Blog | Nutrition & Recovery 5 Steps to Avoid the Holiday Weight Trap

Author / Ben Skutnik

6 - 8 minutes read

A battle-tested guide to enjoying holiday meals, staying on track with your nutrition goals, and surviving family dinners.

It’s December. Your calendar is packed with holiday parties, family dinners, and “just one drink” after work that turns into appetizers and dinner you didn’t plan for. In the nutrition realm this brings about what I call The Holiday Paradox. This is supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year, but for someone with nutrition goals it feels more like navigating a delicious minefield. It’s not unheard of for people to gain upwards of 10 lbs during the holiday season (1). The only way to survive the minefield is to have a battle-tested framework to enjoy the holidays, maintain relationships, and stay on track with your goals.

It’s not just the cookies, it’s the psychology

During the holidays, we’ll see a combination of some specific traps. First, you’ll have to balance Aunt Karen’s feelings with your macros. As a corn-fed midwesterner, food has equaled love all my life and you’ll need to be prepared for letting some people down. The second is the “it’s only once a year” lie. Sure, a single meal might happen once a year, but if you’re having dinner at both sides of your family, plus the work party, plus the gathering of friends…”once a year” can easily turn into six or seven meals. You also will find yourself losing control of the environment because, many times, you’re at someone else’s table. And at these tables you might have cultural or family traditions that are wrapped up in specific foods or drinks.

You might be thinking “yeah, but I don’t want to offend Aunt Karen!” She’ll get over it. “But everyone else is eating it!” Grow up Peter Pan. “It’s fine, I’ll get back on track after January 1st.” Overeating by a thousand calories a day for an entire week will result in two pounds of fat gain. Don’t succumb to these common holiday pitfalls when the solution is literally right in front of you.

Pre-game the Party

This holiday season, live by the cardinal rule: Don’t show up hungry. An hour or two before you go over the hills and through the woods, put down a protein-rich snack (25-30 grams will do) and slam a tall glass of water. This little snack will keep you satiated during appetizers, keep your blood sugar balanced to reduce cravings, and it’s a meal that you can control the quality of to help inch your way closer to your goals. With your tummy full, the next step is to set up your environment for success.

Environmental Control

If you want to be in control of the food, bring a side dish that fits your goals. When all else fails, a big ass salad is easy to throw together at the last minute. And once you get there, scope out the lay of the land. Find the seat furthest away from the food so you can physically put distance between your decisions. Arm yourself with a fizzy drink to avoid those pours of bourbon too early. It’s not that you need to avoid drinking, but in addition to the calories in those drinks the alcohol will lower your inhibitions and make it harder to stay on plan. Lastly, find your battle buddies. Hang out with friends and relatives who won’t be food pushers. With your environment in control, time to go to battle.

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The Holiday Plate

At the end of the day, this is just a meal so your plate should look like any other. Protein, vegetables, and carbs. Start with the veggies and load up about half your plate with these. The fiber from these foods will help you feel full and the micronutrients you’re getting will help keep everything under the hood operating well the next day. Next, protein. Why not first? Because you put down your protein snack before showing up so it’s not a dire need. No need to worry about lean and non-lean. Just make sure you fill up at least a quarter of your plate with some sort of dead animal. Lastly, the carbs. Rolls, mashed potatoes, or whatever else. We’re sectioning this the smallest portion because we know there is dessert looming. With dessert in mind, hit up your favorite and be satisfied with that. “But I love them all!” You’re not a five year old dreaming of Candy Cane Mountain. You’re an adult, so eat like one.

Tactical Tastings

Now that you’ve got your food, it’s time to enjoy! Remember, you’re not here just to eat the feast. You’re here to enjoy company, catch up with loved ones, and have a merry time. It’s going to be seriously difficult to carry on conversation with a mouthful of cranberry sauce, so slow down. Set your silverware down between bites and strike up the conversation. Eating slowly will allow for the fullness signals to go from stomach to brain easier. And when Aunt Karen comes around pushing seconds, shower her with praise of how delicious and filling it was so you can avoid the pressure without making her feel like you don’t love her.

Drink, Drank, Drunk

We touched on it briefly, but let’s be explicit about a fail-safe strategy of imbibing during the holidays. The easiest way to avoid the hidden calories of drinks is to limit yourself to a set number. To fill the gaps, just go one-for-one with water, fizzy drinks, or diet sodas instead. But when you do decide to bust out the bitters and start pouring old fashioneds, be aware of the mixers. Opt for drinks like a vodka-soda with lime or cut out the simple syrup if possible. If you’re a wino, try sticking to the dry wines. On New Year’s Eve, one glass of champagne is all you need to ring it in. Whatever you do, be honest with yourself. If you are worried that won’t work, make it known that you’re limiting yourself. If you don’t want to feel weird, just fall back on the fact that hangovers are absolutely miserable and you have “things to do” tomorrow (a.k.a. bang weights in the gym).

The Christmas Day Reality Check

Here’s the deal, if you want to enjoy your holidays…enjoy them. If you want to let loose and not track for the day, you have the autonomy to choose so. But you have to remember it’s a choice. And all choices have outcomes. If you are not happy with what the outcome will be, control it in the moment. Over eating for a single meal isn’t going to make any appreciable difference to your body composition. But, overeating for a single meal, then doom spiraling thinking you’ve lost it all so you go off the rails for the next week can. Go to sleep with a belly full of love and merriment on December 25th, but wake up December 26th and put all those extra calories to use. Nothing says Merry Christmas like a PR. Get back on track the next day because you’ve worked too hard not to. And if you want a little help getting back on track, check out our training programs.

Sources: Díaz-Zavala, R. G., Castro-Cantú, M. F., Valencia, M. E., Álvarez-Hernández, G., Haby, M. M., & Esparza-Romero, J. (2017). Effect of the holiday season on weight gain: a narrative review. Journal of obesity, 2017(1), 2085136.

Ben Skutnik

Ben, a former All-American swimmer at the Division III level, discovered a passion for training and performance that led him to earn an M.S. in Exercise Physiology from Kansas State and pursue a Ph.D. in Human Performance at Indiana University. Along the way, he coached swimmers to National and Olympic Trials and served as a strength coach for post-grad Olympians. Now a clinical faculty member at the University of Louisville, Ben combines teaching, sports science, and shaping the next generation of strength and conditioning coaches.