Holidays are a challenge and an opportunity
Holidays can be a challenge for anyone. They are a disruption to our neat, routine based lives. Even if our lives normally seem crazy, the rest of the year they are dominated by routines, both good and bad. Routines help make the seemingly endless string of daily decisions a little less overwhelming; a little more manageable. Holidays, on the other hand, are anything but.
Travel, socializing, family and friends, provide an opportunity to connect while injecting more chaos into our lives. The pandemic has simply changed the players. Instead of figuring out how to fit 25 people into a small dining room, we may again be planning how to connect with family without being physically together. The specifics of the challenges have changed but the impact they have on trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle has not.
Holiday weight gain is not inevitable
Regardless of the setting, we seem to think that enjoying the holidays and keeping up a healthy lifestyle are mutually exclusive. We all “know” that holidays are murder on weight loss, or even weight maintenance. People gain between 5 to 10 lbs. over the holiday season (November/December) and permanently keep 2-3 lbs. of that. Most people accept it as inevitable. The few that manage to avoid this phenomenon “must be hermits or at least missing out on a good portion of holiday fun”.
We have made the holidays all about the food and have lost the real spirit of the holiday season. Holidays are not about the food. Food is a fortuitous benefit of gatherings. Holidays are about connecting and spending time with people we care about. If the focus of our energy moves from eating to connecting with people, we can make the positive effects of holidays last longer. Instead of feeling guilt about overindulging we can savor the happy memories. Thinking of food as the dressing, the accessory, rather than the main star can help keep the guilt and pounds away.
Healthy choices are easier with a plan
In practical terms, what does it take to do just that, enjoy the holidays, and minimize stress without derailing the “good” effort we made to live a healthy lifestyle? Holidays present a challenge because they are a break from routine. Thriving during the holidays requires that we minimize the chaos that they bring. A plan is required to counter disruptions and thrive. We all have plenty of experience with holidays so, even though things may differ year to year, we can use that to make a plan.
Start by listing the challenges and how they trip you up and make a plan for how to handle each one. Having a plan and using it is a proven method to maintaining weight loss over the holidays. Make a list of things that will be different this year and plan for them too. A 20 lb. turkey might have made sense in the past but with a smaller gathering maybe not this year. Thinking ahead may reduce tons of leftovers you are forced to eat later.
Holiday traditions are more than just food
Cookie exchanges may look different, or not happen at all. There may be fewer takers for the goodies but the family traditions of making them with your kids may be more important than ever. Make a plan for what to do with the results so they do not end up around your middle. Cookies and other confections can be frozen so you can enjoy them later. Some things can be safely shipped, so others can enjoy your efforts, even when you are apart. Prepare homemade mixes (pancakes, stuffing, cookies, cake) of your family favorites and send them to others in advance of celebrations. You can all enjoy the same goodies and holidays together even if it’s over a video chat. The options are nearly limitless with an advance plan.
Of course, even if the gatherings are smaller, we may still be faced with many food choices. Correct me if I am wrong but nothing saps the joy out of a holiday celebration faster than “I can’t” when presented with delicious food choices. We think that in order to keep up our “good” diet work we need to say no to things on the “do not eat list”. Unfortunately, that saps the joy out of the occasion.
Keep the joy, lose the guilt
The only antidote is a plan that allows you to enjoy what you want in a responsible, not hog-wild fashion. So how do you do that? Here are a couple of ideas
- Create pacts and rules for yourself such as
- I use the salad plate (smaller dinner plate) for my main meal. Plenty of room to pack it full and sample all the delicious food.
- I only eat food from a plate, avoid napkins or “grab and go”
- I sit to eat. (Being aware of what you are eating and that you are enjoying it is half the battle)
- I always survey the scene before I decide what to eat. There may be more delectable things around the corner, I want to make sure I have room for the good stuff.
- Be as picky as you deserve to be (this applies every day not just to holidays)
- If you are hosting make sure your menu and your efforts go towards making and eating things you love. It may be time to retire things you make out of habit not because you really enjoy them.
- The same goes for your choices when you are a guest. Offer to bring a dish so you can be sure to have something you can really enjoy. Skip the stuff you can live without. No excuses required.
- Feel free to try a bite of everything that looks good to you but only take a second bite, or another helping of the things that you truly enjoyed.
- Skip anything that looks, smells or tastes so-so. You deserve the best
- Alternate alcohol or caloric drinks with water. It will help keep dehydration and fatigue at bay plus reduce the number of calories you drink and maybe eat.
- If you are going to indulge splurge on the best beverage you can afford and enjoy a glass instead of drinking half the bottle of a mediocre choice.
Create a plan to make the most of the holiday season
As an engineer, author and nutritionist I can tell you that a good plan is worth its weight in gold. Winging it rarely works for anything, be it a project or your health. But not all plans will work for all people. There is no one strategy that will work for everyone but you can make a plan that will work for you. The details will vary in any plan but the 4 essentials are
- Preparation is key
- Focus on what you can control
- Take ownership
- Focus on the joy (not the guilt)
You cannot control everything and you cannot plan for every detail (something the current pandemic has made abundantly clear). You can however figure out the biggest pitfalls and dangers and make a plan to address them, then let the little stuff go. If things go off the rails, go back to the plan or make adjustment but do not give up. We cannot be perfect all the time and we all deserve to enjoy the holiday season without feeling left out, deprived or guilty because we “slipped up”. One night of indulgence does not mean an end to a year worth of effort and healthy living. Drop the guilt and go back to your good habits, today is a new day.
Enjoy the Holidays and Look for the Joy
If you have questions about lifestyle change, nutrition and habits feel free to contact me via email at [email protected]. Thriving during the holidays and preventing weight gain does not mean ignoring its importance in our celebrations. My “How to eat Mindfully and Mindlessly lose weight” program and book explore psychology of eating, mindful eating and how our relationship with food drives our eating choices. They are both packed with details about this topic and practical tips you can use right away to help in your everyday and holiday life.
“How to eat Mindfully and Mindlessly lose weight” is available as an eBook and paperback from most major book retailers.
