A couple times this year (literally twice) I treated myself to a lunch at HomeTown Buffet. In fact the most recent trip was with a dietitian I hadn't seen in 1 year (a 140lb weight loss since I last saw her). She knew, and allowed, that I was going to "pig out" on orange chicken. The last time I ate there it was with a group of friends, and I over indulged in orange chicken. Eating out is a rarity (the closest HomeTown is 35 miles away), and orange chicken is my special weakness.

Both times I did this I noticed a 3lb weight gain. The 1st time when I told friends about this they thought it wasn't right. The 2nd time (last week) I kind of just ignored it. Yesterday I was in and out of the bathroom all day! Looking at my Calorie King software it says there is 510mg of sodium in 1 TBSP. I probably (I do not bring a scale, measuring spoons when eating out) had 10 TBSP's of this. That would mean twice the daily recommendation for sodium.

If/When I do this again should I take a over the counter water pill, or just let nature take it's nasty toll?

Secondly, I know coffee acts a diurex. Is this because of the caffeine? I drink around 24oz of coffee a day. I have been experimenting and mixing 1/2 regular (Hazelnut is to kill for!) with 1/2 de-caf, with the hopes of weaning myself off of caffeine.

Before anyone recommends it, I drink 74oz of water at work, and water during exercise

I would just drink more water today. If I have Chinese food (Peruvian Chinese is by far the best in the world), I always retain some water. If you drink a bit more, for me two more glasses, then by the 3rd or 4rth day I am back to normal.

I always just let my body do it's thing...I drink extra water, but whenever I "pig out", my body begs for the water.
I love Hometown Buffet, lol..luckily, it's about 30 minutes from me too.

Oh, and I once had chinese food for dinner and put on 4lbs of water the next day. That stuff is SOOO full of sodium.

Flushing out with water makes the most sense. If you can avoid taking any kind of medication for that (over the counter or otherwise), it is best. Unfortunately, due to a leaky valve in my heart, I have adema in my left leg, so I take a prescription diuretic.

yes it does me the same way-- I just let it go and it will resolve itself in a few days,