A lack of exercise is a major factor in gaining weight overnight.
During the night, your body makes use of the energy stores to repair damaged cells, build up new muscles, and replenish the body after physical activity.
But if you haven’t been doing any physical activity, all the excess calories in your body will simply be stored as fat, leading to weight gain.
Make regular exercise a part of your daily life to get better quality sleep each night.
2. Unhealthy sleep schedule
A healthy amount of sleep is about 7-8 hours per night, but if it’s less than this daily, that’s when many health problems begin.
Studies have proven that there’s a link between sleep deprivation and negative changes in metabolism.
Another decisive factor might be that not having enough sleep leads to fatigue, less physical activity, and more weight gain.
3. Late night snacks
We all know about the rule of not eating after 6 p.m., but it doesn’t stop us from late dinners or midnight snacks.
However, studies remind us that eating late leads to weight gain.
Additionally, it may increase cholesterol, insulin levels, and negatively affect our hormonal markers.
Remember that if your calorie intake is much bigger than what you’re burning, it eventually leads to weight gain.
Certain Medications
Some medications include potential side effects of weight gain.
In most, it’s due to a change in hormones causing an increased appetite and consuming more calories true weight gain.
However, there are some medications, like steroids, that cause water retention resulting in what may seem like weight gain but is simply a fluctuation due to fluids in the body.
These fluctuations can be larger than those caused by diet-based water retention and may not resolve until you go off the meds.
With this type of water retention, you’ll likely feel the physical side effects in your extremities, puffy feet, and hands.
Increased fiber intake
Fiber is great for you. But if you up to your fiber intake too quickly, it might take some time for your body to catch up.
And you might see that reflected on the scale.
More fiber will turn into heavier, bulkier, waterier, and more massive bowel movements.
This will hold onto water, also increasing weight. However, as soon as you have that bowel movement, that weight will be shed, so this would not be true weight gains, such as fat or lean mass.
More carbohydrate consumption than usual
Though carbohydrates are not the enemy of weight loss, eating an unusual amount of them for one day or even a few days can make it seem like you’ve gained weight.
Carbohydrates can result in water weight showing up on the scale.
This is why people lose weight faster initially on a lower-carbohydrate diet.
The body doesn’t hold onto the extra water.
It’s also why people may gain weight quickly when they eventually go off that lower-carbohydrate diet.
That water weight comes back and the scale bounces up.
Increased sodium intake
If you eat more sodium than normal on a given day, your body will retain more water.
Some people are more sensitive to this.
For example, if you typically eat very fresh, whole, clean foods and work out regularly, and then forgo a workout and eat a super salty meal, chances are your weight fluctuation will seem more drastic than someone who typically eats more salt.
Mild dehydration can also cause your body to retain fluids.
It sounds counterintuitive but drinking more will help your body get rid of fluids more efficiently and flush excess sodium.
For most fluid-related weight gain, assuming you go back to your normal eating and drinking habits, the weight gain should only last 24 to 48 hours.
A lot of it will depend on how quickly your kidneys remove the excess water from your body, and whether you sweat out some of the excess fluid.
You worked out too hard
After a heavy workout, especially if you perform big, compound movements that recruit a lot of large muscles, you can easily weigh a few extra pounds for several days.
Those microscopic tears that occur in your muscle cells after every workout heal through a process of natural inflammation.
That involves some pooling of fluids around the muscle cells, which can make you puff up.
This does not mean you should skip those calorie-torching strength moves.
Just let your muscles recover and forget about the scale.
