want to sleep better at night. 

13. You Didn’t Sleep Well:

A healthy amount of sleep is approximately 7-8 hours per night, but if it is less than this on a daily basis, many health problems develop. Sleep deprivation has been linked to negative changes in metabolism, according to studies. Another important factor could be that not getting enough sleep causes fatigue, less physical activity, and weight gain.

14. You Are Constipated:

Your weight may rise a few pounds as you eat throughout the day until the next time you effectively empty your bowels. If things are backed up, you will not only feel and look bloated, but your body will hold more weight than if you efficiently cleared out the old to make room for the new.

Make sure you're getting enough fiber, staying hydrated, and staying active so your bowels can function properly.

Have you faced overnight or rapid weight gain?Was it due to any of the reasons we mentioned? Let us know in the comments section below!

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