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That extra 2-5lbs gain each year
ninerbuff
Posts: 49,131 Member
In a little over a week we embark on the start of the Holiday season and it's from Thanksgiving through New Year's that people on avg gain 2-5lbs. When compounded over the years, 5 years later one is 10-25lbs heavier. And so on and so on.
Here's the thing. When blame get directed at the Holidays, we're basically talking about 3 days where people will usually overeat. Even if it was by a 2000 calories per each of those days over one's TDEE, that's still not 2lbs. So where does it come from? Where people fail is that from Thanksgiving up to New Year's, they CONTINUALLY exceed their TDEE daily even if by only a couple of hundred calories. So now it's not just 3 days, but 30 days worth of calorie surplusing. And surplus of course leads to weight gain.
A couple of meals during the Holidays over your TDEE isn't he issue. It's the culmination of all the days in between. Try not to be part of this statistic and be aware. Just food for thought.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
Here's the thing. When blame get directed at the Holidays, we're basically talking about 3 days where people will usually overeat. Even if it was by a 2000 calories per each of those days over one's TDEE, that's still not 2lbs. So where does it come from? Where people fail is that from Thanksgiving up to New Year's, they CONTINUALLY exceed their TDEE daily even if by only a couple of hundred calories. So now it's not just 3 days, but 30 days worth of calorie surplusing. And surplus of course leads to weight gain.
A couple of meals during the Holidays over your TDEE isn't he issue. It's the culmination of all the days in between. Try not to be part of this statistic and be aware. Just food for thought.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
30
Replies
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Good post for two reasons:
* Helping people keep the holidays in perspective
* Pointing out that many overweight people end up that way by overeating in small increments, not by routinely binging like crazy. 100 extra calories per day comes to 10 pounds a year. That's one slice of bread, a piece of cheese equivalent in size to two dice, 2/3 of a can of regular pop, 6 Ritz crackers, 1/2 cup broccoli and 1 tablespoon of ranch dressing, etc.17 -
Great post.
Last year during the holidays, I went on a maintenance break. I logged. I lost .2 pounds.
I intend to take a 2 week maintenance break this year around Thanksgiving, and a 2 week break at Christmas.
I'm not going to log, but experience with not logging during vacation week has taught me that I'm pretty good with keeping things on an even keel for a short period of time if I stop eating at the point where I just feel satisfied. I'm also fairly good at eyeballing portions now.
I don't plan on continuing my life doing this because I don't trust myself to stay that way. I will continue to weight myself and keep my activity up.
I think that the holidays are a perfect example where failing to plan is planning to fail.6 -
I absolutely agree and I love @jemhh 's examples of how those extra 100 calories add up quick.
My one caveat is that for many people, the holiday is not just 1 day because they have multiple families to celebrate with. For example, my Thanksgiving spans 3 family celebrations across 3 states over a week long period of time. Since I'm staying with family it means that my regular food and exercise routines get thrown out of whack.
This does not mean throwing in the towel! I've already planned out how I'm going to fit activity in, incorporate healthy recipes, and track during this time. It does however mean that there are additional challenges that people do have to consider and plan for.6 -
Just another thing. During this time, I get a lot of cancellation of sessions with my clients due to "time constraint". Not it still comes down to CICO, but if you're CO gets interfered with, you have to comp with less CI. Unfortunately, many don't figure that out and all the hard work they put in during the year can be stifled by 30 days of Holiday enjoyment.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition 2 -
Good post for two reasons:
* Helping people keep the holidays in perspective
* Pointing out that many overweight people end up that way by overeating in small increments, not by routinely binging like crazy. 100 extra calories per day comes to 10 pounds a year. That's one slice of bread, a piece of cheese equivalent in size to two dice, 2/3 of a can of regular pop, 6 Ritz crackers, 1/2 cup broccoli and 1 tablespoon of ranch dressing, etc.
Or a spoonfull of cooked rice as I sadly discovered tonight ...
1 -
Good post for two reasons:
* Helping people keep the holidays in perspective
* Pointing out that many overweight people end up that way by overeating in small increments, not by routinely binging like crazy. 100 extra calories per day comes to 10 pounds a year. That's one slice of bread, a piece of cheese equivalent in size to two dice, 2/3 of a can of regular pop, 6 Ritz crackers, 1/2 cup broccoli and 1 tablespoon of ranch dressing, etc.
I hate thinking about that... It's so depressing :-(
2 -
Ain't that the truth. Compiling of calories over that time seems so minute, but in the end the result is added weight gain.Good post for two reasons:
* Helping people keep the holidays in perspective
* Pointing out that many overweight people end up that way by overeating in small increments, not by routinely binging like crazy. 100 extra calories per day comes to 10 pounds a year. That's one slice of bread, a piece of cheese equivalent in size to two dice, 2/3 of a can of regular pop, 6 Ritz crackers, 1/2 cup broccoli and 1 tablespoon of ranch dressing, etc.
This is so common when people become parents too because they end up finishing off food their kids don't eat.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
5 -
I found my big gains to be far less insidious than this. For me, it was never about just an extra hundred or two accumulating over time. Rather, it was giant eat-a-thons, telling myself most of what I'd gained was "water weight" (which a percentage of it was, of course...but not all, oops) and then doing it all over again.
I gained not by inches but by yards.
However, in general this is good advice, as I do think we tend to eat "just a little" of this or that all throughout the year without consciously keeping track of the fact...I mean in general, as a society, not so much we who are actively keeping track of our calories.
And yes, the goodies will be arriving in droves right now at the office, home, wherever. Just one, just one, just one...can wind up being just one hundred. 
1 -
Good post for two reasons:
* Helping people keep the holidays in perspective
* Pointing out that many overweight people end up that way by overeating in small increments, not by routinely binging like crazy. 100 extra calories per day comes to 10 pounds a year. That's one slice of bread, a piece of cheese equivalent in size to two dice, 2/3 of a can of regular pop, 6 Ritz crackers, 1/2 cup broccoli and 1 tablespoon of ranch dressing, etc.
Hearing this always depresses me at first - then I remind myself that it also works the other way. If I SKIP that extra slice of bread, or the piece of cheese, or the Ritz crackers I can gradually lose a few pounds, too. Just like walking 10-15 minutes 4 or 5 times a day is just as good as that 45-60 walk I "don't have time for."12 -
Good post for two reasons:
* Helping people keep the holidays in perspective
* Pointing out that many overweight people end up that way by overeating in small increments, not by routinely binging like crazy. 100 extra calories per day comes to 10 pounds a year. That's one slice of bread, a piece of cheese equivalent in size to two dice, 2/3 of a can of regular pop, 6 Ritz crackers, 1/2 cup broccoli and 1 tablespoon of ranch dressing, etc.
Hearing this always depresses me at first - then I remind myself that it also works the other way. If I SKIP that extra slice of bread, or the piece of cheese, or the Ritz crackers I can gradually lose a few pounds, too. Just like walking 10-15 minutes 4 or 5 times a day is just as good as that 45-60 walk I "don't have time for."
Exactly! #BrightSide
0 -
I'm glad to see someone mention the fact that for a lot of use Thanksgiving through New Years is not "just 3 days" as I see posted often. It's never been than for me. It's a little more than a month of constant parties and celebrations. And I am one of those that typically gains weight during this time, though for me it's usually more like 6-8 lbs. But probably only 2-5 are actual fat lbs.
I don't really plan to do anything different this year. I've always been able to lose those lbs quickly after the new year.2 -
Ain't that the truth. Compiling of calories over that time seems so minute, but in the end the result is added weight gain.Good post for two reasons:
* Helping people keep the holidays in perspective
* Pointing out that many overweight people end up that way by overeating in small increments, not by routinely binging like crazy. 100 extra calories per day comes to 10 pounds a year. That's one slice of bread, a piece of cheese equivalent in size to two dice, 2/3 of a can of regular pop, 6 Ritz crackers, 1/2 cup broccoli and 1 tablespoon of ranch dressing, etc.
This is so common when people become parents too because they end up finishing off food their kids don't eat.
Too funny. I actually was picturing that scenario in my head as I wrote that.Good post for two reasons:
* Helping people keep the holidays in perspective
* Pointing out that many overweight people end up that way by overeating in small increments, not by routinely binging like crazy. 100 extra calories per day comes to 10 pounds a year. That's one slice of bread, a piece of cheese equivalent in size to two dice, 2/3 of a can of regular pop, 6 Ritz crackers, 1/2 cup broccoli and 1 tablespoon of ranch dressing, etc.
Hearing this always depresses me at first - then I remind myself that it also works the other way. If I SKIP that extra slice of bread, or the piece of cheese, or the Ritz crackers I can gradually lose a few pounds, too. Just like walking 10-15 minutes 4 or 5 times a day is just as good as that 45-60 walk I "don't have time for."
Yep. When I start cutting calories, I start with the small changes--one slice of toast instead of two, etc.0 -
I always put on my winter weight between Thanksgiving and my daughter's birthday (end of Feb, after Valentine's Day and my own birthday). It's usually 3-7 pounds. It always comes off by the end of spring. If you can get back at it, I doubt that this weight gain is detrimental to your health. If you allow this to continue, and put on 5 pounds a year, yes. The trick is to be aware of what you're putting in your mouth and why, and to put the brakes on "the holidays" so that you aren't facing next Thanksgiving already 7 pounds up from the year before.3
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Many people are guilty of reducing exercise as well as eating more using the excuse that it is a festive period and only once a year. As you pointed out, all those "once a year" events add up.
Personally I try to increase exercise but eat what I want within reason.1 -
I will up my cardio little this year.
agree it's not only one night at all. I have two work nights out, night out with friends, football club mammies night out, tennis club night out, family day out to see the light & meal, family meal out with close relatives the day before Christmas, family day with extended family, Christmas day, new years eve and I also have two birthday parties to go to!
That doesn't include all people that would visit and we will provide some coffee & treats or drinks & finger food.
It's busy time of the year, and if I want to remain same weight I will need to up my cardio and decide when to say no
I feel content thought, I got this. I will treat myself with nice outfits to make up for any missed treats. 1
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