Are you looking for ways to avoid holiday weight gain while still enjoying the treats of the season? Read on for 3 simple yet effective ways to make sure you stay on track with your healthy eating and weight loss goals through the end of this year.
How to Lose (or Maintain) Weight in November and December
If you are like me, the holidays are a fun time with family (Christmas with 5 kids! Awesome!), but also a challenging season. The days are exhausting with so much to do.
Workouts and healthy food plans fall by the wayside. Plus, there are Christmas parties, holiday baking, church events, and more.
How will you get through the season without gaining weight?
Here are 3 easy yet highly effective ways to avoid gaining weight during the Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s holidays.
Encouragement to End Holiday Overeating
As someone who is maintaining a 100 lb weight loss, let me give you two encouragements:
- Healthy habits get easier with practice. The holidays used to be a total landmine of weight gain for me. Even after I had lost weight, I pretty much went into a tailspin of overeating from the end of November through January. But each year has improved as I’ve learned what works for me. Try new strategies during this season and find what works well for you to build your toolkit of healthy habits.
- Something is better than nothing. Please don’t think, “Oh, what’s one more?” or “There’s no point in working out for 5 minutes.” That’s not true! Every little healthy choice counts.
3 Holiday Eating Tips to Prevent Weight Gain
Yes, the holidays are a time of food temptations, but that doesn’t mean you must gain weight. Many Americans gain 3-5 pounds during the holiday season. With these strategies, you can keep your weight the same or even lose a pound or two.
1. Sit down to eat.
Create this affirmation for yourself, “I eat sitting down.”
Sit down to eat the cookie dough (or the cookies or the candy).
I love raw cookie dough. Go ahead and laugh at me, but it’s the truth. I could quickly eat a whole batch, and the family would never see a baked cookie.
I used to eat so much cookie dough every December that I felt sick.
Now, I tell myself I can have some, but I have to sit down to eat it. I even put it on a little plate. Instead of pretending I’m not really eating it (ha!), I make it a clear and conscious choice that I’m having some, but I’m not going to binge on it.
How much raw cookie dough or other cooking bites do you consume standing at the kitchen counter while baking and pretending you aren’t really eating it? Keeping a food log (or tracking what you eat on an app like My Fitness Pal or WW) works for weight loss because it makes you aware of your choices.
Check out The Holy Mess Weight Loss Affirmations printable for helpful affirmations like this one.
2. Create a party strategy.
Before you head to a party, holiday get-together, or work event in December, come up with a game plan for handling the food and alcohol. Check out this post for the full details of creating a party strategy.
Do parties and get-togethers make you a little nervous? You aren’t the only one. Plan to find one person at the event who needs a friend. Who needs a listening ear or someone so they don’t feel so alone at this gathering? You be that person!
I’ve been attending parties and get-togethers with this mindset for several years now, and it’s been amazing. I’ve met some of the best people, I don’t feel as nervous, and most of the time, I don’t even think about the food.
3. Move 5 minutes more each day in November and December.
Add in 5 additional minutes of movement every day this month.
Set an alarm on your smartphone for 5 minutes at noon every day this week. Try crunches, yoga poses, stretching at your desk, walking stairs, or a short walk outside. Don’t worry about making this extreme or crazy—just move.
Done daily, that’s 35 minutes for the week or a whole extra workout. Not only will you burn off some excess calories, but you will do less overeating because a daily, consistent reminder in the middle of your day will improve your healthy mindset.
These easy techniques will help you stop overeating during the holiday and avoid gaining weight this year. Sit down to eat that cookie dough, focus on giving to someone else at holiday parties, and add 5 minutes of intentional movement. Then, see how much better you feel in January.
The Holy Mess 3 Day Diet Plan
Do you want a quick, easy way to shed a few pounds before the holiday season begins? Check out The Holy Mess 3 Day Weight Loss Diet.
Can 3 days really make that much difference? YES! We led a group of 130 women (most over the age of 50 years old) through this program and they lose 2-10 pounds in just 3 days, all while eating delicious foods they loved.
Get the free 3 day diet weight loss meal plan and grocery list here.
How do you avoid holiday weight gain? Share about it in the comments below.
Sandi SMITH says
Good advice for the holidays or at any time. The holidays have always been stressful for me. I always overeat. Looking forward to making changes this year.
Maryann says
I love the idea of only eating when sitting down. I just finished eating a banana while walking to computer. I probably would have enjoyed it more and been more aware of eating it if I had been sitting at the table and eating it. I’ll start working on it today!!
Shannah Hudson says
I love reading your blog!
MARIE I BUNGARD says
Truth! I found this quite helpful. Since I often eat while cooking I keep carrots or something healthy to much on near. It has really helped my dieting efforts.
Abbie L. says
Thank you so much for the helpful tips and for the awesome giveaway! It will be such a blessing to whomever wins!
heather says
This will come in handy this year thanks for sharing these helpful tips regarding holiday weight gain.
Katy says
I like the idea of setting a clock and doing just 5 mins a day of exercise. It does equal an extra workout! I can even do 10-15 mins a day to add more!
Darcey says
Such great ideas. it is definitely going to be a lot harder to not over eat this holiday season. Thanks for the suggestions!!
Viv Sluys says
I guess not over-eating this holiday season will be a little easier since we won’t be going to parties or events! I don’t sit at all while doing cookies so that tip will work great for me. I don’t even like sugar cookie dough but always find myself snitching it anyway 🙁 (gingerbread cookies though…that’s another story!)
Neisa says
I saw this on Pinterest and had to read it! lol. I like the idea for #3. I know I’ve been having a hard time with eating as I bake, but I will try and add some more movement and exercise to my day. I’ve been making two desserts to take places, one that is healthier so that I won’t feel so bad eating it. That way I’ll know that there will be something I am allowed. So glad I came across your blog!