Frequently Asked Questions

Q &A about Holiday weight gain

with Brad Pilon (Eat Stop Eat)

Q: "Why is it that when you take a break from clean eating for
thanksgiving or a vacation your weight can fluctuate by as much as
7-8 pounds?"

A: Now you may not be one of these people, but for a lot of people the
period of time between thanksgiving and New Years is pretty much a
non-stop eating feast.

One good weekend of overeating can result in substantial weight
gain in a very little amount of time. But here's the good news -
the weight you gain is NOT ALL FAT!

I know from personal experience that big days of eating usually
consist of an unusually high amount of CARBOHYDRATES and
SALT...especially around the holidays.

Of course, an OCE trainer would tell you that these carbs caused
you to put on POUNDS of fat, but luckily...this just isn't the case.

An increased carbohydrate intake results in water retention and a
decrease in water loss. This means that your body tends to hold
onto a lot of water after you eat a meal that is really heavy in
carbohydrates.

Combine this with a high salt intake and plenty of liquid
refreshments and you have a very high chance of increasing your
body weight substantially, but again - It's NOT ALL FAT.

Yes, most likely you did gain a little bit of fat, but most of the
weight you see on the scale comes from water.

Here is some more good news - As long as you don't continue to
overeat, this excess water weight will eventually correct itself.

The bad news is that if you continually overeat, this extra water
weight sticks with you.

People who overeat for long periods of time not only increase their
fat weight, they also increase their water weight too.

This is why some people can lose as much as 7 pounds with their
first Eat Stop Eat fast - they are losing a little bit of fat and
all of the extra water weight that their body has been retaining
due to overeating carbs and salt. (Carbs may not make you fat, but
they sure do make you watery!)

The bottom line is that water plays a big role in how you look and
how much you weigh. If you overate this past weekend and you've put
on a lot of weight, don't worry, its not all fat, its mostly water.

There is no reason to stress out or beat yourself up. Get your
eating back under control, throw in a fast and you'll be back to
your pre-thanksgiving weight in not time.

Brad Pilon
Eat Stop Eat

posted by Tanya @ 3:18 PM