How To Avoid Holiday Weight Gain
Everybody wants to avoid the holiday weight gain.
And after working with over 1200 clients in the last 15 years, I can tell you, it’s 100% possible.
In this walkthrough, I am going to share with you a simple 3 step process on exactly how to do that.
The first and most important thing is – mindset.
Your mindset is the software, that tells the hardware (your body) – what to do.
Mindset being the king, I have one specific, most useful, most effective tip to give you and that is:
Don’t go into the holiday season with the approach of “it’s the end of the year, I will just let go, eat anything and yes I’ll gain 10 pounds, but it’s ok because I’ll start the diet in January”.
How this approach actually works out is (and this is backed up by numerous studies):
A person will gain 6-12 pounds during the holiday season…Have the New Year resolution to lose weight…
And quit that same diet in a few days.
So the extra weight gained – stays forever!
Do this for a few years and you find yourself 50 pounds heavier.
So the first thing I suggest to you, mindset-wise is to not completely neglect your health/weight, and stay mindful of it throughout the holiday season.
Because your body doesn’t care if it’s holidays, Christmas, New Year, summer or winter…
It only cares about calories.
If you’re in a surplus of calories = you will be gaining weight.
If you’re in a deficit of calories = you will be losing weight.
There are NO exceptions to that rule.
So your self-talk is better off being something like this:
There are only a few days of actual holidays, family gets together, there is a lot of food…
But the rest of the holiday season is NO different than any other time, and on those days/weeks I will be focused and disciplined.
By the way, those actual few holiday days like Christmas day, New Year, Thanksgiving…
I do suggest you relax, enjoy and indulge in some tasty, home-made food.
Which is where step 2 of our 3 step process kicks in.
And that is – Calories Are KING for weight loss, and weight gain…
Regardless of what foods you’re eating.
See, your body doesn’t care if you get your carbohydrates from rice, veggies, chocolate, pure sugar, cookies, bread…or any other source.
It only cares HOW MUCH of it you ate.
Same is true with fats.
The only thing your body cares about is, how much total fat you consumed. It does NOT care if you got your fats from French fries, avocado, nuts, eggs or meats…
And of course, it is the same for protein sources too.
Total amount of food/calories is the only thing that matters.
At least when it comes to weight loss and weight gain.
This is why the first 10-20 questions I get when I start working with a new client is:
“Hey coach, can I have this X food”?
My answer is always: "yes you can. You can have anything you want, as long as we calculate it into your total calories”.
They say: “oh great. But can I have a beer/pizza/cookie/insert X food item?”
“Yes you can have pizza and beer and wine and anything else, as long as we calculate it in”.
Calories are king for weight loss.
Of course, there is the other side of this story which is – your health.
And there, the quality of your diet aka the foods you eat – matter A LOT!
See, one can eat junk food only all day, for weeks…And if you control your calories, you will not gain weight. And can even lose weight.
But you still would not be healthy, because processed junk food has terrible nutritional value.
So for your health, composition of your diet is a big deal.
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But for weight loss specifically, it actually does not matter. You can eat pretty much anything, as long as you control the calories, you will be fine.
The 3rd and final step of our process is very practical.
It’s about how to take this information and implement it TODAY, to enjoy the holidays, and eat all the foods you want…
Without gaining weight.
So let’s focus on those few days of actual holidays, and exactly what to do.
So it’s either Christmas day, New Year day, family is coming over, there is tons of delicious foods, desserts, lots of sugar, lots of calories…
How do we manage that?
To start off, the first meal in the day – I suggest focusing on very lean protein source, and overall low calories.
This could be something like lots of egg whites (for protein) and some tomato/cucumber salad, with maybe some low fat cheese.
Or you can just have a protein shake with 50 gr of protein in it.
The second meal should follow a similar pattern.
This could be 6-8 oz of chicken breast, turkey breast or some white fish like tilapia or cod.
Add to that a large portion of grilled/cooked/baked veggies like broccoli, cauliflower…Or a large mixed greens salad.
If you do this, you will have consumed 500-700 calories total throughout the day, yet be very satiated and have no cravings whatsoever.
Optional but highly recommended is: do a mid-day workout.
This can be a full body gym or home workout, where you hit all the big muscle groups.
Or it can be a longer cardio session of 45-60+ mins (if you already do cardio regularly).
Either way, this will go a long way to allow you to later that day, eat anything you want and really enjoy all the food, without worrying if you’re going to gain weight.
So high protein, lower calorie breakfast and lunch, coupled with a full body or cardio workout..
And for the rest of that day, you can pretty much anything you want.
It doesn’t really matter what you eat or how much, you will very likely either end up at maintenance calorie level for the day…
Which just means you maintain your weight, without gaining any.
Or even if you do go wild and eat so much that you end up in a calorie surplus, that’s still going to be a very small surplus.
Aka if you gain any weight at all, it would be negligible and you can easily “fix” that by eating a bit less the next day or working out a little more the next day or two.
Either way, this is the easiest, yet most effective way to survive the holidays without gaining any weight.
I’ve successfully implemented this with hundreds of clients for 14 years now, and it works like clockwork, every time.
It will work for you too.
By the way, if you don’t currently exercise at all, you can still make this work.
What matters is that you get those steps in.
This can be a simple one hour walk.
Remember that each 1000 steps burns some 50 calories.
Doesn’t sound like much… Until you realize you can easily get 10,000-15,000 steps (500-700 calories burned) in a day by cleaning the house, shopping for food, preparing food…
Here's an example of my steps a few days ago (this is from purely being active throughout the day, no official exercise. And it's over a 1000 calories burned :)
Walking is the most neglected, yet very powerful activity that’s very healthy and burns a good amount of calories. So if daily chores won’t do, just go for an hour walk, listen to some audiobook or a podcast, and make it a win-win.
These are the three key steps that can help you enjoy the holidays and all the delicious foods without gaining weight.?
I hope you found the article useful and if you need help in creating the perfect step by step plan on losing 20-50 pounds, and getting in the best shape ever, let's talk.
Your Next Step:
What if there was ONE process that every busy professional can go through to successfully lose 20-50 pounds, get strong, healthy and have all day energy…Without starvation, cardio or giving up carbs?
In this fast-paced, 30-minute audit, we will...(this can be contextualised for your specific situation, preferences, lifestyle and goals):
1.Take a look at what are the skills, behaviors and mindsets that you need to develop to lose weight and get in top shape
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3.Develop a 3-step action plan to lose 20-50 pounds and get in the best shape you’ve ever been, in the next 90 days