Why Your Weight Spikes After Thanksgiving (And Why It Means Absolutely Nothing)
There’s a moment that happens every year.
Not during Thanksgiving dinner.
Not during dessert.
Not even during the second (or third) round of mashed potatoes.
It happens the next morning.
You step on the scale, still half-asleep, only to see a number that makes you blink twice and wonder whether gravity broke overnight.
Suddenly a plate of stuffing feels like a life-altering mistake.
But let’s pause right there, because absolutely none of this is real.
Thanksgiving doesn’t cause fat gain in 12 hours.
Your body is responding to things that are completely normal, predictable, and temporary.
Let’s talk about what actually happens, why it shows up on the scale, and why you should avoid making any dramatic decisions while still digesting cranberry sauce.
First, let’s set the scene
The Thanksgiving table is a trap if you’re someone who likes neat, predictable data.
You’ve got:
A mountain of mashed potatoes
The creamiest mac and cheese you’ll see all year
Rolls that could start a cult
Salty everything
Turkey that somehow manages to be dry and moist
And at least three desserts that magically appear the moment you say “I’m full”
Mix all of that with unfamiliar sleep schedules, weird meal timing, more sitting, more salt, more food, more laughter, and less routine, and you’ve created the perfect environment for the scale to say “Surprise!”
This isn’t fat gain.
It’s physiology doing exactly what physiology does.
Why your weight goes up after Thanksgiving
Here’s the short list of what causes weight spikes after a big holiday meal:
Water retention from sodium
Thanksgiving food is delicious for a reason.
Salt. Lots of it.
Your body holds onto extra water to balance out the sudden increase in sodium.
Glycogen storage from eating more
Carbs store as glycogen.
Glycogen holds water.
More carbs = more water.
We're not talking about fat. We’re talking about water attached to stored fuel.
Every gram of glycogen carries about 3 to 4 grams of water with it.
Add stuffing, potatoes, rolls, pie, and a carb-heavy drink, and yeah there’s a lot to store.
Sheer volume of food
Food weighs something.
You ate more food than usual.
The food is still inside you.
You are not gaining fat because you… literally ate a heavier meal.
Different meal timing
If you ate later than normal, had more snacking windows, or had a second dinner (hello Thanksgiving round two), the scale is reflecting what’s still digesting.
Alcohol
Alcohol dehydrates and bloats at the same time. Fun combo.
It disrupts sleep, raises inflammation, and increases water retention for 24 to 48 hours.
Again: temporary.
But what about fat gain?
Let’s talk numbers.
To gain one pound of fat, you would need a surplus of about 3,500 calories.
To gain two pounds of fat in one day, you would need to eat 7,000 calories above your maintenance.
(To be clear, these numbers are low-ball estimates as your body would increase energy expenditure to compensate for increased energy intake as well as the potential for not digesting everything - but I digress)
Even with stuffing, pie, and a parade of casseroles, most people simply do not hit a surplus that large.
Not in one meal.
Not even in a full day.
The scale might jump 2 to 10 pounds after Thanksgiving.
But fat gain? Usually a fraction of that.
The rest is:
Water
Food volume
Glycogen
Bloat
Normal digestive lag
And the emotional weight of your grandparents pressuring you to take leftovers
Why this fluctuation matters for your mindset
The scale plays tricks.
If you don’t understand these fluctuations, you create stories that aren’t true.
“I ruined everything.”
“I have no self-control.”
“I’m starting over on Monday.”
None of that is reality.
You enjoyed a meal with people you care about.
Your body responded the way every human body responds.
And you’re still on track the moment you return to your normal habits.
There’s nothing to undo.
There’s no debt to repay.
There’s no punishment workout required.
You simply keep going.
What to expect if you step on the scale the next few days
If you weigh yourself, here’s what typically happens:
Day after Thanksgiving:
Scale spikes. Your brain panics. Your digestion is like “I’m doing my best.”
Day two:
Still elevated, maybe slightly down. You wonder if the mashed potatoes permanently fused to your body.
Day three to five:
Numbers trend down as sodium, water, and gut volume normalize.
By the next week:
Your scale is back to baseline, you’re hydrated again, and you barely remember being stressed about it.
This is how it works every year.
Every holiday.
Every time you eat a large meal.
It’s normal.
Thanksgiving fluctuation is just noise
Short-term weight changes don’t define your progress.
The Thanksgiving table isn’t a test.
Your next few meals aren’t a morality play.
The scale reflects what you ate, drank, and digested, not who you are or what you’re capable of.
If anything, Thanksgiving is a good reminder that your body works exactly as designed. It adapts. It regulates. It comes back to baseline on its own.
You didn’t lose any progress.
You enjoyed your holiday.
Get back to it tomorrow, you got this.
