Anyone else's Christmas pounds not leaving as quickly as they came?

[molifly]

I know I overindulged at Christmas, managed to gain 3.5lb and I cannot shift them.

I've done 8 gym classes for the last 3 weeks and I haven't lost a single pound. I was hoping they'd pile off as quickly as they piled on but not a thing. I'm 9 stone 10 and I was 9 stone 6 with a coal of 8 stone 13. It now feels really, really far away!

Just coming on to rant about how unfair it feels that calories actually do count at Christmas.

Sadly exercise alone won’t shift it. Are you in a calorie deficit?

I’m in the same situation. I’m sure you already know this but exercise/movement only makes a very marginal difference over the short term - over a year it means you burn loads of extra calories as you build muscle and that means you burn more calories at rest, but you won’t notice any of that in a few weeks.

it’s all about food - what diet changes have you made (apart from no longer being in Christmas splurge mode ovbs)

I know I need to be stricter with calories, it just feels frustrating that we are sold this dream that exercise will fix everything and it's been 3 weeks and I'm not skinny yet!

Exercise key for good health, but is only a supporting actor in weight loss, not the main player. It is always calorie deficit for fat loss.

It is common to over estimate the calories a workout burns and those calories are quickly offset by a small snack or slightly bigger meal.

If you are exercising more after Christmas if might also be your muscles are inflamed and holding more water while they repair masking fat loss.

This is me!

Gained 4lbs over the festive period. Jumped from 9 stone 6lbs to 9 stone 10lbs. Ideal weight is 9 stone 5lbs though I always seem to get stuck at 9 stone 6 so am just aiming to get back to that.

I have increased my exercise and am better with eating though still got through some leftover Christmas chocs over the last week or so! They've all gone now so I'm taking things a bit more seriously now.