Do you gain or lose weight on skiing holidays?

[Skiornottoski]

On a mission to lose last half a stone or a 2 stone weight loss.

Going skiing tomorrow. First time!

Do you tend to gain or lose? I’m wondering if all the intense activity offsets the extra food and treats. Although perhaps “hoping” would be a better word!

It’s with family rather than group if makes a difference

it depends on what you eat

If you've never skied before, you will be spending a lot of time standing around and moving very slowly so I don't think you're going to lose any weight

Depends if you’re going to potter on the slopes and eat veggie soup, or if you’re going to potter on the slopes and drink brandy hot chocolate, eat cheeseburgers and pudding, or if you are going to put seven hours in on the slopes and mainline champagne….. or any of the other combinations of activity and intake. No one can answer this for you!

Lose! The weight falls off me and I get Olympian muscles despite eating everything not nailed down.

If you’re a very competent skier
Do you lose weight then?

Gain unless I make a concerted effort not to. There’s too much good food and drink on offer! I have to do a huge amount of exercise to offset a bad diet.

In my early 20s - yes. We took sandwiches for lunch to save money (rather than eating at restaurants on the slopes) and skied all day without a break.

These days - no. We eat and drink too much and have breaks from skiing to drink hot chocolate!

I’m a competent skiied and neither gain or lose.
I eat like a pig (raclette pizza was a highlight of a trip to France)
However as a beginner skier you will likely hardly do any actual skiing on your first few days if not while week so don’t count on being super active.
That said you have 51 weeks of t here year to be on a diet so don’t deprive yourself of nice food while there! Prices will prove limiting enough anyway

A competent skier burns an extra 300-400 calories per hour compared to BMR - note this is only on the actual skiing time not the waiting /chairlift/gondola time. If your at the slopes for opening time and ski solidly all day (bar a moderate lunch) and leave when the gondola closes then you can absolutely be calorie negative.
If you have a leisurely large breakfast then amble to the gondola mid morning do a few runs at a leisurely pace then take a long lunch before a leisurely afternoon few runs to get back in the bar by 4 you can easily pile the weight on. Some of our group gained 1/2 stone in a weeks holiday others stayed stable and one lost a few lb. It really is a case of calories in vs energy burnt.

Depends on the Apres:skiing ratio.
And on your usual routine... if you usually walk 10 miles a day, go to the gym 3 times a week and eat salads, the extra exertion isn't that much, maybe less. If you spend all day driving to the office, sitting down all day then watching TV in the evening, its a lit more exercise.

I get fitter but stay the same weight wise. I eat loads but full day workouts balance it out.

It balances out. Lots of exercise = lose weight; lots of exercise = gain muscle. Final result = maybe same weight but more toned.

Then with aprez ski (wine, fondue) = gain.

Depending on how long you go, probably gain.

I dont change much. The massive increase in activity is just about offset by the massive increase in calories!

I find it also depends where you go. Austria I wasn’t mad on the food choices so I lost weight.

France OTOH I am partial to croissants at breakfast and the cheese trolley at dinner (plus raclette, fondue, tartiflette…)

I don’t think being a beginner automatically means you won’t be very active either. I went to Austria as a beginner in my mid 20’s and had been moved up to an intermediate group by the third day. If you pick it up quickly there’s no reason you’d be spending the week standing around.

Yes, if you are a competent skier you can stuff your face and not put on weight. That's one of the brilliant things about skiing

How can you be a competent skier if you’ve never been skiing?

I always stay about the same.

Yep resorts do change things. Italy i often have pancakes for breakfast, a pizza a day for lunch and a hot chocolate you can stand a spoon up in twice a day with cream and then 3/4 course meals for dinner!
Bulgaria I didn’t love the food so used to have a big breakfast at the hotel and snack over the day
France was hit and miss as I don’t eat meat so some places are like a king others was a side salad and chips!

I always put on ! Eating 3 big meals a day and lots of booze - happy days

I'm a competent skier and lose weight despite eating plenty of chocolate, cheese, bread etc. We have a family flat so go self catering. This Feb was first time taking our children, found the 5-10 min walk carrying my and their skis at beginning and end of the day an intense workout in itself.

I usually stay the same weight but don't go mad at lunch. I tend to have soup rather than spag bol or chips as some skiers seem to do. The same applies to breakfast - I try not to go mad with the crusty bread/croissants. If staying in a chalet it means I can indulge in a piece of cake for afternoon tea, as well as wine with dinner.

You will need to eat more (as well as want to!) because you're burning a lot of energy. I would suggest doing a class while you're there in order to not be taking too many breaks, and use the pool and sauna in your down time. Don't worry too much about the diet, it can wait a week. Have fun!!

Gain! Raclette, hot chocolate etc. it's fabulous

I always lose weight when skiing. But then I’m on the first lift in the morning, stop skiing only for lunch and at the end of the day, have a nice dinner then an early night ready for the next day’s adventures!
Enjoy, OP - I’m jealous!

Gain ... way too much fondue, frites and vin chaud!!