The Truth About Holiday Weight Gain (It’s Not What You Think)

One of the great joys of this time of year is the holiday food.

Celebrations have food traditions built around them, and Thanksgiving through New Year's is one long food fest.

Food is one more holiday stressor for a lot of people.

Not the shopping. Not the travel. Not the family dynamics.

It's holiday cookies, cocktails, the “I only make this once a year, you HAVE to try it” foods.

Could one big meal—or a couple of days of big meals—undo months of healthy habits?

Let’s look at the science

​Researchers have studied what happens when people massively overeat in one sitting.

In one study, healthy men ate bread, jam, and fruit juice, amounting to:

• 480 grams of carbs (1,900 calories worth)

• 8 grams of fat

• A small amount of protein

The scientists tracked what happened for 10 hours and found:

• Most of the carbs were converted to glycogen, your muscles' stored fuel

• The rest was burned as energy.

• A small amount of carbs was converted to 2 grams of fat.

During the 10-hour follow-up, the subjects BURNED 17 grams of fat.

That’s 7 grams more fat than the total of what was in the meal (8 grams) and the fat they manufactured (2 grams).

In other words,no fat gain, despite a giant meal.

What If You Eat A Lot One Day or For Several Days?

Multiple overfeeding studies found a “fat-gain ceiling.” Or maybe your body fights for its set point.

Whether subjects ate 2,000 calories or 5,000 calories beyond maintenance, it resulted in a fat gain of only 0.2 pounds.

When fed:

• 40% extra calories for 8 weeks, they gained ~0.2 lbs of fat per day

• 50% extra calories for 2 weeks, they gained the same thing

• 78% extra calories in a single day, weight went up ~1.7 lbs, but that wasn’t fat because...

Weight gain isn’t necessarilyfat gain.

When you overindulge, the scale jumps.

That increase is predominantly temporary weight gain,not body fat, particularly if the meal/s are a rare occurrence or limited to a short period.

You could gain a pound of fat if you eat an extra 500-1000 calories a dayfor a week, but not if you eat those extra calories (or more) in a single meal.

There’s a limit to how much food your body can turn into fat in one sitting.

The weight gain comes from...

Glycogen and water Your muscles store carbs as glycogen. Every gram of glycogen pulls 3 grams of water with it. Active people store even more.

Sodium Celebratory meals are often salty. Your body retains fluid to balance it out.

Food volume A big meal isheavierinside your body until it moves along. It can be a couple extra pounds of… well… cargo.

All together, it’s EASY to see a jump on the scale--none of which is body fat.

Give it 2–3 days and it flushes out....literally....

What does cause weight gain?

It's not the pie.

It’s the pattern.

A big holiday meal won’t hurt you.

A month of “oh well, I’ll start in January....” might.

The average adult gains about 1 pound of fat over the holiday season.

The problem is, most people never lose it. They add to it .....year after year.

Your Holiday Game Plan

• Enjoy your favorite foods.

• Don’t turn a single feast into a six-week free-for-all.

• Return to your normal habits (protein, lifting, steps) the next day.

Your long-term health depends on your long-term habits--not one night of wassail and merry-making!