Holiday Weight Gain: Why It Happens + Tips To Avoid It This Holiday Season
Is holiday weight gain real? Why does it happen?
According to the stats, the average person gains between 2 and 5 pounds between Halloween and New Year’s day. But why? Are we really eating that much in excess of our needs over the holidays?
Possibly. But that still doesn’t uncover the root of the problem. Why are we overeating? Sure, there’s a lot of palatable food around during the holiday season, and many of us are also more sedentary. I mean, it’s dark at 4:00 PM! But I’d like to postulate that the overeating happens, at least partially, as a result of mindset.
I constantly hear people joke about how badly they’re about to “fall off the wagon” over the holidays, and all the weight they’ll gain as a result. Is it possible that going into the holiday season with this kind of mindset sets you up for a for a food free-for-all?
Here’s a reality check: Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years represent only four days out of the next 63. Four. Days.
That means you have fifty-nine other days in which you can make better choices. Breaking it down further: if you eat three meals per day for the next 63 days, you have about 177 meals where you can mitigate the damage from the few meals where you stuff yourself like a turkey.
Holiday weight gain is a self-fulfilling prophecy
The human mind is a powerful thing. When harnessed, it can be used to our advantage. But a single thought can cause the mind (and us) to run rampant, and allow us to do things we wouldn’t ordinarily do.
Simply believing that you will eat your heart out and gain weight may cause you to throw caution to the wind and eat your way through four holidays…and maybe every day in between.
But when you look at the reality – that the holidays are only 4 days out of the next 63 – it brings a lot of perspective. Overeating for four days won’t cause weight gain. Overeating for 63 days definitely will! When you look at it this way, you begin to realize that the holidays don’t have to wreck your health. If you simply eat normally the rest of the time, you don’t need to fear weight gain!
So the next time you find yourself worrying about all the weight you’ll gain this holiday season, STOP! Remember that the four holidays between today and January 1st don’t need to represent a free-for-all. You don’t have to eat anything and everything that’s available. Remind yourself that overeating a few times on special occasions is okay and won’t hurt you! You’ll enjoy holiday eating experiences far more without a heaping side dish of fear!
A few tips for mindful holiday eating and avoiding holiday weight gain
Be picky. Just because a food is there doesn’t mean you have to eat it. You can eat chips, pretzels, french onion dip, Oreo cookies, pizza, ice cream, and other junk foods at any time of the year! Save your appetite and your palate for only the most delicious and worthwhile holiday delicacies.
Treat your food like you would a lover. You claim to love holiday food so much…so why are you eating it so freaking fast?!? Slow down and taste your food, for goodness sake! Food should be enjoyed and treated like a lover: with utmost attention and care, and savored slowly. 😉
Don’t starve yourself. I used to try to fast before a big holiday meal, thinking I’d “save up my calories”. This always turned out to be a mistake. I’d end up eating three or four times the amount I normally would have at the holiday feast, had I simply eaten normal meals leading up to it. It’s okay to be a little hungry. After all, you want to enjoy the food! But don’t go to holiday meals, gatherings, or parties ravenously hungry. It will only set you up to overeat!
More resources on Mindful Eating
I credit mindful and intuitive eating practices with saving my life, my sanity, and my marriage. I was a lunatic around food. This isn’t everyone’s experience, but if you are struggling with your relationship with food, or have tried all the weight loss diets without success, maybe it’s time to think outside the box. Mindful and intuitive eating are backed by some very convincing scientific research (unlike diets, which have a 95% failure rate).
Need more convincing? Check out the following articles!
Mindfulness is more helpful than restricting certain foods for permanent weight loss, article published in the Washington Post.
Mindfulness reduces problematic eating behavior, study published in the journal Appetite.
Mindful eating causes a reduction in portion sizes, study published in the journal Appetite.
Mindful eating in restaurants causes women to eat less, study published in The Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior.
Ready to try mindful eating? Join me and take a deep dive into this practice to avoid holiday weight gain and actually enjoy food this holiday season! Take the Food Freedom Mindful Eating Online Course! This 100% self-guided course is available for only $29. You will be guided through 5 steps to mastering mindful eating, learn how to tell when you’re hungry and when you’re full, and achieve a more joyful relationship with food.
I hope you enjoyed this post and thank you for reading!
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Blog Author: Kelly Bailey, IIN certified holistic nutrition coach, and NPTI certified personal trainer
Learn more about the author here.