Why can't you lose holiday weight?

xxharleyquinnxx

This baffles me. I came off holiday 6 weeks ago right and gained like 10lbs. I have now as of last week managed to lose 5lbs of which is great (except it was probably mostly water weight etc) and have now found it increasingly difficult to lose the remaining 5lbs so I can be at my pre holiday weight. Now I will admit over the past 6 weeks I have had days where I have not counted my calories because of social events etc (this I still did before my holiday) but can like 6 days at most seriously hinder my weight loss that much? I have kept exercising (changed running to high intensity dvds) at least 4 times a week for the past 6 weeks and most days kept inside my calorie count and even cut out chocolate from my diet for 2 weeks straight now and still am frustrated how long its taking to get back to my pre holiday weight so I can start losing more. Anyone else who has had this trouble and how you solved it would be really useful to me right now. I just feel like I have to stick to this new healthy lifestyle like every single day of the year and the thought is literally so off putting.

ew_david

This baffles me. I came off holiday 6 weeks ago right and gained like 10lbs. I have now as of last week managed to lose 5lbs of which is great (except it was probably mostly water weight etc) and have now found it increasingly difficult to lose the remaining 5lbs so I can be at my pre holiday weight. Now I will admit over the past 6 weeks I have had days where I have not counted my calories because of social events etc (this I still did before my holiday) but can like 6 days at most seriously hinder my weight loss that much? I have kept exercising (changed running to high intensity dvds) at least 4 times a week for the past 6 weeks and most days kept inside my calorie count and even cut out chocolate from my diet for 2 weeks straight now and still am frustrated how long its taking to get back to my pre holiday weight so I can start losing more. Anyone else who has had this trouble and how you solved it would be really useful to me right now. I just feel like I have to stick to this new healthy lifestyle like every single day of the year and the thought is literally so off putting.

It's likely the bolded part is the problem. Start logging consistently. If you're not logging, you have no idea whether you're in a calorie deficit or not.

BombshellPhoenix

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1409051-upped-calories-and-gained

This was a week ago you upped calories a bit and probably retained a bit of water.

And yes, those few days of either not logging or guessing CAN eat up a deficit. Especially if it's a few times a week.

Try consistently logging and keep the same calorie amount for a few weeks and see. If you're bouncing around intake, you'll have water weight galore

Francl27

Because you're eating too much and not keeping a deficit. It took me a month to lose the last 2 pounds I gained from my vacation, so you're definitely not alone, but you probably went way above your goal on the days you didn't count.

That's why I log everything. Some weeks I do so well but I just have 'one bad day'... then I look at the weekly summary on my phone and I'm actually 400 calories OVER my maintenance for the week, because that one day was, well, bad. One bad day can definitely undo all your work. But at least if I log it, I know why I'm not losing and can try and do better the next week.

Bottom line is that exercise is nice and all, but it's not enough to burn all the extra calories if you overeat. I had my best workout in a long time yesterday, and still only managed to burn half the calories of the ice cream sundae I had at lunch. Losing (and maintaining) weight is 99% diet. It doesn't mean you can't have a day off, but that you have to eat less the rest of the week to make up for it.