Healthy Eating During the Holidays
Two Types of People, Both Are Tired
Around the holidays, people usually fall into one of two camps. Camp one tries to be super strict, like they are training for the Olympics. Camp two goes full “it is December, see you in January.” And both camps are exhausting.
Then there is the third thing people do, even the “disciplined” ones. They let the scale decide their day. You eat a great meal with your family, you laugh, you have dessert, and later you are doing mental math like you are filing taxes. Let’s retire that thinking. Christmas is supposed to be joyful, and your progress is not so fragile that it shatters because you ate pie with people you love.
The Holiday Legend vs. The Data
You have probably heard the line that the “average person gains five pounds over the holidays.” Researchers have actually tested this by tracking people through the season, and the results are much less dramatic. In a well-known prospective study, the average holiday weight change was about 0.37 kg, which is just under a pound (Yanovski).
Zoom out to the bigger picture and you see the same theme. Across adult studies, average holiday gain is typically modest, often reported in the neighborhood of 0.4 to 0.9 kg, with wide individual variation (Díaz-Zavala).
What the Scale Is Really Measuring This Week
If your weight jumps right after a big holiday meal, it is usually not instant fat gain. It is a pile-up of normal biology: more food volume in your gut, more carbs stored as glycogen (and the water that comes with it), more sodium and water retention, disrupted sleep, travel stress, and routines getting weird.
The scale measures all of that at once, which is why it can look worse than the reality. You can be doing “fine” and still see a temporary spike. That is not failure, it is just physics and physiology.
The Real Risk Is Not Christmas Dinner
Here is the truth the research keeps pointing toward. The average change is usually small, but small gains can matter if they stick year to year. One reason the holiday season gets attention is that it can contribute to longer-term weight drift when people do not return to baseline habits afterward (Schoeller).
So the problem is rarely the holiday itself. The problem is the follow-up story, “Well, I blew it,” and then you drift for weeks. Your progress does not get ruined by celebration, it gets slowed by disappearing from your normal habits afterward.
Why Family Gatherings Make You Hungrier, and Why That Is Normal
People reliably eat more when eating with others, especially friends and family. Researchers call this social facilitation of eating, and there is strong evidence the social setting itself increases intake compared to eating alone (Ruddock).
So if you catch yourself grazing more while you are talking, laughing, and “just checking what’s in the kitchen,” you are not broken. You are a human in a human environment.
A Better Goal: Enjoy On Purpose, Return Without Drama
A sane holiday mindset is not “avoid the good stuff,” and it is not “anything goes.” It is this: enjoy the foods you actually care about, keep one or two anchor habits, then return to baseline like a professional.
That return is the skill. It is also what helps prevent a small, common holiday uptick from becoming a longer drift (Schoeller).
Three Anchors That Keep You Steady
Eat earlier in the day like a normal person. Skipping meals to “save up” tends to backfire because you arrive ravenous, and ravenous brains are not known for calm choices.
Pick your “worth it” foods. Most gatherings have a few things that feel like the holiday, and a lot of “it is here, so I guess” foods. Choose what matters, slow down, taste it, and let the rest be optional.
Move because it helps, not because you are earning food. A short walk, a quick lift, or ten minutes of movement keeps your identity intact and helps you feel better during a week that can be chaotic.
Even If You Train, Holiday Weight Can Still Happen
A useful reality check from the OPEN study is that higher baseline total energy expenditure did not “protect” participants from gaining weight during the holiday quarter (Cook). Exercise is still valuable, but it is not a magic shield that cancels every holiday variable.
That is not discouraging, it is freeing. You do not have to micromanage the week, you just have to stay focused.
Want This to Feel Easier Next Year?
If you want the holidays to feel less like a self-control test and more like a normal week with a few great meals, having a consistent training routine helps a lot. Our group training classes are built for exactly that, structured workouts, great coaching, and a community that keeps you steady even when life gets busy.
Join our group training classes this month and lock in momentum that survives Christmas.
The Memory You Actually Want
A week from now, you will not remember the exact number of cookies you ate. You will remember the conversation you had with your family, the laugh that caught you off guard, the moment someone told a story you have heard ten times and you still loved it.
So aim for the win that actually matters. Enjoy the foods that feel like Christmas, keep one or two small anchor habits, and return to baseline without drama. Your body is adaptable, and your progress is not fragile.
References
Cook, Chad M., et al. “Relation between Holiday Weight Gain and Total Energy Expenditure among 40- to 69-y-old Men and Women (OPEN Study).” The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, vol. 95, no. 3, 2012, pp. 726–731. PMC+1
Díaz-Zavala, Rolando G., et al. “Effect of the Holiday Season on Weight Gain: A Narrative Review.” Journal of Obesity, 2017. PMC
Ruddock, Helen K., et al. “The Social Facilitation of Eating: Why Does the Mere Presence of Others Cause an Increase in Energy Intake?” Physiology & Behavior, vol. 240, 2021, 113539. PubMed+1
Schoeller, Dale A. “The Effect of Holiday Weight Gain on Body Weight.” Physiology & Behavior, vol. 134, 2014, pp. 66–69. PubMed+1
Yanovski, Jack A., et al. “A Prospective Study of Holiday Weight Gain.” The New England Journal of Medicine, vol. 342, no. 12, 2000, pp. 861–867. PMC+1