what are your plans for getting off Christmas weight?

brenn24179

I am up 6 lbs, the whole month of Christmas food is everywhere.
1) cleaning up environment, get rid of junk foods
2) wear tight jeans,not sweats
3) eat most meals at home
4) weigh daily
5) more soups, beans
6) at the gym more, going from 3 days to 5 days
7) keep some calories for late evening, don't eat everything up early
8) peanut butter and cottage cheese helps me
Any other suggestions, I swear I have picked up bad habits this month especially picked up big bags of chips (small bags work for me)

ndj1979

none, but I am trying to gain weight right now…

my suggestion - just go back to eating in a deficit and the weight will come off. And are you sure it is really six pounds and not water retention? Six pound gain would mean you consumed 21000 calories over maintenance for the month, or 677 calories over maintenance per day?

I am guessing half is just water weight/bloat…

Liftng4Lis

Probably water retention. Eat at a deficit and it will drop back off. Aside from the gym, you don't need to do any of that other stuff.

robowolfmega1986

I have one plan, run. Run long, run fast, run hard. And making my own healthy sandwiches. I knocked off 5 lbs. on that strategy.

brenn24179

I really don't think much of it is water, I really have not taken care of myself lately, ate way too much of the tempting foods. Got to make sure I eat at a deficit, maybe get back on protein shakes or bars or something that feels me up.

424a57

ndj1979 wrote: »

Six pound gain would mean you consumed 21000 calories over maintenance for the month, or 677 calories over maintenance per day?

Or, just a couple slices of pumpkin pie...
Or, a few pieces of fudge...
Or, a slice of cheesecake....

Really! It isn't that hard to go 600-700 calories over day. Maybe it isn't water weight.

47Jacqueline

I didn't gain any weight over the holidays, but I put on 4 lb from inactivity due to a broken leg in October. 2 weeks ago, I showed a 1lb loss, but wasn't planning on concentrating on my weight until January. I'm still in my maintenance range, just at the top.

I've restarted a lot of my workouts - new ones actually and noticed today that I've regained my cardio capability. When I climb the stairs from the subway, I'm no longer winded.

brenn24179

I seem to have got carried away with ham, macaroni and cheese, homemade cakes, cookies, chips and dip, stuff I don't have except holidays. Maybe I need to give myself a little leadway on holidays because I enjoy these foods I never have but 2-3 lbs would be good but gosh I overdid it, foods you don't have are just soooo good. I was a real glutton. Now I am struggling not to be a glutton.

Serah87

Gained 2 pounds, eating I'm guessing between 5,000-7,000 calories on Christmas day, lost it the next day.

MB_Positif

You likely didn't gain 6 pounds of fat. I would guess at least half is water weight and will be off within a week of getting back on track.

brenn24179

Serah87 wrote: »

Gained 2 pounds, eating I'm guessing between 5,000-7,000 calories on Christmas day, lost it the next day.

It wasn't the Christmas Day eating, it is the all month eating, so many social events and the media, food on tv, people bringing you food all month. One day isn't bad but you can do some damage over a month.

Francl27

I haven't gained, shockingly, well I did but lost it all since yesterday (somehow), but I've maintained for 5 months when I really want to lose a couple more pounds, so I've decreased my goal again and will try harder to actually stick to it now. Lots of soups and baby carrots in my future. Sadly my workouts have sucked since Christmas, I think I'm still a bit sick, so taking a day off cardio tomorrow and will try to start off fresh again in 2 days (not sure the gym is open on New Year or not).

I think a huge difference for me is 1) smaller breakfasts, even if it means having a snack at 10am. Those low carb/high fiber and protein wraps just really fill me up with some lunch meat and cheese for just 250 calories. 2) if I have calories leftover at night... eat them. I stopped doing that and ended up binging every 5 days for some reason, so I think it helps me. Still got to stop buying the stuff I'm likely to binge on though... 3) on days when I'm really hungry, not hesitate to eat a meal instead of trying to get full with smaller snacks to save calories... and fill up on veggies those days 4) Going to try really hard to stop going over by a lot once a week...

I'm still trying to figure out my maintenance calories and failing though. I thought for sure I would have gained 1 or 2 pounds with the last month, but I haven't moved at all, yeah I'm going to the gym more but my workouts aren't as good when I do cardio every day, so I wouldn't think it would make such a difference overall. Who knows...

zyxst

Watch my sodium
Eat at a deficit
Stay hydrated

SideSteel

brenn24179 wrote: »

I am up 6 lbs, the whole month of Christmas food is everywhere.
1) cleaning up environment, get rid of junk foods
2) wear tight jeans,not sweats
3) eat most meals at home
4) weigh daily
5) more soups, beans
6) at the gym more, going from 3 days to 5 days
7) keep some calories for late evening, don't eat everything up early
8) peanut butter and cottage cheese helps me
Any other suggestions, I swear I have picked up bad habits this month especially picked up big bags of chips (small bags work for me)

You're going to be just fine, but I think some of the items on your list are good ideas generally speaking.

Managing your food environment is huge, even if you are counting calories. You may not need to entirely rid the house of junk food but simply positioning it so that it's out of sight and less convenient can make a big difference in the amount of time you spend thinking about that food and the number of times you are required to make a decision about that food.

Eating most of your food at home is a good idea too since that gives you the opportunity to control your calorie intake more accurately.

I wouldn't take things too far though. So for example you should really ask yourself if 5 days/week of gym training is sustainable or realistic. For some people it is, for many it isn't, and overall I think you're better off looking for strategies that are habit forming and long term rather than looking at shorter term fixes.

Same would apply to diet/etc.

brenn24179

good advice here, love the part out of sight, out of mind and it looks like carrots and soup are in my future, so true.

FitPhillygirl

Unfortunately I lost a pound over the holiday, so now I need to put that one back on again and maybe a few more for muscle gain.

MildredBarhopper

I usually take a week off around Christmas (and a couple other times a year). I rest from exercise and indulge way more than usual. Doesn't work for everyone but I do as a treat for myself and time it strategically with holidays/vacations. I do gain some weight, but I go back to eating normally and working out, and it comes off in a few weeks. I actually just stay at maintenance and don't do a deficit...so I'm not sure how it comes off and then levels off, but it seems to. I guess because some of it is just water weight (but I know that I eat enough during those rest weeks to gain actual weight).

wtstephens

Nothing different. It as my goal to only go full binge once a week in December. I've still lost weight every week, while still enjoying myself. Tonight I shall eat and drink as much as I do every NYE.

brenn24179

not me, I am planning on socializing and not do all that eating tonight> I am mad at myself for being so overindulgent lately. Other things can make me happy besides doing all that eating. Wish me luck.

rosebette

I gained 5 lbs., partly due to holiday eating, partly because due to shoulder injury, I can't lift as much as I used to. When you're as small as I am, eating 600 a day over deficit is not that hard! One piece of dessert a day or a double portion of potatoes will do it! Anyway, I'm just going back to what worked before -- sticking to my calorie goals and tracking.

FatFreeFrolicking

I didn't gain any weight from the holidays. But my plans for getting off the weight in general:

• lots of water
• get off all of my prescription meds (already stopped 3 meds this past Monday… very excited about that!!)
• eat enough protein and fat
• keep carbs to a minimum
• exercise as much as my heart and stomach can handle (I have SVT, POTS, and Crohn's disease).

civilizedworm

Ironically, I have been seriously under-eating the past two weeks. It's funny how much being at my office does affect my regular feeds. Hopefully, I will get back on track next week when all this holiday stuff is finally over.

kcd1961

My goal was maintenance and I gained 0.1kg - so I consider that goal achieved. Now back to proper tracking, home cooking, known entities.

SLLRunner

ndj1979 wrote: »

none, but I am trying to gain weight right now…

my suggestion - just go back to eating in a deficit and the weight will come off. And are you sure it is really six pounds and not water retention? Six pound gain would mean you consumed 21000 calories over maintenance for the month, or 677 calories over maintenance per day?

I am guessing half is just water weight/bloat…

Liftng4Lis wrote: »

Probably water retention. Eat at a deficit and it will drop back off. Aside from the gym, you don't need to do any of that other stuff.

Echo feedback above.

Calorie deficit and you will get results.

brenn24179

yep, calorie deficit is the answer. I just don't know what happened, I got so greedy with food. Forgive myself and move on. I know if I eat too much, spend too much money I am in trouble. Geez, here I go again,dust myself off and start again. Thanks for the support, could not make it without ya. Happy New Year and lets have a good thin 2015!

amymrls

Naked jumping jacks

poohpoohpeapod

I needed to get the sugar (refined ) and the mental obsession out of my mid. I have been drinking yogurt, fruit coconut oil smoothies 3 times a day since the 26th. I had gained about 7lbs as well. I am doing well, and will resume notmal healthy eating Friday. I have been drinking smoothies and oatmeal , however NOT long term NOT a fad, just a mental reset. I have been consuming 1500 calories, just mostly smoothies. I plan on trying to drink more water. OH and measure things. now that I have wighed some nut butter for my oats, I know was probably eating 4-6 servings of PB thinking it was one. 2 tbs is a SMALL portion when weighed...lol, not like my guesstimate spoons!!

sshintaku

What helps me is drinking a LOT of water and tea, in addition to everything else you mentioned. Also maybe a couple hot yoga sessions to sweat out some of the crap.

melimomTARDIS

I'm eating a 200 calorie deficit this week, and then I'll go back to maintenance calories next week. I consistently ate 500 calories a day over my maintenance for a week straight... But I'm not too worried.

salembambi

drink a tonne of water
go back to regular workouts
go back to staying around goal calories

karyabc

i just got rid of every single NYE/ Christmas leftover from my kitchen, i was like hell noo im not gonna keep this in the house for the whole week and maybe more + even if i don't eat it them im no good at trowing away food, so i've just pack everything and gave it away, after that I'll just just keep doing everything the same