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One bad day won't ruin your week — the honest math

One bad day won't ruin your week — the honest math

One heavy festival day adds about 1100 extra kcal, far below the 7700 it takes to gain 1 kg of fat. Most of the next-morning scale jump is just water from salt and sweets, and the kind reset is simply going back to normal.

12 Jul 2026 · Burnie Academy
mindset motivation weight-loss-math festival-eating

If you eat too much on one day, you have ruined your whole week of effort.

mostly false

Mostly false. To actually gain 1 kg of fat your body needs about 7700 extra kcal above what it burns. One heavy day usually adds around 1000-2500 kcal on top of a normal day. That is real, but it is nowhere near enough to wipe out a week of steady eating. The scale may shout at you the next morning, but most of that shout is water, not fat.

Sources: Wishnofsky 1960 - Caloric Equivalents of Gained or Lost Weight (JAMA, DOI 10.1001/jama.1960.03020190087024)
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