Can Sodium Make You Gain Weight Overnight?

Sodium is one major factor that can cause weight gain overnight. Sodium can cause you to retain a large volume of water and weigh in heavier on the scale the next morning. Very salty foods are a common cause of sodium, so try cutting your salt intake down!

Many different things, such as water retention due to sodium, hormones, meal timing, and stress can make you gain weight overnight. The reason people gain weight after a night of eating out is most likely due to increased sodium and carbohydrate intake. Increased Sodium

While sodium is necessary, most people consume too much sodium in the form of sodium chloride or table salt. Eating high amounts of added salt could increase your risk of health issues, such as having a stroke or developing a heart condition or autoimmune disease ( 2 ). Additionally, you may wonder whether sodium makes you gain weight.

Consider these 12 factors that may make it seem as if you gained weight overnight. “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,” Fear says.

Salt added at the table is not the greatest contributor to your sodium intake. Sodium doesn’t actually make your body gain fat — it causes bloating and water retention that causes the number on your scale to rise. You can’t predict, however, how much these numbers will increase when you overindulge in salty foods.

Salt Affects Water-Weight Gain. If the scale goes up after consuming copious amounts of salty food, it may not be true weight gain. Sodium is notorious for encouraging the body to hold onto liquids.

Why are prepackaged meals bad for you?

A common criticism of prepackaged meals is that they contain too much sodium, which intimidates consumers who want to prevent sodium weight gain. Canned soups and frozen protein bowls are suddenly less appealing, while products proclaiming “reduced-sodium” attract health-conscious customers.

The majority of dietary salt doesn’t come from home cooking, however. An estimated 70 percent of Americans’ sodium consumption comes from restaurants, prepackaged and processed foods.

It’s unclear if the link between salt and obesity is due to salt itself or to the overconsumption of commercially prepared food. But Americans remain concerned with salt’s connection to water-weight gain and with whether reduced salt intake aids weight loss.

If the scale goes up after consuming copious amounts of salty food, it may not be true weight gain. Sodium is notorious for encouraging the body to hold onto liquids. This is known as water retention, and it’s why people associate salt with water-weight gain.

An April 2017 study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation confirmed that increased salt intake leads to water retention. A surprising finding of the study is that high salt intake causes decreased thirst and increased appetite.

Though salt and sodium are used interchangeably, they’re not the same. Sodium is a mineral, and salt is one of the biggest dietary sources of that mineral. Sodium also functions as an electrolyte that helps regulate the body’s fluid balance.

Though participants drank fewer liquids, researchers found that the increased sodium led to a water surplus in the body, increased body weight and increased hunger. Read more: How to Shed Water Weight.

Why is sodium important?

It’s needed for many bodily processes, including fluid and blood pressure regulation, nutrient transport, and nerve cell function ( 1. Trusted Source. ). While sodium is necessary, most people consume too much sodium in the form of sodium chloride or table salt.

You can also use lemon juice, fresh herbs, garlic, and spices to reduce the need for salt in your recipes. summary. To cut back on sodium, try eating fewer high salt foods and cutting back on the amount of salt you add to your meals.

Here are some high salt foods to cut back on to reduce your intake of added salt: Highly processed and salty take-out foods: pizza, street tacos, hamburgers, nuggets, french fries, etc. Salty packaged snacks: chips, pork rinds, pretzels, etc.

Eating too many foods that are high in salt and overall calories may lead to weight gain . Additionally, studies have found that high sodium intake may increase the risk of obesity — independent of your calorie intake.

Trusted Source. ). A recent study found that high salt intakes increase thirst. Your body uses the extra fluid consumed to dilute the excess sodium that it’s unable to excrete quickly enough ( 4. Trusted Source. ). However, your urine volume does not change, meaning this extra fluid stays in your body.

How to cut back on added salt. For most people, the sodium found naturally in foods like eggs and shellfish isn’t an issue. However, it’s important to monitor your added salt intake to ensure that your diet isn’ t excessively high in salt.

Many foods that are high in added salt are high in calories. Foods that are high in salt are also often high in calories. For example, fast food, fried foods, boxed mac and cheese, frozen dinners, creamy pasta dishes, and pizza are typically very high in salt and calories.

When do you start to gain water weight?

You’ll start to gain water weight about five days before your cycle starts. But everyone can be a bit different. “Some of my clients tell me they’re the heaviest on the first day of their period.”. The good news is that period-related water retention is short-lived, adds Fear.

If you drop too much weight or fat too fast or in a way that your body registers that something is wrong, it will try to store the fat that’s available more aggressively.

But you didn’t actually gain five pounds of fat in a single day. After all, gaining a single pound of fat requires consuming about 3,500 calories more than you can burn off.

When you cut back on your carb intake, your body’s glycogen stores—its prime energy source for high-intensity exercise— become depleted . But as soon as you dive into some spaghetti, your body starts storing glycogen in your muscles and liver, along with H2O. The sudden influx of those two nutrients after a long stretch of being carb-free could leave you bloated, Fear says.

When you’re dehydrated, you usually weigh less because your muscles and tissues are sucked dry (making you feel miserable). But that lack of H2O throws your kidneys into “let’s conserve fluids” mode, says Fear. That leads to an increase in water weight once you start sipping, she adds.

“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,” Fear says.

Covington, who adds that weight gain is even more likely on medication that limits your ability to exercise or stay active .