How To Beat The Holiday Weight Gain
Kate Irwin • December 4, 2019
You had a fabulous time creating memories with family and loved ones but now the holiday season is over, decorations are away, and the few pounds you gained during the holidays linger.
Does this scenario sound familiar?
I truly believe that memories are more important than sticking to your diet 100% over the holidays. But throwing in the towel completely isn’t the best strategy either. No matter which holiday we are talking about, be it Christmas, a birthday, or your yearly vacation, the strategies to beat weight gain are very similar.
The way to handle your nutrition varies based on your holiday schedule but no matter what you have planned, the two things that make the biggest difference are making sure you continue to prioritize movement (exercise and getting out for walks) and stay hydrated by consuming two to three litres of water per day.
TOP THREE SCENARIOS
The Dinner Party/Dinner Out:
The good news is eating a meal out is the easiest scenario to control over the holidays. Your goal is to focus on your nutrition for breakfast and lunch. For those two meals, you want to increase your protein and vegetable intake and decrease your carbohydrate intake. By focusing on increased protein and veggies during the day you allow yourself more flexibility at the main meal. You then have two choices, you can relax at the dinner and eat whatever you like at dinner or you can follow the following plating technique: ½ a plate of veggies, ¼ plate of protein and ¼ plate of carbohydrates, then if you go back for seconds avoid the carbohydrates and fill up on protein and veggies.
The Open House:
For an open house, your nutrition during the day is going to be similar to the dinner party scenario where you focus on your protein and vegetable intake during the day with decreased carbohydrates. At an open house, the goal is to plate everything you eat. When you walk around and nibble throughout the evening you increase your chances of overeating. On the other hand, if you plate your food and can see how much you are eating you are less likely to overeat by as much.
The Weekend Away:
This is the most challenging of the three scenarios. Whenever travel is involved and you aren’t in your own kitchen it decreases your control over your nutrition. In this case you want to focus on the things that you can control. Pack snacks that are high in protein like protein shakes, protein bars, and beef jerky. Nuts, seeds and other dried fruit are also good add-ons to bring along. By packing your own snacks you can help boost your protein during the day and prevent snacking on bread and sweets. The next step is to eat veggies whenever they are offered to ensure you fill up on the less calorie-dense foods. Again the goal is to enjoy yourself and not blow through your daily calories by noon. Focus on small portions and staying hydrated to help!
Helpful Hint:
Mix onion soup mix or ranch seasoning into Greek yogurt in the morning. In the afternoon while you get ready to head out to an event eat raw veggies dipped in the Greek yogurt. This not only will increase your protein and vegetable intake for the day but will also prevent you from going to an event overly hungry and overeating while out!
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Do Hard Things Now, So Life Becomes Easier Later Modern humans default to the easy way but it's not our fault... Throughout human history, we were wired to survive constant hardship - scarcity of food, threats from predators, harsh environments and manual labor for everything. Our DNA evolved for survival in these conditions, not for modern living. Imagine an early human stumbling across a fruit tree. It made sense to gorge - there was no telling when the next meal would come. The human who gorged had a higher chance of survival than the human who only ate a few pieces of fruit. Practicing self-control in an environment of scarcity would have been a death sentence. Likewise, if given a chance to rest instead of walking miles or hunting, rest was the obvious choice. The problem? Our genes haven’t caught up with modern life. Today, food is everywhere. We don’t have to fight to meet our basic needs. Technology does the heavy lifting, cars replace walking, entertainment is on-demand and calorie-dense foods are always within reach. Left unchecked, our instincts will always lean toward easy options like overeating unhealthy foods (that are so easily accessible) or driving to the store instead of walking. In other words, we’re still hardwired to take the path of least resistance. But here’s the catch: Choosing easy now often means a harder life later and choosing hard now often means an easier life later. Most modern humans are overweight, stressed, tired and dealing with chronic health problems because we’re following outdated survival programming that no longer serves us. It’s time to become aware of these defaults. To override them. To consciously choose the hard thing - because doing hard things is what actually makes life easier in the long run. Hard things like: Going to bed on time instead of watching another episode Preparing a healthy meal instead of grabbing fast food Moving your body instead of sitting all day Walking or biking to the store instead of driving Managing stress with deep breaths and fresh air instead of pouring a drink Looking at your habits instead of masking symptoms with medication It might feel uncomfortable because it goes against everything your biological programming is urging you to do. But that’s exactly why it matters. Don’t think of it as punishment or sacrifice. Think of it as an investment. Every time you take the stairs instead of the elevator, cook instead of order out, or put your phone down to truly rest, you’re building a life that’s easier, richer, and more fulfilling down the road. And remember: Do easy things, and you’ll have a hard life. Do hard things, and you’ll have an easy life. Most of the above information is probably not new to you. That’s because we live in the information age with the internet and now AI - we already know what it is we need to do. The problem however is implementation. This is where having a customized plan and accountability comes in. If you know the hard things you need to do more of but struggle with breaking past your ‘default mode’ then contact us for a complimentary consultation HERE .
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