What I gained over the holidays...

...and what it will take to lose it.

I gained 13 pounds in December. That means I probably exceeded my caloric needs by about 1700 calories per day. The problem is it's impossible to correct this by going negative 1700 calories a day. If I eat 1200 calories a day that is only negative by about 350 calories a day and so will take me about ten days to lose each of those 13 pounds.

Hah! That's okay, I just need to start and then continue.

Happy New Year everyone!
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Replies

  • Blythmag
    Blythmag Posts: 252 Member
    I ate well and drank lots , put 2lbs on when it settled down this morning.back to work and back on it tomoz.

    Happy with that.back to my routine, that sorts me out

    HNY
  • Maxxitt
    Maxxitt Posts: 1,281 Member
    About 4# - if I follow my plan, it will be gone by GroundHog Day.
  • IsETHome
    IsETHome Posts: 386 Member
    I found that when I was "really trying" at get togethers, I consumed about 300 calories more in spite of my efforts to be good, because I was with other people and it was holiday. I really had to pass on a lot of goodies. I did not gain any weight, but had to make substitutes. Stayed away from dip, sauces that weren't low/no cals. Also probably 1.5 glasses of wine over the entire holiday week. I had an egg nog, with whisky, and literally took two sips only. Also another big risk is the fact at the holiday's if you eat other peoples food, you have no idea how the food is typically prepared - and what you make at home, using butter spray, or very low oil can not be the case with others. Sticks of butter are used to make potatoes, mac &c heese other dishes tasty and those calories rack up significantly. I hosted two events simply so I could control the prep.
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  • pierinifitness
    pierinifitness Posts: 2,226 Member
    I lost 4.8 lbs. from December 1st through today but boy did I have an extended plateau the early part of December despite being perceived disciplined.

    Study of my logs indicated daily deficits were smaller with some days being surpluses and my training a little light. Once ratcheting it up and making sure my deficits were solid, the downward slide resumed and that feels good.

    At a point where I have to be vigilant DAILY.
  • CatherineLaurel
    CatherineLaurel Posts: 197 Member
    Gained back 3 pounds out of the 8 I’ve lost so far but that will likely drop a bit hopefully as I cook healthy foods and it evens out #iaintstressinit
  • ghudson92
    ghudson92 Posts: 2,061 Member
    I didn't track for 9 days over the festive period because my fiancé was actually home for once and we had family visiting from all over the place. Only 3 of those days involved exercise. The scale shows a 2.8lbs gain which is honestly not so bad. I reckon it will be off by the end of next week.
  • Runaroundafieldx2
    Runaroundafieldx2 Posts: 233 Member
    Gained 8lbs

    I'll see what it's like after a week then I'll cut down by 350 calories a day until I'm back to my weight range
  • babysaffy
    babysaffy Posts: 232 Member
    babysaffy wrote: »
    I appeared to have gained 14lbs in 9 days over Christmas!
    Have been weighing daily since Saturday and have already lost 6 of those although I had more huge splurge for our New Year's Day family meal yesterday so goodness knows what the scales will say today. I'm hoping it's mainly water weight and that I'll lose it all over January as I go back to my normal eating habits.

    Just weighed...3lbs back on from yesterday morning lol
    I think I will weigh in the morning tomorrow and Friday then go back to weekly/fortnightly weigh ins so I don't get discouraged.
  • krael65
    krael65 Posts: 306 Member
    Happy new year!

    My weight is up maybe .5 pound since before Thanksgiving. All in all, I'm pleased.
    - It's well within my normal daily weight fluctuations.
    - I relaxed my eating & drinking over the Christmas week (didn't weigh myself or log for a few days while visiting relatives).
    - I just started lifting again after a long sabbatical, so, potential for water retention.
    - I ate ALL the salty ham!
    - I'm battling my hypothyroid and recently started taking medication to get my levels under control.

    I've been in maintenance for 2 years, and am a firm believer in daily weigh ins. It helps me stay on track, understand fluctuations, and removes the panic from any spikes in weight. :)
  • workinonit1956
    workinonit1956 Posts: 1,043 Member
    Just weighed in, up 2 pounds. Dinner last night was saltier than usual (smoked cheese on burger, chips). I’ve been focusing on maintaining since Thanksgiving and have managed to stay within 2 pounds or so of 130.

    It’s been a good learning experience for me. Last year between January and October I lost 43 pounds and decided to take a maintenance break over the holidays (perfect timing!). I went over a few times and was only loosely logging, but all in all I think I’ve done ok.

  • MsBaz2018
    MsBaz2018 Posts: 384 Member
    edited January 2019
    December 22: 210 lbs
    January 2: 210 lbs

    But I do commiserate with you OP :)

    My takeaway is to log even during the holidays. Next year if all goes according to plan my maintenance will be lower so I'll be more at risk.
  • oneillm45
    oneillm45 Posts: 44 Member
    Weighed myself this morning and I'm up about 7lb since mid-December. Some of it is genuine weight gain, some of it is the after-effects of a lot of wine on New Year's Eve. I expect to drop 3-4lb quite quickly but it will probably be the end of January before I'm back to my mid-December weight.
  • brittlb07
    brittlb07 Posts: 313 Member
    edited January 2019
    Thanks for posting this. Misery loves company, I guess. I finally weighed myself for the first time since Thanksgiving for this very reason and I am ashamed to say I am heavier than I ever have been. I had done so well this summer and the cold season does not do well for me. Here’s to new changes.
  • JennJ323
    JennJ323 Posts: 646 Member
    Between November and January I'm up approximately 2lbs. I'm in maintenance and bounce between 124-127lb.. I was at 124lb for a while and have been at 126lb for the last few weeks. Would like to get back to (mostly) staying at 124lb.
  • Slashnl
    Slashnl Posts: 339 Member
    About 3 pounds over Christmas, but probably more like 5 over November and December. I am going to do better in 2019 than I did in 2018. Getting back to what worked before....
  • kds10
    kds10 Posts: 452 Member
    I gained the 2 lbs that I lost thru December up to Xmas. My own fault, I do IF and didn't follow it from the 26th until the 31st...pretty much ate from wake up time to bedtime. I weigh 158.5 again and my goal is by the end of January to be down to 155. THen I have just 5 lbs to go to goal.

    I found I felt lazy from Xmas on and was getting somewhat too comfortable lying around and eating, scary how easy it is to revert back into old habits:(
  • CSARdiver
    CSARdiver Posts: 6,252 Member
    I take an intentional break during holidays and move from deficit to maintenance or surplus from Thanksgiving through Christmas. I still track and keep an eye on things so they don't get out of control, but I'm in this for the long term and a short term break is needed, both physiologically and psychologically.
  • patrickaa5
    patrickaa5 Posts: 70 Member
    I gained 7lbs during the 7 days between Xmas and New Years. My hope is that about 4 or 5 of those lbs will go away by next weigh in (next Monday).

    I did log everything during that time, but averaged almost 3,000 calories per day. My maintenance is around 2,500 calories, so I shouldn't have gained more than a pound or two of actual fat. We'll see.