Let’s Call a Truce: Enjoying Holiday Food Without the Weight-Gain Panic
The holiday season is basically a three-month obstacle course made of cookies, cheese boards, festive cocktails, and relatives asking, “Are you really going to eat that?”
Spoiler: Yes. Yes, you are. And you’re allowed to.
Somewhere along the way, holiday joy got tangled up with food guilt and New Year’s punishment plans. We swing from “pass the cinnamon roll casserole” in December to “I’m never eating again” in January. Let’s not.
This year, let’s aim for a middle ground:
Enjoy the food, protect your health, and retire the shame.
1. First, Let’s Get One Thing Straight:
You’re Not “Bad” for Eating Pie
Food doesn’t have morals.
You are not a better person because you ate salad, and you are not a worse person because you ate fudge straight from the tin while hiding from family in the garage.
Shame is terrible at creating lasting change. It just makes you feel awful, which often leads to… you guessed it: more emotional eating.
Instead of:
“I have no self-control, what’s wrong with me?”
Try:
“I really enjoyed that. Next time I’ll see if I can stop before I feel stuffed.”
Same event. Different energy. Zero self-abuse.
2. Aim for “Maintenance Mode,”
Not “Holiday Glow-Up”
The holidays may not be the season to try to lose 20 pounds and become a new person who meal-preps kale in between parties.
More realistic goal: Let’s just not go completely off the rails.
Think “maintain” rather than “transform.”
If you come out of the holidays with your weight about the same, your labs stable, and your sanity intact? That’s a win.
And if the scale is up a couple of pounds from extra salt, alcohol, and travel? That’s a situation, not a moral failure. We can work with that.
3. Don’t “Save Up” Calories
– It Backfires (Spectacularly)
The “I’ll just barely eat all day so I can pig out at the party tonight” strategy sounds clever, but usually leads to:
Arriving starving
Inhaling everything in sight
Feeling physically awful and emotionally guilty
Instead:
Eat normally earlier in the day.
Have protein, fiber, and healthy fats at breakfast and lunch (eggs, Greek yogurt, veggies, beans, chicken, etc.).Don’t show up ravenous.
Having a small snack with protein before the event (like a cheese stick, nuts, or hummus and veggies) can prevent the “attack the appetizer table like you haven’t eaten since 2014” moment.
You make more grounded choices when your brain isn’t running on fumes.
4. Use the 3-Favorite Rule
You do not need to try everything on the table to have a good holiday. (Though respect if your grandma’s cooking makes that difficult.)
Try this:
Scan the table first.
Pick 3 things that make your heart genuinely happy. Not “meh,” not “it’s here so I guess I’ll eat it.”
Build your plate around those favorites, plus some protein and maybe a veggie or two so your pancreas doesn’t quit on you.
This way you’re not mindlessly grabbing things you don’t even care about (looking at you, store-bought dinner rolls that taste like disappointment).
5. Eat Like You Actually Have a Body
Radical concept, I know.
Instead of zoning out and suddenly realizing you’re uncomfortably full, try checking in with yourself as you eat:
Halfway through your plate, pause.
Am I still hungry?
Am I satisfied but still enjoying the taste?
Do I actually need more, or am I just vibing with the holiday nostalgia?
You’re allowed to keep eating because it tastes good.
You’re also allowed to stop even if there’s food left.
Your body is not a trash can.
6. Protect Your Blood Sugar
Like It’s Your Holiday Bonus
If you tend to feel sleepy, cranky, or vaguely dead inside after big meals, your blood sugar is probably riding a roller coaster. A few simple tricks:
Start with protein.
Take a few bites of turkey, ham, roast, or plant-based protein before diving into the mashed potatoes and dessert.Add something with fiber.
Veggies, salad, beans – anything that isn’t pure starch and sugar.Dessert is not evil… just pair it.
A slice of pie after a balanced meal is very different from three cookies on an empty stomach.
This isn’t about restriction; it’s about you not wanting to slip into a food coma during the family board game.
7. Alcohol: The Silent Saboteur
(With Great Vibes)
Holiday drinks are sneaky. Alcohol calories, mixers, plus late-night snacking afterward can add up fast. You don’t have to skip it entirely, but you can be strategic:
Set a limit before you go.
“I’m going to have 1–2 drinks tonight and enjoy them” is very different from “I’ll see what happens.”Hydration game:
Alternate each drink with a full glass of water. Your tomorrow-self will send you a thank-you note.Choose what you truly enjoy.
If you love a good holiday cocktail, have it. If you’re drinking something you don’t even like just because it’s there? That’s where you can cut back.
Again: no shame, just intention.
8. Move Your Body
– But Not as Punishment
Exercise is not a court-ordered sentence for eating stuffing.
Instead of:
“I have to walk 5 miles tomorrow to burn this off.”
Try:
“I’m going for a walk so I feel better and sleep well tonight.”
Simple ways to keep movement in the mix:
Walk after big meals – even 10–15 minutes helps digestion and blood sugar.
Park farther away when shopping ( built-in steps).
Turn on music and dance while you cook or clean up. Holiday kitchen dance breaks absolutely count as cardio.
Move because it helps you feel good, not because you’re trying to erase what you ate.
9. Set Boundaries With Food Comments
(Yes, Even With Family)
There’s always that one person:
“Are you sure you should be eating that?”
“Wow, you’re being good today!”
“I’m being so bad, I had cheesecake.”
You are allowed to shut that down. Gently or not-so-gently, depending on your mood and their level of audacity.
Some options:
The Neutral Redirect:
“I’m actually trying not to label food as good or bad this year, but thanks.”The Firm Line:
“I’d rather not talk about my plate or my body. Let’s change the subject.”The Humor Move:
“The only thing I’m judging today is the mashed potatoes, and they’re innocent.”
You are not required to sit through body or food commentary to be “polite.”
10. Sleep: The Underrated Holiday Superpower
Holiday season = weird schedules, late nights, travel, and sugar. All of that can wreck your sleep, and lack of sleep makes cravings worse, appetite higher, and willpower lower.
Do what you can to protect your rest:
Aim for a fairly consistent bedtime most nights
Keep screens out of bed (or at least set a cut-off)
A short wind-down routine – hot shower, tea, light stretching – can help signal your brain to chill
You’ll feel better and it’ll be easier to make sane choices around food when you’re not running on fumes.
11. If You Overdo It…
You’re Still Fine
At some point, you’re probably going to eat past comfort. Maybe way past comfort. It happens. You’re human. There is no “ruined” day, week, or month.
Instead of spiraling into:
“I blew it, I might as well keep going and start over in January.”
Try this:
Drink some water
Take a gentle walk if you can
Get good sleep that night
Go back to your usual habits at the next meal
No punishment. No starvation. No “I’m disgusting” monologue. Just a simple reset.
12. Big Picture: You Deserve to Enjoy Your Life and Care for Your Health
You are allowed to:
Eat the special holiday foods you love
Say no to foods you don’t actually enjoy
Protect your energy, boundaries, and blood sugar
Refuse to participate in diet talk, body shaming, or New Year “detox” culture
Your body is with you for every holiday, every season, every year. Treating it with kindness is far more powerful than any restrictive plan.
This season, don’t aim for perfection. Aim for this:
More presence, less panic
More enjoyment, less judgment
More intention, less all-or-nothing thinking
If you finish the holidays feeling like you enjoyed your food, respected your body, and didn’t let shame narrate the whole story? That’s the kind of success that actually lasts.
And yes—have the pie.
Our health and wellbeing is impacted by everything in our lives, including our sleep, nutrition, relationships, and habits. Priority One Health & Lifestyle Management was founded to provide unique and holistic care to maximize the quality of life of every client. Reach out to learn more or get on our waiting list.