Holiday weight spike!

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Replies

  • gallicinvasion
    gallicinvasion Posts: 1,015 Member
    @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!!

  • Diatonic12
    Diatonic12 Posts: 32,344 Member
    @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. ;)
  • Jthanmyfitnesspal
    Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,514 Member
    @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.

  • Diatonic12
    Diatonic12 Posts: 32,344 Member
    @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.
  • Diatonic12
    Diatonic12 Posts: 32,344 Member
    @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.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 13,393 Member
    @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!
  • sbakke2
    sbakke2 Posts: 1 Member
    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.
  • Jthanmyfitnesspal
    Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,514 Member
    @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!
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    edited January 2020
    PAV8888 wrote: »
    @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.
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »

    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.