Post-Holiday Scale Shock Is Mostly Water and Glycogen, Not Fat
After several days of festive meals, the number on the scale often jumps - but metabolic experts say most of that gain is temporary water retention, glycogen storage and undigested food, not actual body fat.
After Sukkot or any big family feast, many Israelis step on the scale and panic. Metabolic experts say the sudden gain is largely water retention, glycogen storage and undigested food - not actual body fat. A gradual return to normal eating beats crash diets every time.
Should people skip the post-holiday diet panic and just return to normal habits?
- Yes
- No opinion
- No
Every year after the Jewish holiday season, many Israelis step on the scale and reach for extreme measures - fasting, slashing calories, or embarking on 'cleanse' programmes. According to Israel Hayom, metabolic medicine specialists advise strongly against this reaction, arguing that the apparent weight gain following a few days of celebratory eating does not reflect a proportional increase in body fat. Higher carbohydrate and salt intake temporarily expands glycogen stores and the fluid the body holds onto, and food and liquids still moving through the digestive system add measurable weight on their own. Israel Hayom reports that endocrinologist Dr. Woo Chang-yeon, speaking ahead of the South Korean harvest festival Chuseok - which shares the same pattern of large family meals - warned against the cycle of pre-holiday restriction, holiday overeating and post-holiday fasting. Dr. Kwon Young-gon, a professor at the Center for Obesity and Metabolism at Korea University Anam Hospital in Seoul, similarly noted, as quoted by The Korea Times, that sharp post-feast weight changes often reflect undigested food and temporary fluid retention rather than lasting fat gain. The practical guidance that follows from this view is straightforward: return gradually to balanced meals, moderate movement such as walking, adequate hydration and regular sleep, rather than trying to compensate through punishment or deprivation. The question the poll puts to readers is whether that calm, steady approach is the right one - or whether a more deliberate post-holiday correction has its place.
Answering yes means you agree that post-holiday weight gain is mostly temporary and that quietly returning to normal eating, sleep and activity is the healthiest and most effective response - no crash diets or punishing workouts needed. Answering no means you believe some degree of deliberate dietary adjustment after a period of excess is reasonable or even necessary - that waiting passively for the scales to settle on their own is not the right approach for everyone. The poll is trying to surface how readers weigh expert metabolic advice against the intuitive urge to actively correct after a period of indulgence.