Holiday weight spike!
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@Diatonic12 do you use a weight trend app?
One option is to do what you're doing: analyze the past few days and try to figure out if the weight change you see is food in transit, sodium level changes, exercise swelling, actual fat gain, hormonal variation what have you.
Being a guy I prefer to dumb things down and make them easier for me.
So I use a weight trend application and over time have developed an idea as to what constitutes normal variations. And at what point I should take very gentle and small-scale action to correct towards the centre.
Can this fail? Absolutely. If weight gain and water retention are not explainable by what has been diligently logged... it may be time for a doctor's visit!
This is consistent with my maintenance experience, too: Monitoring closely tells you how your body works. That's powerful information.
So is running the process in a way that's manageable for each individual, but provides enough predictability (not necessarily via consistency) that one can trust the process to know the difference between fat gain and meaningless fluctuation, at least until circumtances change in some material way.
One kind of tangent observation: I have zero scientific evidence, but I personal believe, from my own experience, that one very isolated day (maybe even a couple) of major overeating is likely to have somewhat less impact on fat gain than the raw calorie data would lead one to expect. It certainly seems true for me.5 -
Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »I hope everyone had a great holiday season. How much did you gain (if anything)?
I ate and drank everything I could get my hands on and gained about 5lbs since about 12/21. In addition to high consumption, I had a cold and stopped exercising for a week.
I'm going to be curious how fast it comes back off! And, I want to drop about an extra 5lbs.
How did you do?
Happy New Year! I've been with MFP for a very long time. The holidays are like any other day. I do not give myself an open door to go crazy. I'm mindful, eat what I want but within reason. It's a daily regimen that I have followed for over 10 yrs. I've basically kept 18-20lbs off. I workout daily and keep track of my weight daily. It has worked for me. I'm 67 and plan to keep this up. It does take work & diligence but so worth it.3 -
@sbakke2 : That's a lesson I'm still no learning. I bump up and down frequently and have to make a regular concerted effort to whittle the weight back to my goal. The holidays had so many temptations and I gave into them. But, the company was great!4
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I usually gain around 5 lbs during the Winter. This year, I gained 10 lbs! Already dropped two or three of it by just "buckling up". Been at this weight loss stuff so long, it's like second nature. Main changes (since the New Year) I've made is cleaning up the alchohol consumption (or if I do making it much "cleaner" drinks), only eating in a 12 hour window and snacking on either whole grain cereals or fruit (if at all). Reevaluating at night even if I do need to snack at all.
Would like to get down to 193 by my stepson's wedding in February. I have a lower BF percentage now and not a huge waist, but I like my waist to be around 33/34 inches. Right now it's 35 or so but I gain in my waist first. Once the wedding passes, I'd like to get back to my "ideal" weight, which is around 187. Beyond that, the wife thinks I get too veiny/skinny (187 puts me at around 15% body fat).5 -
One kind of tangent observation: I have zero scientific evidence, but I personal believe, from my own experience, that one very isolated day (maybe even a couple) of major overeating is likely to have somewhat less impact on fat gain than the raw calorie data would lead one to expect. It certainly seems true for me.
Yep. Same here. Consistent overeating (like I did on our cruise) generally results in what I expect. But a one day binge, say Christmas Day, does not hit me as hard as I expect it to. It's almost as if my body just can't store the extra calories fast enough and has to excrete them, or something.
On the subject of this thread, my holiday weight spike has not gone. I dropped a couple of pounds and went straight back up, where I have sat for 11 solid days despite an average calorie deficit of 300 per day. Oh well. It'll go eventually. It's just annoying because I didn't overeat enough to justify quite such a large spike, so most of it should have been water and gone by now.
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@Diatonic12 do you use a weight trend app?
One option is to do what you're doing: analyze the past few days and try to figure out if the weight change you see is food in transit, sodium level changes, exercise swelling, actual fat gain, hormonal variation what have you.
Being a guy I prefer to dumb things down and make them easier for me.
So I use a weight trend application and over time have developed an idea as to what constitutes normal variations. And at what point I should take very gentle and small-scale action to correct towards the centre.
Can this fail? Absolutely. If weight gain and water retention are not explainable by what has been diligently logged... it may be time for a doctor's visit!
When my magic spreadsheet is full of data it shows me my projected low weight based on food deficit. In another column I subtract my current weight from that number to see the difference. When I whoosh I am usually within .2 pounds of the projection. Eventually the margin of error knocks it out of range and I have to manually adjust it.
It sounds complicated and maybe it is to set-up. I do not know how to gauge that because a large portion of what I do for a living is analyze data so it seems simple to me. It is easy to use though because I just have to enter a few values each day.
I am not sure how functional this will be in maintenance. I guess I will find out.
ETA: Currently my SS is not full of data because I just started it over again which is why I do not trust the projected low weight at the moment.2 -
One kind of tangent observation: I have zero scientific evidence, but I personal believe, from my own experience, that one very isolated day (maybe even a couple) of major overeating is likely to have somewhat less impact on fat gain than the raw calorie data would lead one to expect. It certainly seems true for me.
Yep. Nothing throws off my numbers like eating above maintenance. While weight loss is calculable at around 3500 calories per pound weight gain is not. Usually when I am eating above maintenance I am also guessing at my intake a little more so the numbers are less trustworthy. However, I cannot even see 2:1 on results (7000ish calories per pound) in short sprints of under 7 days of eating above maintenance. I am not sure how much higher my NEAT gets and what role TEF plays in surplus eating.
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Well my holiday weight gain ain't coming off y'all. This is terrible LOL. Oh well, staying the course today and trusting the process.8
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@NovusDies : I don't quite get what you're saying. Post a plot!
@sammidelvecchio : I feel your pain. I'm still working on 3 of the 8 lbs I want to lose. (Weight spike is technically tamed, but I really was a few lbs over my goal weight to start. Might as well get rid of them now.)
@jm_1234 : Now, that's a great story! It points out how inactive we sometimes are in our regular life! Clearly, you need to live as though we are on vacation in Europe! I give you a dancing banana:
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Well, it looks like every weekend is a mini spike. Yesterday, I took a long run and then did a re-feed (supposedly within total calorie goal according to Garmin-- some people know I've been complaining about their estimates, but it was a very big day).
That bumped me up a bit (+1.8). I expect it will disappear by Monday. Still working on about 3lbs. It's never easy!5 -
Hurrah! After twenty days of trusting the process my weight finally dropped 2 1/2 lb overnight. They say patience is a virtue. I must be a saint by now!7
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@SnifterPug : happens to me quite frequently and I celebrate in my mind!
But, I try to remember that downward spikes are still spikes and it is the average over several days that matters.4 -
Got on the scale yesterday and I'm back under my "red line" of 195. I've been not eating till after my lunch workouts (at 1:30 PM). That sounds drastic to some of you, I'm sure, but I'm a natural night time eater. I like to have a snack before bed. Looking to lose the last seven or eight now but the belly is mostly under control again.
Man, losing five pounds in a month is no joke! My wife and I talked about how overboard we went this year. I'm severely gluten intolerant and she can't have cow dairy, so we're quite the pair. We normally don't eat that many sweets unless I cook them. I made 10 pies for Thanksgiving for 9 people. Also made X-mas cookies and fudge and a Dairy Free/GF White Chocolate Cheesecake that was to die for, if I say so myself. We just are going to control all the sweets better next year. We're taking a hard look at what we need for company versus excess.
Sweets are great for a bit but so not worth it when you add the hard work back in to lose it.
@jm_1234 -- I went to Belgium and Paris six years ago, when I still could eat gluten (or more likely was in denial that I could!). OMG, the Belgium Waffles with Chocolate were the best thing I've ever eaten!3 -
@MikePfirrman : sounds like you are a great cook and, thus, a good person to know. Next year, maybe only 1/2 pie per person!
Anyway, I'm getting close and it motivates me to finish the job. Today is the last day of my January challenge to exercise every day. Whew, I did it!5 -
Superbowl party, oh no!
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I got a great low number on Saturday morning after a 7 mile run. If I can get that number to repeat, I'm within 3 lbs of my goal this time around. How's everyone else doing?1
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Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »I got a great low number on Saturday morning after a 7 mile run. If I can get that number to repeat, I'm within 3 lbs of my goal this time around. How's everyone else doing?
Been long enough now to see full post-holiday results.
My mid-November low weight was 133.6 on 11/15, and my trend at the time was 136.7 (I'm picking that date because it was before my birthday and US Thanksgiving).
My pre-Christmas low was 133.0 on 12/19, when my trend was 135.9.
My recent low as 133.2 on 2/1, when my trend was 135.5.
Weight today, 135, trend 135.4.
I have Libra set for long smoothing/forecast days, 60 and 30 respectively vs. the default 7/7, so that it really gives me more of a long-term trend, not one that's super twitchy when I have peaky days (a thing I do, in maintenance).
If you looked at my low weights, you'd think I was gaining, maybe. If you look at the trend, I'm losing ultra-slowly. Since I can look at the day-to-day individual weights, and see that I'm at relatively lower weights relatively more often, and that my highest days are lower than they were late in 2019, I believe the trend.
It looks like this (heavy solid bumpy but mostly downhill line is the trend, the vertical lines are the daily weights connecting to the trend). You can see birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and a few random high-intake days in there, where the sudden high scale weights show up the next day . . . then slowly drop off again.
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191 today. First time, in a while, I've seen a number that low. That was after my row (which I do fasted at lunch). I didn't sweat that much today because I did it outside, so I'm at least well under my redline of 195 again now. Comfort zone is more in the high 180s, but I still have about a month till I hit that.
Continuing with not eating till after my lunchtime workout and really asking myself if I need a night time snack. Now, I'm eating a LOT for lunch and dinners, but I go into lunch with at least an 800 deficit (from an hour row) and try to eat most of that back for recovery purposes. That still leaves me 1700 or so calories for dinner (and snack if I want one). Might have lost a bit too quick -- 9 lbs in six weeks, but I need to lose a bit.2 -
@AnnPT77 : I should try looking at a long-term trend like that, it's really cool!
@MikePfirrman : Sounds promising. Are you going to try to crack 190?
I give you both the super happy banana:
My weight trend looks pretty good for a cut. Note that the horizontal lines are 2.5lbs, so it's coming off very close to 1lb per week. I have to say, I've been hoping for more, but at least it's working. (Garmin has been doing the calorie estimates which sometimes give you extra just for "being you." And sometimes not!)
I challenged myself to work out every day in January and I've kept going into February. It's actually been pretty fun! Losing even small amounts of weight is very good for swimming, riding, and especially running!
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@Jthan -- that's great work from you. Yes, losing just a bit helps performance tremendously, especially endurance sports. For me it's indoor rowing. Now, at least, my gut isn't in the way any more.
I'm not sure if I will get much below 190. I have quite a bit of muscle, which is odd, because I'm really not all that strong (I guess over the years from all the rowing). But I'm only around 20% body fat now. When I get down in the 180s, the BF gets down to around 17 or 18 percent. For me, that starts to be really veiny and the wife doesn't like the look!
One very odd benefit for me, yet an important one, is I snore at night. I have a snoring app, believe it or not, called Snore Lab. It records how much you snore at night and allows you to test different things to reduce it. When I gain 10 lbs, my snoring goes through the roof! My snoring is down around 15% or more since losing most of the weight back. And rest is incredibly important for endurance sports/performance. Another odd trend related to that is I snore less after my two hard days -- Tuesday and Thursday. Those are the days I do a hard interval workout and an Anaerobic Threshold workout. My snoring dips both nights. Just something I never expected. If it were up to my wife, every day would be interval day or fartlek day.4 -
Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »@AnnPT77 : I should try looking at a long-term trend like that, it's really cool!
That graph is from Libra, which is for Android (and free). People with Apple devices can use Happy Scale, which is similar. Others can use Trendweight (requires a free Fitbit account, don't need a Fitbit device), Weightgrapher, or others.
It's easy. I just put in my daily weigh-in, and it does the rest.
I challenged myself to work out every day in January and I've kept going into February. It's actually been pretty fun! Losing even small amounts of weight is very good for swimming, riding, and especially running!
Good show: That's gotta be great for your CV fitness, as well as the contribution to your weight management!2 -
Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »I got a great low number on Saturday morning after a 7 mile run. If I can get that number to repeat, I'm within 3 lbs of my goal this time around. How's everyone else doing?
I keep losing the same five pounds over and over and over. My "holiday spike" was more of a slow, steady climb starting in October and stopping last month. My scale weight has been at or below my goal eight times in 2020 and within a half pound eleven additional days (19 days total). Not bad, but my trending weight has only been within a half pound of goal ten days. I guess that's not bad.
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Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »
I am trying to convince myself this is what successful maintenance actually looks like. Because it IS. It's getting a little bit easier. I don't know why it bothers me; it shouldn't. Oh well. Silly brain.5 -
Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »
I am trying to convince myself this is what successful maintenance actually looks like. Because it IS. It's getting a little bit easier. I don't know why it bothers me; it shouldn't. Oh well. Silly brain.
I think it's very successful. I honestly believe that where it begins to "fail" is when you look at all the data and say - Oh my maintenance range should be "x" which is moved up 5 pounds higher. Then over time you end up having to lose back to THAT higher range over and over. Rinse wash repeat. It's difficult to know when you are "fooling yourself" vs "yeah I actually really like myself or I have more muscle etc..."
I am small so I just keep a "red line" in the sand. I don't really ever seem to cross the low end... ROTFLOL.. but I do approach the top and then I have to rein things in. I prefer that however to having to go back into any sort of larger deficit.5 -
Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »
I am trying to convince myself this is what successful maintenance actually looks like. Because it IS. It's getting a little bit easier. I don't know why it bothers me; it shouldn't. Oh well. Silly brain.
This is absolutely what I consider successful maintenance! The natural human drive to indulge, but also the commitment to stay the course. I purposely allow a fluctuation of 1-3 pounds on ocassion, over and over again
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@SummerSkier : I agree totally. I have aloweed things to slip many times and ended up needing to lose 10+ lbs so many times (like since 1/1 this year). For me, that's ~3 months of cutting. It's so much easier job if I catch it sooner, but there it is! 6 more weeks to go!1
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I normally "allow" myself around 3 to 5 lbs over the Winter. This Winter, I got way carried away and before I knew it, it was like 12 lbs. I'm back down to around my baseline weight of 192 now. My "ideal" is 187, not that I've seen that in a while.
As for the 5 up and down, it really, for me, comes down to how much I'm willing to buckle up for vanity. I think for health, I've got it down. It's does the defined six pack matter at 55? For me, most of the time, it's strain hard enough to nearly blow a nut, in just the right lighting and "oh yeah, I can see that six pack!". Now, let's have a brownie!3 -
@MikePfirrman : I can strain and strain, but that 6 pack remains well hidden. I think that only a surgeon could reveal it!3
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So, now I have a cold for a few days. I was a little off last week, but I was still carrying on as normal. I went on a run in the cold air about 4 days ago, then got up early the next day to fly out on a business trip, where I started to feel much worse. Lying in a hotel room far from home feeling sick really sucks! But, I did what I went to do and made it back home OK.
I've had to suspend exercising and it has been difficult to log, as I've been eating restaurant food (my sympathies to all who travel for work frequently). I'm attracted to sweet tea when sick, so I indulge in that. Also, it's easier to digest carbs than protein, so I just go with it. But, I try to keep a lid on it overall.
The net result has been fine from the weight prospective, although I bet I'm losing both muscle and fat temporarily. It has only been 4 days and it feels like forever!3
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