How to Stay On Track with Weight Loss over the Holidays (10 Tips!)

Sharing my top tips on how to stay on track with weight loss over the holidays and special occasions while still enjoying them (food and drinks included!)

How to (Not) Stay on Track Over the Holidays (the old me)

Who else has been here – before a holiday, party, night out etc you have a pep talk with yourself – you won’t eat too much, you will stay away from the desserts, etc. etc. …but then in the moment you rely on willpower…and it doesn’t work.

Or, maybe you just don’t even bother trying in November – January anymore because you’ve never succeeded in the past so you figure you’ll just get back on track in the New Year. I mean there’s dips, and cookies, and pie…how does anyone do it?

Or my favorite – “we’ll see what happens” I think we all know what typically happens when that’s our plan 🙂

Either way with the above approaches we usually leave feeling the same – bloated, disgusted and mad at ourselves. We just want to go to sleep and start over the next day.

This was me for most of my life – I always joke I used to check my healthy habits with my bags when I would travel home for Christmas. But after awhile I realized this was taking away from some of my favorite Holiday experiences more than it was adding to it – so I decided to make a change.

Then I realized to stay on track with weight loss over the Holidays I needed to get clear on my plan, focus on the purpose (why I cared), commit to and honor to it – and then pay ATTENTION to what I was thinking and doing along the way. Now I practice these tips every Holiday, Christmas, when I’m traveling, on vacation, etc. – and feel so much better, before, during and after.

Try them out and let me know what you think!

How to Stay On Track over the Holidays (10 Top Tips)

How to Stay on Track With Weight Loss Over the Holidays Tip 1 – Have a plan to Stay on track with

We can’t follow a plan if we don’t have one!

This can be any plan YOU choose. Let’s call this your Holiday plan – you can use my goal setting guide for this) I encourage reviewing the tips below, defining the timeframe you want to create your “Holiday Plan” for, and write it down! Decide what you want to do, why, commit and decide.

If you’re anything like me – you may be thinking – I don’t have the time or energy to make a plan, or I don’t want one. But we also don’t want to feel bloated and gross after the Holidays…sooo…which one do you not want more? 🙂 Creating one and learning to follow it actually SAVES us so much time and energy in the long run if we are willing to put in the initial work.

Steps to Create YOUR holiday plan

1. Think back to what you want and why you want it and remember your decision and commitment. Example: to feel good over the holidays, not gain weight, clothes fit the same, feel less bloated, feel more in control, etc.
2. Identify the timeframe you are creating a plan for.  A specific day, week, month, event, all of the above? Get specific. Example: December 1st – 30th, modified plan December 20th – 25th (traveling for Christmas). 
3. Keep in mind the end goal – maintaining and modifying these habits to create a log term healthy lifestyle so you can feel your best every day!
4. Identify what you will incorporate based on your goal (Habits, activities, behaviors)

Consider:

1. What do you want to do? (make this realistic and sustainable, you can always add on)
2. What will you need to feel? 
3. What will you need to think?
4. Envision the person who has already accomplished this goal. How would they answer the questions above?
5. List this out

Example: 4 workouts, Mindful eating, Water, 2 meals/day following meal template each day (50% veggies, 25% protein, 25% starchy veg or grain + healthy fats)
Feeling: Confident, focused, committed, motivated
Thoughts: I’ve got this, I want to look and feel my best, I can make this work no matter what, Ill feel so much better after I’m done

Plan for the obstacles:

1. Look ahead at week, day, etc. (your timeframe) – what will you need to work around and what times of the day are least likely to get interrupted?
2. Schedule each item from above into your calendar, planner, etc.
3. Identify any obstacles you see getting in the way of carrying out your plan, and create backup options for when these things happen – because they will (oversleep, forget to pack lunch, eating out with no “healthy” options, overeat, etc.)
4. Honor each one like a very important appointment with yourself 
5. Know you may feel resistance when carrying out your plan. This is normal! Allow the urge to not follow through with your plan and let it pass. This is all part of the process!

How to Stay on Track With Weight Loss Over the Holidays Tip 2 – If it passes your lips, question it!

Mindful Eating is simply the practice of paying attention to what you’re eating, knowing the effects it will have on your body and mind, and making intentional decisions from there. It’s Knowing WHAT you’re eating, WHY and making sure it aligns with your goals and what you truly want most and not only in the moment.

How to Stay on Track Over the Holidays Tip 3 – Love it, Need it, or Leave it!

A.K.A if food isn’t fueling us and doesn’t taste AMAZING then WHY are we eating it?

Many times we never stop to think about this and ask ourselves the question “Why.” Maybe we eat simply because food is there, because everyone else is, we’re bored or because we don’t “want something to go to waste.” But do we really like those reasons?

This helps you get into a practice of deciding what’s worth it and what isn’t. Being present and aware of what we’re doing when it comes to food has been super can be really helpful, especially around the Holidays. Is the Mac and cheese just “OK?” I eat less of that and save those calories for the amazing desserts.

How to Stay on Track Over the Holidays Tip 4 – Plate your Food Before your first bite

Plate your food before your first bite!

A.K.A

Don’t eat directly from the bag or bowl or serving dish

This helps us stay on track with weight loss over the Holidays because:

• We eat the foods we love more intentionally
• We eat less while enjoying it more
• We’re way less likely to mindlessly eat and drink
• Studies show we eat 20-30% less when we do this!

How to do this:

1. Consciously decide how much and what you want to eat (its not as much about the serving size, calories, etc., but intentionally deciding ahead of time)
2. Take a napkin, plate, your hand, etc. – and plate the amount you have consciously decided to eat
3. Breathe and pay attention to what you are doing. Taste and chew your food (this sounds so silly – but many times we eat so quickly we forget to actually do this!)
4. Evaluate how you are feeling after you’re done, and take your next intentional action from there. Do you want another serving, aka will it benefit you in any way? Are you already content? How did this food make you feel? How will it make you feel later? tomorrow?
5. Repeat, repeat, repeat, until it becomes a habit that is easier to do than not do!

How to Stay on Track Over the Holidays Tip 5 – Eat until you’re 80% full and not stuffed silly

This one is pretty self explanatory, but it’s deciding to make a practice of slowing down, checking in with your body, and gauging how hungry you are before you eat.

It’s also evaluating how you’re feeling as you’re eating, noticing when you’re content, and deciding to stop eating at this point even though your brain will give you every reason to continue. Remember, at a certain point more food is just more food – it’s not going to taste any better (maybe worse, actually), and we’re just going to want more and more either way. We might as well stop while we’re ahead!

The practice here is allowing the discomfort and temper tantrum our brain will throw when we stop eating when there’s food left and letting it pass. Our brain is wired to seek pleasure, avoid pain and conserve energy – so of course it will want more and more food – eating checks all those boxes! We are also wired for survival, so our brain is actually doing it’s job – so we can’t be that mad at it and we can learn to work with it by not resisting it.

When we have health and weight loss goals, and don’t want to feel sick and bloated we have to take back control of and override our brain with our prefrontal cortex – the decision making and strategic part of our brain. This is where reminding yourself of what you want, why you want it, and your decision and commitment comes in. It’s also a great time to practice Tip #8 – think about how you want to feel in the future, not just in the current moment.

Lastly, know the more highly processed or white sugar/flour in the foods and drinks you’re consuming, the more addictive and dopamine providing they are, so it will feel much harder to stop eating them.

How to Stay on Track Over the Holidays Tip 6 – Move your body

I always try to keep my workout routine as close to normal as possible around the Holidays regardless of where I am! Think about how you can incorporate movement every day (or close to it) even if it’s walks before or after meals. There are so many benefits to exercise for health and weight loss (esp after big meals!) but some include:

• We feel better! Movement helps us feel better mentally, physically and emotionally. It’s shown to elevate your mood, and can keep us out of that sleepy fog feelings we sometimes get after eating big meals.
• Starts the day intentionally. Starting your day with health/exercise sets the tone for the day
• Helps to maintain motivation, momentum and consistency. Even if we eat completely different than we normally do – this is one healthy habit we can maintain the entire Holiday season (even if it looks different!) making it much easier to pivot back.
• Aids in maintaining weight/fat loss. Of course exercise provides an additional calorie burn, blood sugar balancing benefits including aiding in fat burning, minimizing fat storage, helping to reduce cravings
• Improves Digestion. Movement significantly aids digestion during the holiday season by promoting the smooth flow of nutrients and reducing the likelihood of discomfort or bloating.

Related: 11 Creative tips to overcome lack of motivation to exercise

How to Stay on Track Over the Holidays Tip 7 – Balance the cookies and the kale

Let’s get rid of the all or nothing thinking. When we stop thinking it has to be either or, we stop acting like it!

We can absolutely start our day with a green smoothie, have a salad for lunch and then have dips, dinner and dessert, AND start back over right on track the next day (even when we don’t feel like it). In fact, this is what I usually do!

How to do it:

1. Keep one or two meals the same as you usually do (or following my healthy eating for weight loss template), fasting in the morning until lunch (so many benefits!)
2. Work in vegetables and protein with the rest of your holiday meal following the template below – when you have fiber (in vegetables and fruit) or protein, it slows down the absorption of sugar/carbohydrates in your blood stream, minimizing blood sugar spikes and dips.

How to Stay on Track Over the Holidays Tip 8 – Make Choices Now Your Future Self with thank you for

When faced with each eating decision, think about not only how you want to feel in the moment, but AFTER you’re done eating. I always ask myself the question – how will I feel if I eat this, and how will I feel if I don’t? And I literally visualize both endings to the story. I also think about how I’ll feel in 20 minutes after the food or drink is gone – will I still think it was worth it?

How to Stay on Track Over the Holidays Tip 9 – Remember Temptation Doesn’t Have to Mean Action

Our brain offers us “ideas” to do things all the time that we don’t do – scream at our kids, yell at coworkers, stop going to work, cut someone off while driving, etc. While we may be tempted, we tap into the logical, strategic side of our brain and make the decision that will be beneficial for us in the long term.

We can apply the same practice here. Pause, think, question, decide – do I REALLY want to eat/drink this? We can let the idea be there, let it be a little uncomfortable, allow the urge and let it pass, and know that we will BE OKAY. See more on handling temptations and urges here.

How to Stay on Track Over the Holidays Tip 10 – Get back on track ASAP

While I’m allll about being proactive and having a plan when going into the holidays – sometimes we all overindulge a little more than we would have liked, or just need some guidance getting back to a healthy lifestyle plan sooner rather than later! Related: The Easy 3-Day Debloat Detox

It’s what we choose to think or do at this very moment that determines if we go into the self destructive spiral or continue on the journey to our goals.

Remember -The choices we make MOST of the time matter way more than the ones we make SOME of the time.

It’s when the some of the time turns into most of the time that we may need to reevaluate and pivot.

1. DONT BEAT YOURSELF UP! (there is NO benefit) beating ourselves up is more damaging than any food or drink – think about this – when your child or someone you love makes a mistake or takes something a little too far and regrets it after, do you want to make them feel worse than they already do, or help them learn for next time? I try to treat myself the same.

2. Take it as a learning experience – what went well, what didn’t, what would you like to do differently next time?

3. Know that It’s not the food, actions etc. that are making us feel guilty or upset, but our *thoughts about them* and this is great – because we have control over those!

4. Make plan for week going forward

5. Schedule in what you need to do – grocery shop, plan workouts, schedule what you need to, get rid of foods you don’t want to eat, etc.

6. Get started – commit to your plan and honor your appointments with yourself.

Need help with any of this?! Let’s talk!