Is it normal to gain 10 pounds during the holidays?
Weight gain during the holidays is a fat, ugly myth. Very few people really gain as much as five pounds between Thanksgiving and New Year's. The weight gain comes after the holidays, when people don't drop that one little pound.
The study found that 61 percent of the participants gained weight while on vacation, with an average gain of 0.7 pounds, and that the weight gained throughout the entire study averaged 0.9 pounds. There was a large variation, however, with some participants losing weight and some gaining as much as 7 pounds.
Weight gained after a vacation or indulgent weekend doesn't mean you've put on fat. It's probably just water retention, experts say. Rebel Wilson said she gained almost seven pounds while on vacation at an all-inclusive resort. Eating more salt and carbs can make us gain water weight, not fat, a dietitian said.
Since many people can't eat enough in a day or two to actually gain 5 or 10 pounds, if you notice a dramatic increase on the scale, chances are it's due to water, says Anita Petruzzelli, M.D., owner and medical director of BodyLogicMD.
- Prioritize your exercise routine. ...
- Increase fiber and fluid. ...
- Do a portion-size reality check. ...
- Restock your kitchen with healthy foods. ...
- Resume tracking your food and weight. ...
- Keep perspective and remember your vacation fondly.
Daily weight fluctuation is normal. The average adult's weight fluctuates up to 5 or 6 pounds per day. It all comes down to what and when you eat, drink, exercise, and even sleep. Read on to learn more about how these factors affect the scale and when to weigh yourself for the most accurate results.
If those 10 pounds are fat you would have had to eat about an extra 35,000kcal in one week. It seems very unlikely. To put things into perspective let's say that an average person eats 2000kcal a day - you would have needed an extra 5000kcal a day - a total of 7000kcal a day!
- Make a plan.
- Drink plenty of fluids.
- Exercise regularly.
- Get enough sleep.
- Avoid processed foods.
- Include plenty of fruits and vegetables in your diet.
- Avoid eating late at night.
- Take multivitamins every day.
Is vacation weight gain worth the worry? Research suggests adults often gain between 0.4 and 0.9 kilograms (or about one to two pounds) during the holiday season. People who are overweight or obese often gain even more weight during that time period.
All that weight is mostly water. The reason for the five-pound “gain” is water retention. Not only do certain rich foods leave you retaining water, but you also have the physical weight of the excess food traveling through your system for at least 48 hours or so. Kind of gross, but it's in there!
How long does it take for water retention to go away?
The length of time that it takes to lose water weight depends on how much water you're retaining, the cause of the water weight gain, and the action taken to lose it. If you have one high-sodium meal and then return to normal, healthy dietary habits, you'll likely return to your normal weight in 1-2 days.
Get on the scale as soon as your vacation's over and develop a plan of action to lose the weight, which could take up to one month.
No, you really can't, and it would take a concerted effort to even try. Keep in mind that nearly all of that weight gain is actually retained water, and so even though your pants don't fit and you appear to have gained a lot of weight, the damage is only a fraction of what you think!
Possibly it's because you are stressed, have underlying medical conditions, insomnia, slow metabolism, or water retention. It could also be because you are skipping breakfast and are not practicing portion control. Talk to your doctor if you think any of these factors are behind your unwanted weight gain.
- Drinking more water.
- Avoiding super salty and sugary foods.
- Exercising regularly.
- Eating hydrating foods.
- Reducing carbohydrates.
- Trying supplements or water pills.
- Improving your sleep.
- Decreasing stress.
Fortunately, if you've overindulged on delicious food on vacation (which is great!), you can easily recover. Simply go back to your normal clean-eating habits and active lifestyle, and any weight that you gained while on vacation will come off.
A diet break can be beneficial
"There's no need to restrict your food or over-exercise, just get back to normal and drink some extra water," she said. "The excess fluid will come off over the next few days and you'll be right back on track."
Weight Gain is Common During the Summer: How to Avoid It. Experts say summer can be a time when people gain weight due to food choices and a plethora of social gatherings. They say barbecued food and ice cream as well as chips and other snacks are the prime culprits.
One easily forgotten reason is that your weight only indicates your body mass index (BMI), not your body composition, which is the amount of muscle versus fat you have on your body. Your body composition makes a huge difference in what you look like even though it can't be measured by the scale.
It's most likely your overnight weight gain came from sodium and carbs. However, if you're sensitive, intolerant or allergic to inflammatory foods, eliminating them is the only way to stop the cycle. Corn, soy, dairy products, wheat, and gluten are the top foods affecting inflammation.
When should you weigh yourself for true weight?
You should step on the scale first thing in the morning. That's when you'll get your most accurate weight because your body has had the overnight hours to digest and process whatever you ate and drank the day before.
Over 2 weeks of consistent diet and exercise, you'd lose 2lbs. On the other hand, if you wanted to lose 10 lbs in 2 weeks you'd have to create a much larger deficit. In order to lose 10 pounds in 2 weeks, you'll likely need to lose 5 pounds in one week. That's 17,500 calories less than your maintenance amount per week.
- Wake up and Hydrate. The first thing I do every morning after I wake up is drink a large glass of warm lemon water. ...
- Eat Raw Vegetables at every meal. When you're trying to get back into your routine and detox from fried foods and alcohol, raw veggies are the way to go. ...
- Drink Tea. ...
- Get Enough Sleep. ...
- Sweat It Out.
It can be useful to remember that, just as one day of dieting will not cause a person to lose weight, a day of binge eating will not cause weight gain. Although an episode of overeating can happen to anyone occasionally, some people have a binge eating disorder, which usually requires professional attention.
- Drink Plenty of Water. Even though you are probably retaining water, it still helps to keep flushing your system. ...
- Get Some Sleep. Clock in a little earlier each night to get some additional rest. ...
- Eat Foods That Decrease Bloating. ...
- Exercise. ...
- Balance Your Electrolytes.
Spending a lot of time on airplanes increases your risk of gaining weight, a recent study published in The New York Times has revealed. The most at-risk group are business travelers who fly regularly: from a few times a month to almost every day.
Water retention is, perhaps, the real demon of the vacation squeeze on your clothes; water retention is very common while travelling for a few reasons. Firstly, changes in your sodium consumption habits can have a big effect on how much water weight you retain/gain.
Travel bloat is a real thing! Almost every time I travel (especially if my flight is longer than 2 hours or so), I end up really bloated and gassy. It's not just that my stomach puffs out, which it does, but I also tend to get gas pains. These uncomfortable feelings continue for a couple of days before subsiding.
- Try a low-sodium diet. Simple diet changes can make a big difference. ...
- Eat more fruit. ...
- Drink more water. ...
- Get moving. ...
- Consider dandelion root. ...
- Wear a compression garment. ...
- Elevate your feet. ...
- Consider medication.
- bloating, especially in the abdominal area.
- swollen legs, feet, and ankles.
- puffiness of the abdomen, face, and hips.
- stiff joints.
- weight fluctuations.
How do you know if you are retaining water weight?
- swelling of affected body parts (feet, ankles and hands are commonly affected)
- aching of affected body parts.
- stiff joints.
- rapid weight gain over a few days or weeks.
- unexplained weight fluctuations.
- when pressed, the skin may hold the indent for a few seconds (pitting oedema)
But on average, you should lose 10 pounds in exactly 5-6 weeks for a healthier and more achievable estimate. This means that you lose around 2 pounds per week, which is in line with the CDC's recommendation for safe weight loss at a rate of 1–2 pounds per week, a sustainable goal.
Eat clean and green
If you feel bloated, a post-vacation detox eliminates the sugar and salt cravings you've developed. There's no need for starvation diets. Clean up your diet by eating whole and natural foods, fresh fruits and raw or steamed vegetables. Add green smoothies into your breakfast routine.
“It's virtually impossible to gain weight overnight, even if you really blew it on bar food,” says Cassetty. “The reason comes down to calorie math.
- Medication. Certain medications can cause people to gain weight rapidly. ...
- Insomnia. ...
- Quitting smoking. ...
- Polycystic ovary syndrome. ...
- Heart failure. ...
- Kidney problems. ...
- Cirrhosis. ...
- Thyroid disorder.
Another downside of water weight? Minor weight gain. Usually, the water weight will make you five to 10 pounds heavier and can easily be a reason for why you gained weight this week.
"Women and men of average height need to gain or lose about three and a half and four kilograms, or about eight and nine pounds, respectively, for anyone to see it in their face.
It is not possible or healthy to gain 10 pounds in one week. Rapid weight gain can be just as detrimental to your health as rapid weight loss.
- Decrease Sodium Intake.
- Cut Back On Refined Carbs.
- Drink More Water.
- Take Supplements. Chromium Picolinate. Potassium Citrate.
- Exercise.
- Eat Potassium Rich Foods.
- Manage Stress Levels.
- Take Electrolytes.
...
Eat potassium- and magnesium-rich foods
- bananas.
- avocados.
- tomatoes.
- sweet potatoes.
- leafy vegetables, such as spinach.
What foods cause water retention?
Water retention is often the result of eating too much salt, processed, high-sodium foods, and not drinking enough water. 1 Ingredients like monosodium glutamate, or MSG, baking soda, sodium nitrite, sodium saccharin, and sodium benzoate have just as much of a role in inducing bloating as plain table salt.
If this is you, you're not alone. The good news is that you probably don't gain as much as you think you do. According to a study done by The New England Journal of Medicine, Americans gain around 1.3 pounds on average between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Studies have shown that people, on average, gain a small amount of weight each year - around 0.4-1kg, or approximately 1-2 pounds. Much of this weight is gained at Christmas – some studies have found this can be up to 0.9kg – and this weight often isn't fully lost in the following months.
Research backs up Langer's one to two pound mark. According to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the average holiday weight gain is around one pound — much less than the assumed five.
Possibly it's because you are stressed, have underlying medical conditions, insomnia, slow metabolism, or water retention. It could also be because you are skipping breakfast and are not practicing portion control. Talk to your doctor if you think any of these factors are behind your unwanted weight gain.
- Make a plan.
- Drink plenty of fluids.
- Exercise regularly.
- Get enough sleep.
- Avoid processed foods.
- Include plenty of fruits and vegetables in your diet.
- Avoid eating late at night.
- Take multivitamins every day.
Excess fluid will typically take a couple of days to flush out, but it depends on how much water you're retaining and what you decide to do about it (just let it work itself out or try one of the methods listed in this article).
- Drinking more water.
- Avoiding super salty and sugary foods.
- Exercising regularly.
- Eating hydrating foods.
- Reducing carbohydrates.
- Trying supplements or water pills.
- Improving your sleep.
- Decreasing stress.
You are thinking: How did I gain 10 pounds on a vacation?!
The reason for the five-pound “gain” is water retention. Not only do certain rich foods leave you retaining water, but you also have the physical weight of the excess food traveling through your system for at least 48 hours or so.
Sudden weight gain -- 2-3 pounds in a day or more than 5 pounds a week -- could mean it's getting worse. You also might have swollen feet and ankles, a faster pulse, heavy breathing, high blood pressure, memory loss, and confusion. You might want to track these symptoms so you can tell your doctor about abrupt changes.
How much weight can you gain realistically?
Healthy weight gain of 1-2 pounds per week can be expected when reasonably increasing energy intake. It takes an excess of about 2,000 to 2,500 calories per week to support the gain of a pound of lean muscle and about 3,500 calories per week to gain a pound of fat.
So here it is: If you live an entire week avoiding nutrition labels and making gym excuses, you can expect to gain about four pounds—one to two pounds of water weight (bloating) and one to two pounds of actual fat, Glassman says.
In fact, research shows that weight generally tends to increase more during the fall and winter months than during summer ( 3 ). What's more, body weight usually peaks during the winter months and is maintained during the rest of the year ( 3 ).
Increasing your calories by about 500 beyond your daily maintenance calorie needs could allow you to gain about 15 pounds (6.8 kg) over 6 months. This may vary from person to person.
The reality is, small changes in weight are completely normal and expected. Body weight can shift throughout the week and even during the day. In fact, an average adult can lose or gain two to eight pounds over the course of a few days.