Holidays and Weight Loss 2023

This will be my last blog post before the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. In this post I want to once again discuss how one may navigate the holidays if they are in the midst of a weight loss program. Some of these I have mentioned in the past but there are some updates. Basically, if the holidays come up and you are in the middle of a weight loss journey you will have three possible options/outcomes.

1. Some people just decide to continue on with the program they are on they continue with the eating program or diet they are following and/or their exercise regime. They decide to avoid the temptation when at family get-togethers or holiday parties. They are able to stay focused and understand that, for them, veering from the program will have consequences to weight loss and “it just isn’t worth it”. This is certainly not the easiest option. With that being said, if you are on a program and losing weight it likely already isn’t “easy”. It certainly is possible to avoid holiday snacks and treats if you want to. I’m certainly not saying that this doesn’t require strong willpower, it does. I am simply stating that it is possible.
2. Option two is the person that is on a weight loss journey but knows that he/she will be deviating from the program during several holiday events. This individual wants balance in the holidays between not sabotaging their progress and being able to have pumpkin pie, Christmas cookies, eggnog (ewww!) etc. This is a tricky situation and requires a plan in and of itself. The trick is finding a balance and understanding that simply not gaining weight during the holidays is a win. In this case one would need to be very selective with when they are going “off plan” and then immediately going back to their plan once the event/party is over. This can be a very slippery slope. It can be easy to fall into a pattern of poor food choices which can unfortunately lead to option/outcome three
3. This option is unacceptable in my opinion. This is the person that throws in the towel during the holidays. Maybe they decide ahead of time that they just want to stop what they are doing during the holiday season or maybe they go into the holidays with good intentions and then simply get overwhelmed and fall completely off track. In our Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky weight loss centers we implore clients not to fall into this category as it can lead to a pattern of yo-yo dieting. It can also be extraordinarily mentally defeating. Working hard to learn a plan and sticking with it, losing weight predictably during the early fall, only to regain during the Holidays stinks. This option should not be an option at all. One can always go back to what was working in January, the question will be do they want to? Is it worth it?

There are great strategies for the first two options so that option three should never present itself. Planning will be required however. That is just one of the things that we help clients with during these times.