We’ve all experienced sudden weight gain the day after we ate “off plan.”
People gain 3–5 pounds, which makes them panic. They think they’ve undone the last month of their diet efforts.
So they make their diets even stricter, making them harder to sustain. And, of course, that can spiral.
Sadly, people start to fear the holidays. This is totally unnecessary.
Check out this client’s data from the two months before Thanksgiving:
You can see his weight fluctuates by ~2–3 pounds over the average week when he does his daily weigh-ins, right?
What do you think happened when we took a two-week diet break?
(We removed the calorie and macro target; he could eat freely but was advised to be mindful of portions and not binge eat.)
🫣 Take a look:
That’s right, by the end of the first week, you can see that he had gained 5 pounds. But notice that less than a week later, his weight was back to where it was before!
After the client kindly said I could share this data with you, he replied:
I was worried that my weight loss was too much this past week, but the weight spiked back to 151 this morning.
I know that fluctuations are random and nothing to worry about, but it makes me glad that I wasn’t in some weird free fall. I’m feeling good about this home stretch after the diet break!
My response:
Yes, the weight fluctuations catch people out. Half of my job is drilling into people that sudden weight changes can’t be fat or muscle mass!
If we can remain unfazed, trust in the process, stay consistent, and stay patient — we win the game.
Those who don’t are doomed to ride an emotional rollercoaster, and it’s never long before they’re thrown from the tracks.
So, please, enjoy the holidays and don’t worry about the rise in your weight.
The vast majority won’t be fat, and it’ll whoosh off typically within a week after resuming your diet.
Wishing you and your loved ones a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year. 🎄🎅🏻✨
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