This past weekend I traveled to another city for a series of family functions, which meant lots of restaurant food and I did indulge more than I should have - we went to a pretty much veggie-free buffet on Sunday (evil), and I had hash browns at breakfast and dessert with a couple of meals. I figured I might have gained a couple of pounds and wasn't really worried about it.

Anyway, when I got back home on Monday afternoon I weighed myself and I'm 10 pounds heavier. What?! Also my gut is sticking out much farther than usual (my shirts are tight there now) which is super weird because I normally gain and lose weight noticeably in my chest and behind. It's also proportionately larger than it has ever been, if that makes sense.

Could this be just water retention from excess salt consumption? Would that make my belly larger? I did eat more than usual, but there's no way I ate 10 pounds extra in 4 days. I was also walking and running up and down stairs all day long on Saturday and Sunday, as it's a very walkable city. My belly was fine until I woke up on Tuesday. I had to wear my old, bigger, shirts today and yesterday.

Has this happened to anyone else? I feel really weird and out of proportion.

Hi Smilla! I can guarantee you this is just bloat. It happens to me any time I have a beer or eat a lot of food with sodium in it.

It is normal to gain 5+ pounds due to salt

Make sure you drink lots of water and you will see the weight and bloat come off in the next few days!

It happens to me everytime I eat off plan. Sometime it happen even when I stick to my calorie budget, but slack on exercising. I bloat so easily sometimes I feel it's not normal, but it's usually easy to get rid of. You should have it back under control in no time by jumping back on plan, and exercise helps also.

Thanks you two! I feel better knowing it's happened to others.

I have been sloooowly losing this excess, but I just got my period so I guess I'll have to wait a bit longer.

Sodium certainly causes water retention but so do carbs. For every gram of carb, you retain 4 grams of water. That's why low carb diets have big losses in the beginning. Carbs are no longer coming in excess so the body releases the water. It should be gone in a few days for you.

It's bloat. I've been known to gain up to 8 pounds in a week when I travel for business. It's frustrating but it does come off.