Dieting During the Holidays: Should you?

 

From my experiences, it is most nearly impossible to avoid gaining some measure of weight during the fall and winter holiday season. For a very long time, it has generally been an accepted social norm for people to allow a certain level of satisfaction from indulging and treating oneself. It is also expected to encourage others to do the same as well to promote a special sense of togetherness. For a lot of us, yummy food is a great unifier during these get togethers. Per honorhealth.com, “It’s commonly accepted that people expect to gain an average of five or more pounds between Halloween and New Year’s Day.” It is no coincidence that there is a great temptation to slow down and fore go our exercise regime at around this time of the year too. Whether it is because the weather is colder or we just don’t feel like it, there is something about the winter holiday that makes you want to find balance with our eating habits or workout to stay strong and fit. So, this all begs the big question, should we even bother try around this time of the year to diet and exercise? Well, if you ask me, it is not exactly trying to diet in the traditional mindset that a person might try. But how about shift of the mindset to help manage and adjust your eating and exercise habits so that you aren’t depraved and feel left out? Instead, we could all strive for a certain level of awareness, acceptance, and healthy compromise. There are strategies you can consider trying to minimize the undesired effects of weight gain at around this time of the year.

Primary Strategies and Supporting Strategies

First thing is first, do you have your primary strategies or way of managing your daily eating habits in place that generally has been working for you during non-holiday times of the year? If not, then begin the process of researching better ways of managing your caloric intake that will be the basis that you ultimately rely and build upon. Then for the holidays, special occasions, events, etc. You’ll either modify existing strategies or adding additional supporting strategies to help you move past this trying time of the year. My primary strategy include calorie counting, tracking my macronutrients, and tracking my fitness levels so that I can make wiser choices more often.

Primary Strategies

Meal Tracking and Calorie Tracking App: If you are not already in the habit, consider keeping track of your eating habits by using a meal tracking and calorie tracking app during the holidays. For me, it was the game changer that helped me to not only stop yo-yo dieting and lose close to 60 pounds off my frame, but it also gave me valuable insight into what I was eating, when I was eating, and the quality of food I was consuming. Currently, I am using a free calorie tracking app called MyFitnessPal that has been very useful in helping me track my meals and the quality of the meals I was eating.

Tracking Macros: As you track your meals inside the meal/calorie tracker, as previously mentioned, one of the valuable insights you gain is seeing the quality of food you are consuming. Sometimes it is not enough to acknowledge that you need more of a certain food grouping in your daily diet. How many times have we acknowledged that we need to consume more fruits or vegetables but with little long-term success? This is where studying and tracking our macros come into place and figuring out what percentage of our major nutrients (protein, carbs, and fats) works best for our daily diet and calorie intake. I wrote an article about this topic that you can read here.

Fitness App/SMART watch: Understanding our daily movement patterns and exercise habits as it relates to our eating habits are also important parts of weight loss. Eventually, it becomes more meaningful during the maintenance phase. Although it is 80% diet and 20% fitness, if leveraged correctly, the 20% can make your weight loss goals more effective and efficient overtime in addition to bolstering one’s strength and energy levels. From personal experience with back problems and fatigue, I ended up with a stronger and fitter body than I though was even possible. The fitness app and SMART watch I use is the Fitbit app and watch.

Supporting Strategies

If one stays consistent with the primary strategies, then the following strategies will help with managing the undesired effects of the holidays in an effective manner. A lot of these strategies involves get-togethers with others where you will find a lot of thoughtful give and take involved to find balance and still have a great time.

Party Invites

FYI, I am more of a homebody and don’t tend to go out much. However, I do find these strategies in certain situations to be helpful. Please use your best judgement and try these suggestions at your discretion.

Prepare a Meal/Platter to Bring: See if the host would like their guest to bring a dish or meal to share with others like a potluck. If so, then make a main dish or dessert that tastes yummy but is less the calories than the original version. Only you must know that there is a difference.

Manage your Drinks: Drinks that contain a significant amount of sugar and/or alcohol can be high in calories. So high that it can equal one or two whole meals. I can’t say don’t indulge at all but be aware and plan accordingly.

Eating Strategies: All depending on the situation, some people consider not eating before an event so that the calories they manage can be put towards the event. Others feel you shouldn’t do that and should eat before so you can make wiser choices at the party. I have tried both strategies with great success and mixed results. They have both worked at times for different situations and for different reasons. As an adult, it is up to you. When I remember, I do like bringing with me a protein snack (like a protein bar) just in case I need it for one reason or the other.

Host Your Own Party

So, you host your own party and make your own food! I just hope you like cooking and baking as much as I do. Furthermore, since you made the food, people tend to praise the host more for his/her hard work than to wonder if you ate or how much you ate. The only thing is having a pl for the leftovers. If you host the party, think ahead! Get containers and package the leftovers to give to your guests to take home with them.

Leftovers

Whether you host the party or are an invited guest, leftovers are inevitable to deal with. Your strategy should involve what you’ll keep, pass up, and/or give away. When it comes to keeping, portion control can come in handy to space the calories out along with integrating into your regular meals. However, if here is weight gain happening at an alarming rate that leaves you still feeling uneasy or the temptation to overeat is too great, consider freezing these meals to spread out when you indulge in these foods.

Cooking and Meal Prepping

Do not underestimate the power of making your own meals during this incredibility busy time! I had the best luck with making meals on the weekend (when it was the most convenient for me) and then dividing them up into storage food containers for the work week. It saved me time during the week, and I didn’t have to think the night before about what I was going to cook for the next day or when to schedule the time to cook. When it got stressful and I couldn’t meal prep on the weeks, I would purchase meals from Wendy’s, Subways, Starbucks, etc. that I had researched and knew would fall with my calorie range and macro percentage. I acknowledge that sometimes you just can’t meal prep all the time but taking advantage of convenient resources is okay too.

Wellness and Fitness

Since the holidays can also be a time of stress, make sure that you make time for you to unwind and to manage your thoughts. Mentally be kind and patient with yourself as you are with those around you. If you overindulge one day, and even the next day, try speaking with a friend, a family member or someone in your weight loss community. You will see you aren’t alone, and it is equally as tough on others as it is on you. Find strength in support. Also, if you are finding it difficult to just get up, exercise and move, try encouraging your friends and family towards fun activities that have a physical element to it. Visit parks, take long walks, bicycle around town, or a fun game in the backyard can help in meeting your movement quota. If your family members aren’t into that then look up local walking groups in your area for support. If none are available, then perhaps start your own. Above all enjoy this time, look forward to a great future and know that it is all up to you!

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Blog Article Sources:

https://www.honorhealth.com/healthy-living/tips-enjoy-holidays-during-your-weight-loss-journey#:~:text=Health%20and%20wellness,Halloween%20and%20New%20Year's%20Day

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/tips-to-avoid-holiday-weight-gain

https://www.trifectanutrition.com/blog/10-tips-for-sticking-to-your-diet-during-the-holidays

http://www.catalystttfitness.com/2022/03/nutrition-101-what-helped-me-change-my.html

 

 

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