Gained 18lbs on vacation! Help?

london1014
london1014 Posts: 6 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I just got back from a 3 week vacation (there is long story to it) and I know ate badly and drank too much alcohol but I wasn't expecting to gain almost 8.5 kg this quickly! I'm hoping some of it is water weight.

How many pounds of fat do you think I gained?

I didn't keep track of calories but I'm guessing around 3000 a day and sadly no exercise.

Replies

  • GrumpyHeadmistress
    GrumpyHeadmistress Posts: 666 Member
    Well we’d need to know your stats to calculate. Weight, height, calories you need to lose and maintain.

    Or you could do the calculation yourself. Every 3500 calories over your maintenance equals (roughly) a 1lb.
  • CarlsbergLewis
    CarlsbergLewis Posts: 186 Member
    About 10lbs will be water weight... Chill
  • gothomson
    gothomson Posts: 215 Member
    Yeah, as CarlsbergLewis says - chill. firstly I find that I put weigh on when i've been on holiday (no surprise there!) then when I'm back home I start losing the weight again once I go back to "normal" eating. You'll probably find most of the weight gain will disappear with that once you get back on the wagon.
  • zjpq
    zjpq Posts: 198 Member
    I gained 6lbs in a week a month ago when I went on holiday. 5.5lbs was gone within a week. My ankles returned the day after arriving home, most of it is probably water weight!
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    london1014 wrote: »
    I just got back from a 3 week vacation (there is long story to it) and I know ate badly and drank too much alcohol but I wasn't expecting to gain almost 8.5 kg this quickly! I'm hoping some of it is water weight.

    How many pounds of fat do you think I gained?

    I didn't keep track of calories but I'm guessing around 3000 a day and sadly no exercise.

    good effort! sounds like you were eating a lot more than 3000cals to have gained 18lbs in 3 weeks!

    a load of it will be water, so just get back to your deficit and it'll disappear over the next couple of weeks.
  • london1014
    london1014 Posts: 6 Member
    GrumpyHeadmistress wrote: »
    Well we’d need to know your stats to calculate. Weight, height, calories you need to lose and maintain.

    Or you could do the calculation yourself. Every 3500 calories over your maintenance equals (roughly) a 1lb.

    My TDEE is 1450. My problem is that I didn't keep track at all. 3000 cal a day was just a really really rough estimate. My geuss is probably way off
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    london1014 wrote: »
    GrumpyHeadmistress wrote: »
    Well we’d need to know your stats to calculate. Weight, height, calories you need to lose and maintain.

    Or you could do the calculation yourself. Every 3500 calories over your maintenance equals (roughly) a 1lb.

    My TDEE is 1450. My problem is that I didn't keep track at all. 3000 cal a day was just a really really rough estimate. My geuss is probably way off

    1450? you're tiny and sedentary then?
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    edited October 2017
    My percentage of water weight gain to fat gain when I catch a bout of "all-inclusive-holiday-itis" is about 20-30% fat 80-70% water.

    I managed to injure myself during my last holiday and gained 10lbs in 10 days. It only took two weeks with a moderate deficit to get rid of it which shows how little was really fat.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,242 Member
    edited October 2017
    You know what? What does it matter? a) you gained some water that will go away on its own-zero question about that. b) you gained some fat that will be harder to get rid off--also zero question about that based on your descriptions c) in either case, your only choice to avoid continuing to gain weight is to get back with the program d) at least now you know what happens when you stop caring and/or stop paying attention: this is a valuable thing to know when you get to maintenance and for your next vacation e) A TDEE of 1450 tells me that you may be unsure what TDEE means. You may be thinking of BMR or NEAT instead of TDEE.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,941 Member
    Lets look at it more rationally. If you really gained 18lbs in 21 days then you would have eaten at a surplus of 63000 calories, or 3000 per day. If your TDEE is really as low as 1400, then you'd have eaten 4400 calories per day. Do you think that's realistic? Most likely a substantial part is water weight. I also gain a lot of water weight whenever I travel. It usually takes 2-7 days to lose it again (my water is rather sticky :p)
  • london1014
    london1014 Posts: 6 Member
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    london1014 wrote: »
    GrumpyHeadmistress wrote: »
    Well we’d need to know your stats to calculate. Weight, height, calories you need to lose and maintain.

    Or you could do the calculation yourself. Every 3500 calories over your maintenance equals (roughly) a 1lb.

    My TDEE is 1450. My problem is that I didn't keep track at all. 3000 cal a day was just a really really rough estimate. My geuss is probably way off

    1450? you're tiny and sedentary then?

    Yea I'm short and used sedentary since I didn't exercise on vacation. my "normal" life TDEE is 1750
  • london1014
    london1014 Posts: 6 Member
    PAV8888 wrote: »
    You know what? What does it matter? a) you gained some water that will go away on its own-zero question about that. b) you gained some fat that will be harder to get rid off--also zero question about that based on your descriptions c) in either case, your only choice to avoid continuing to gain weight is to get back with the program d) at least now you know what happens when you stop caring and/or stop paying attention: this is a valuable thing to know when you get to maintenance and for your next vacation e) A TDEE of 1450 tells me that you may be unsure what TDEE means. You may be thinking of BMR or NEAT instead of TDEE.

    Thanks for your reply, you're right on all your points! well except your last one. I do know what TDEE is. Im just short and used sedentary for the calculation since I didn't exercise on my vacation.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    A lot of that will be water weight, just get back on track, log your food, stay within your allowance and what you have gained will go. It usually takes me 2 to 3 weeks post vacation to shed any holiday gain. Initially it can look as if I have gained 7lbs but within a week most of that is gone, and it ends up being around 2lbs of fat gain which doesn't take long to shift.
  • MartinNaylor86
    MartinNaylor86 Posts: 4 Member
    Maybe try to put some exercise into future holidays to lessen the blow. I also skip breakfast when I'm away - it gives me a bit more freedom for the rest of the day.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    yirara wrote: »
    Lets look at it more rationally. If you really gained 18lbs in 21 days then you would have eaten at a surplus of 63000 calories, or 3000 per day. If your TDEE is really as low as 1400, then you'd have eaten 4400 calories per day. Do you think that's realistic? Most likely a substantial part is water weight. I also gain a lot of water weight whenever I travel. It usually takes 2-7 days to lose it again (my water is rather sticky :p)

    plus 18lbs of actual fat would mean none of OPs clothes would fit now.
  • GrumpyHeadmistress
    GrumpyHeadmistress Posts: 666 Member
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    yirara wrote: »
    Lets look at it more rationally. If you really gained 18lbs in 21 days then you would have eaten at a surplus of 63000 calories, or 3000 per day. If your TDEE is really as low as 1400, then you'd have eaten 4400 calories per day. Do you think that's realistic? Most likely a substantial part is water weight. I also gain a lot of water weight whenever I travel. It usually takes 2-7 days to lose it again (my water is rather sticky :p)

    plus 18lbs of actual fat would mean none of OPs clothes would fit now.

    By my calculations 3000 a day with a TDEE of 1450 (which I highly doubt) is 13.25lbs of fat.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    GrumpyHeadmistress wrote: »
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    yirara wrote: »
    Lets look at it more rationally. If you really gained 18lbs in 21 days then you would have eaten at a surplus of 63000 calories, or 3000 per day. If your TDEE is really as low as 1400, then you'd have eaten 4400 calories per day. Do you think that's realistic? Most likely a substantial part is water weight. I also gain a lot of water weight whenever I travel. It usually takes 2-7 days to lose it again (my water is rather sticky :p)

    plus 18lbs of actual fat would mean none of OPs clothes would fit now.

    By my calculations 3000 a day with a TDEE of 1450 (which I highly doubt) is 13.25lbs of fat.

    that could work if the rest was water, though i doubt it.
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    edited October 2017
    if you GAINED a TRUE 18 pounds, none of your clothes would fit. most of its water weight. relax. other than that, nothing you can do other than pick up where you left off. You had a vacation, enjoyed it, and life goes on.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Just get back to it, OP. I doubt that 'most of it is water weight' if you consumed so many calories, but still, it will just take one or two months to lose them.

  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    yirara wrote: »
    Lets look at it more rationally. If you really gained 18lbs in 21 days then you would have eaten at a surplus of 63000 calories, or 3000 per day. If your TDEE is really as low as 1400, then you'd have eaten 4400 calories per day. Do you think that's realistic? Most likely a substantial part is water weight. I also gain a lot of water weight whenever I travel. It usually takes 2-7 days to lose it again (my water is rather sticky :p)

    plus 18lbs of actual fat would mean none of OPs clothes would fit now.

    Unless they wear stretchy or baggy sort of clothes.

    OP- I'd just go back to eating and exercising normally and weigh yourself in a week or so to see where you are at. Some of it is water weight... at least half. I'm going to guess under 8 lbs actual gain.
  • lucerorojo
    lucerorojo Posts: 790 Member
    You can go back and change what you did. Take it as a lesson learned. Next time log (even if imprecise) on vacation.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    london1014 wrote: »
    GrumpyHeadmistress wrote: »
    Well we’d need to know your stats to calculate. Weight, height, calories you need to lose and maintain.

    Or you could do the calculation yourself. Every 3500 calories over your maintenance equals (roughly) a 1lb.

    My TDEE is 1450. My problem is that I didn't keep track at all. 3000 cal a day was just a really really rough estimate. My geuss is probably way off

    Then you gained about .5 lb fat per day. My guess is about half fat and half water. Time to get back on your plan!
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    OP, as has been said, just get back on track and move on.

    Have you been eating low carb throughout your weight loss process? This is a question born out of my curiosity rather than anything else.
  • HeidiCooksSupper
    HeidiCooksSupper Posts: 3,839 Member
    I just got back from twelve days on the the road, eating out the whole time, 12 pounds heavier. Since being home, I've lost 2 pounds a day whizzing out the water that made up most of those 12 pounds. I figure the last two were true gain but they'll come back off. It was rather fun losing 2 pounds a day for awhile but I knew it would come to an end. I didn't gain 12 pounds of fat in 12 days and I didn't lose 10 pounds of fat in 5. Don't let water weight drive you crazy.

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