What I gained over the holidays...
Slowfaster
Posts: 186 Member
...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!
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
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Give yourself a week to lose some water and digestive tract weight before deciding how much you really gained. 6 days ago I had "gained" 5 pounds from Christmas festivities. Now I'm right back down where I was before.27
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Slowfaster wrote: »...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!
Are you really tiny and sedentary to maintain on 1550 cals?11 -
Well yes. I'm sedentary and have very small bones. Maybe I could maintain with a little more, but during the past year I lost about 50 pounds doing 1200 a day and then, in October and November, I had slowed down to losing only 2 pounds a month at 1200 per day.
However, it's not really all about accurate math for me today. It's about recognizing that it's easier to gain than to lose and spurring myself to get back on track before I gain anymore.
Sure some of it is probably water weight.
I was just hoping someone else had gained a lot over Christmas. So we could commiserate and motivate.10 -
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
HNY3 -
Dec 1, 2018 - 119 lbs
Dec 27, 2018 - 129 lbs
Jan 1, 2019 - 123.4 lbs18 -
I gained 2 lbs between Nov. 29 and Dec. 29. Based on past experience, I need to average between a 200 and 400 kcal/day deficit this week to ensure the 2 lbs will go away at my next weigh-in, because I'll drop some water weight along with glycogen stores, a little fat, and hopefully very little to no muscle.5
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The day after Christmas, I stopped logging (because I was doing so well, so why not take a break? ugh, little did I know). Gained 9 lbs in that short time. Seriously hoping at least half of it is water weight. Lesson learned; I need to log intake to manage my weight. My appetite is no match for intuitive eating. Kind of wish I had bought sweets and snacks that are usually off-limits in my house. At least let me gain while eating yummy foods, not my usual ho-hum veggies, beans, and protein bars.5
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About 4# - if I follow my plan, it will be gone by GroundHog Day.3
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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.1
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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.2 -
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 #iaintstressinit4
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Meh, like 3lbs. It’ll come off with a small deficit over the next few days and weeks. I’m not going to panic, crash diet and over restricted only to be unable to sustain, binge, give up and put even more on.
Slow and steady loss is the way forwards.6 -
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.1
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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.7 -
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 range2 -
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.1 -
What I gained over the holidays...
Rest
Exercise
And a little bit of sanity.16 -
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.3 -
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.
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I started December 1st at 170.8lbs, was at a new low weight as of Dec 22-24th in the 166's. We started "Christmas festivities" on the 22nd and carried on through the 25th. I shot up to 168 on the 26th, and did not drop back to 166.x pounds until the 31st, which actually happened to read at 166.2lbs, which is a new low weight.
All told, I lost 4.6lbs in December from 1st to 31st. But it goes to show what a few days of extra carby and extra salty foods will do. All of what I gained was water retention. I still logged, measured where I could, guessed where I couldn't. There was a lot of grabbing pistachios and peanut M&M's as I walked by food tables.. and that easily adds a few hundred calories per day.
Just temporary... going to run my hypocaloric thing til end of this month.. see where I'm at. I'd like to see 162, counting on 163 for sure. Depending on what my results are then, and how I'm feeling, might try to lean down into the high 150s (it's been a long time since I saw those!). A weight of 157 will put me at 80lbs total lost... I'd be extra impressed with myself for that. But I'll take 162 and 75#.
So what did I gain over the holidays? Reassured insight into how my body reacts to food and holiday stress, as well as a renewed focus and positive attitude towards 2019 being my best year yet in terms of physical wellness, health and conditioning!
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10lbs in 11 days, here. I'm not doing anything drastic. Just getting back into my gym routine and tightening up my tracking.5
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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.1 -
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.2
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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.4
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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.1
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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....1
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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:(
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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.1
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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.2
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