Last Sunday, when I stood on the scale, I was shocked to discover that I had gained four pounds during the Thanksgiving holiday. Gaining a little weight during the holiday was expected because I had indulged myself in delicious foods and laziness, but I didn’t expect to gain so much weight. How could that happen?

It is true that not all weight I had put on is fat. A large part of them must be water. Nevertheless, studies have shown that when regaining weight, the body is more likely to deposit fat than lean mass, especially during the fast weight regain. It is possibly because fat can be stored in adipose cells actively and quickly, while the enlargement of muscle mass is a consequence of the increased weight. This is very bad.

Weight rebound is the nightmare of weight loss. When people just start enjoying the success of their weight loss, the weight creeps in, ounce by ounce, until people realize that they practically return where they were before weight loss. It is a disheartening feeling.

The problem, as I have experienced in this Thanksgiving holiday, is that people tend to stop exercising and return to the usual diet after they have achieved the weight loss goals. Many people don’t realize that after weight loss, the new energy balance point is much lower than before. If they adopt the old way of life, the weight is bound to come back, faster than they think.

There is no u-turn in the weight control road. Weight maintenance means you have to maintain the new life style—low calorie diet and regular exercise. Life is tough, get used to it.

Gaining four pounds in four days is no fun at all. Losing four pounds of weight is hard. I am anxious to see them gone, really.