Holiday weight spike!
Replies
-
I purposefully didn’t weigh myself until 2 days after coming back from my holiday trip (had about three or four days of going significantly over maintenance calories). When I did weigh, I found my average weight had gone up about 2 to 3 lbs (basically what I had expected!). After about two weeks since being back, I have lost a pound-ish by just getting back to my regular routine. Not too bad!
When I think about it, it’s really the first time I gained fat since I started weight loss/weight management in May of 2018 (lost 100 lbs and have been maintaining for 6 months). I’m glad to have the practice of fully and calorically enjoying a few days over the holidays, and getting right back to the routine afterwards (and between.) I think I am learning and growing a lot through the experience 😎5 -
My best guess is that I gained about a pound and a half over the holidays. My weight shot up 15 pounds but I tend to suffer from pretty extreme bloat so I was expecting it (expecting it does not make it significantly easier). The water weight was mostly gone last Friday and I have seen a new low weight on the scale so the holiday weight is gone too.8
-
@teeenabeana : Losing 5lbs is a good challenge. It can be done in about 5 weeks, which is not too long, and it is still very satisfying. Once lost, you are truly lighter on your feet!
@gallicinvasion : 100lbs! Amazing! You are doing a fantastic job of keeping it off, even through the holidays (the hardest part of the year). Maintenance truly requires constant vigilance.5 -
I've got rid of the Christmas weight and this morning the scale read lower than anything I saw in december. My trend weight is lower too. Time to push on!8
-
Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »@gallicinvasion : 100lbs! Amazing! You are doing a fantastic job of keeping it off, even through the holidays (the hardest part of the year). Maintenance truly requires constant vigilance.
Thank you!!
1 -
@Jthanmyfitnesspal I hope you keep this thread going so we can hear about your progress. Do you know how to differentiate between water weight and the other stuff? How many days of holiday eating does it take to remain in the water weight zone and when does it fall into the other category. Tell all.1
-
@Diatonic12 I can't tell if you are patronizing me, but nonetheless, I'll gladly respond! What's the point of having community pages if you can't blather on at will!
Anyway: I've found that one night of food + salt + alcohol can cause a weight spike of several pounds. I don't know which one is the biggest culprit. With a return to normal eating it goes away in 1-2 days.
I've also found that doing a large amount of exercise (e.g., am all-day hiking trip) can cause a weight spike of several pounds, presumably due to swelling. It also goes away in a couple of days, sometimes leaving me significantly lighter than before the hike.
4 -
@Jthanmyfitnesspal No, sir. I mean it. I want to know your progress and I do know that beast mode at the gym makes you retain water. I'm really interested in that line of demarcation between water weight and the real thing. You know the drill. Oooo, don't worry, it's only water weight until it isn't. If you had to surmise, how many days of holiday eating does it take before it all turns into the real thing. Weight gain. Rebound weight gain. What can people get away with and still maintain. I know it's different for everyone but that's why I'm interested in your progress. How many days will it take before you're right back in the saddle again. I'm sure it has much to do with one's level of fitness.2
-
@Jthanmyfitnesspal All movement counts and we can't outexercise a month's worth of holiday eating in just a couple of days but I'm interested. Sitting on the couch at the speed of zero vs. getting right back into a daily exercise routine and bouncing back quickly. I'm interested in long term weight stability and I'd like to hear what you have to say about everything.1
-
@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!3 -
@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
-
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.
6 -
@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.
4 -
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
-
@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:
6 -
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
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.3K Introduce Yourself
- 43.5K Getting Started
- 259.7K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.6K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 388 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.7K Motivation and Support
- 7.8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.4K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.2K MyFitnessPal Information
- 22 News and Announcements
- 910 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.2K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions