The start of summer is here, and vacation plans await.
But if the only thing you want to bring home from your vacation is a souvenir that fits in your suitcase and not the “resort 15,” you may want to take one simple step while enjoying the trip: step on a scale.
What the Study Found
In the study, which was published this month in the journal Obesity, the researchers split 111 adults between the ages of 18 and 65 into two groups, with one group who was asked to weigh themselves daily.As part of this intervention, the study’s authors asked the participants to try to maintain their starting weight through the study period, which ran from Thanksgiving to just after New Year’s Day. However, the researchers did not give them specific instructions on how to do that. Participants were free to pick, whether it was through exercise, cutting back on calories, or some other technique of their choice.
The control group, neither weighed daily nor were given any instructions about their weight.
At the end of the intervention and after a 14-week follow-up period, the participants who weighed daily were able to maintain or even lose weight. The control group, on the other hand, gained weight.
Is Vacation Weight Gain Worth the Worry?
Research suggests adults often gain between 0.4 and 0.9 kilograms (or about one to two pounds) during the holiday season. People who are overweight or obese often gain even more weight during that time period.This type of weight gain can be cumulative, rarely coming off but frequently going on. Over the course of years and decades, “creeping obesity” increases a person’s risk for weight-related health conditions, like type 2 diabetes, stroke, and heart disease.
And while a vacation is typically a week or two at most, the winter holiday season stretches for several months. This means over a year there is a serious potential for the scale to sneak upward.
Seltzer is not affiliated with the study,
Seltzer notes you also need to account for some factors that are inherent with travel, things that can make the number on the scale creep higher even if you’ve not gained weight.
“Flying often causes major water retention, which can impact the scale. So, with that in mind, use the scale on vacation as a means to increase accountability, exercise damage control, and to keep your head in the game,” he said.
For other experts, the impulse to weigh daily may actually be more problematic than gaining a few extra ounces from that frozen margarita.
Is There a Happy Medium Between Weighing and Not?
A middle-ground approach may be the path that will let you enjoy your vacation and keep you from worrying about the weight gain that’s possible with a bit of holiday splurging.But the worry over putting on even a little weight can be difficult to overcome, precisely because once the weight is on, it’s hard to get off. Perhaps then, Fine says, the best way to enjoy yourself and your vacation without constantly checking the scale’s moving hand is to approach vacation more judiciously.
Fine says she encourages people to avoid the “let it all go” mindset while on vacation.
The Bottom Line
If you’re actively trying to lose weight or maintain it, you may already be in the habit of weighing more often than not. Continuing the habit while you’re away from home for a little R&R might help you keep the scale’s movement in check.But if it will zap the joy of the vacation you’ve been dreaming of, skip the scale check-in and just eat more mindfully. Splurge where it’s worth it, but don’t go overboard at every meal every day.