How To Handle Holiday Eating After Thanksgiving
Are The Holidays Really Ruining Your Progress?
You wake up the morning after Thanksgiving and your brain starts replaying last night like a highlight reel, rolls, mac and cheese, that second slice of pie that showed up after you already decided you were done, and now the fridge is packed with leftovers, the group chat is joking about being “90 percent gravy,” and a little voice in your head is quietly saying things like “I need to be good today” and “I have to make up for that if I want to lose weight,” but this is exactly the moment where you get to choose something different for the rest of the holiday season, not a crash diet, not punishment workouts, but a realistic plan and a kinder mindset that does not require you to earn your food.
First, a quick reality check on holiday weight
Research on adults shows that average holiday weight gain is smaller than people think, roughly half a kilo or about one pound, but the problem is that most people do not lose it again afterward. That small yearly bump quietly stacks up over time (Yanovski).
Other studies show that it is not just the one big meal, it is the whole holiday pattern. More high calorie food around, more social events, more stress, and usually less movement (Olson).
So the idea is not to be perfect. The mission is to ride the season like a wave, and step off in January still roughly where you started, physically and mentally.
And the big rule for all of this:
You do not need to earn your food.
You do not need to pay it back later either.
Trying to “make up for it” with punishment workouts and extreme restriction is one of the things that actually keeps people stuck.
You Feel Pretty Good About Yesterday, Now What
Maybe you had a reasonable plate, enjoyed dessert, and stopped before “I cannot breathe” full. Nice.
Here is the mindset that will help you keep that going:
1. Treat it as proof.
You just collected evidence that you can enjoy a holiday without going off the rails. Use that as confidence for the rest of the season, not as a reason to tighten rules even more.
2. Focus on your “holiday floor.”
Instead of asking, “How strict can I be,” ask, “What is the minimum I can keep consistent most days?” Research on successful weight maintainers during holidays shows that people who keep a few simple behaviors steady do better long term, like planned movement, basic food structure, and some form of accountability (Olson).
Examples of a holiday floor:
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Move on most days, even 10 to 20 minutes
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Include a protein source at meals
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Add at least one fruit or vegetable per day
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Go to bed at roughly the same time when you can
You do not need a perfect streak, you just need a floor that you come back to.
If You Went All In On The Food
Maybe you did the full sampler. Second plate, third dessert, grazing during dishes, leftover plate late at night. Now the self talk is brutal.
Here is what the research and the real world both say.
1. One day did not ruin your progress.
Short term overeating does not magically rewrite your body composition. Weight gain comes from patterns over time, not one high calorie day (Yanovski).
2. Punishing yourself usually backfires.
When people respond to overeating with harsh restriction, high restraint, or “I am not allowed to mess up again,” it often leads to more overeating, especially when they are tired or stressed. Studies on dietary restraint show that obsessively trying to control food can actually make binge episodes more likely in low self control moments. (Kelly; Carbonneau).
So instead of:
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Skipping meals
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Doing a “detox”
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Forcing a brutal workout to “earn” yesterday’s food
Try this reset for the next one to three days:
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Go back to normal meal times, no skipping
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Drink water with and between meals
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Do a walk or light workout that feels doable, not punishing
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Add one or two nutrient dense pieces to each day, like a veggie at lunch and a high protein breakfast
You are not paying off a debt. You are just going back to your regular program.
3. Practice a little self compassion on purpose.
Self compassion is not letting yourself off the hook, it is talking to yourself like someone you actually care about. Research links higher self compassion with better body image, better diet quality, less emotional eating, and more intuitive eating patterns.(Carbonneau; Kelly).
Ask, “If a friend told me they did exactly what I did, what would I say to them?” That is the tone you deserve too.
If You Were Somewhere In The Middle
You tried to balance things but you ate more than usual yet it was not an all out binge. You did enjoy some foods and skipped others, but now you are replaying the whole day in your head, grading yourself.
This is where holiday mindset really matters.
1. Mixed feelings are normal.
You can be proud of some choices and still wish you had done some things differently. That does not mean you failed, it just means you care.
2. Use “next time thinking.”
Instead of obsessing over what already happened, ask, “What do I want the next holiday meal to look like?”
For example:
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“Next time I want one plate of the foods I love most, and I will skip the ones that are just there.”
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“Next time I will eat slowly, check in with my fullness, and only go back for seconds if I am still truly hungry.”
Planning like this lines up with what successful weight maintainers tend to do. They use simple strategies, like pre planning, watching portions, and building in activity, rather than trying to white knuckle every event. (Olson).
3. Keep moving for your brain, not just your body.
Regular physical activity does not only burn calories. It is linked to better mood and better eating self regulation, especially in people with higher weight. Exercise can improve body image and mood, and those shifts help people make more aligned food choices.(Carraça).
So if you feel stuck in your head, do not design a punishment workout. Do something that leaves you feeling a little more capable by the end.
Three Simple Habits To Anchor You This Season
No matter which scenario you lived, here is a simple structure you can run with for the rest of the season.
1. Pick your “always” habits.
One to three things you will aim to do most days, no matter how busy it gets. For example:
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Move your body for at least 10 minutes
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Include a protein source at two meals
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Drink water before your first coffee
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Do a quick check in before and after events, “What do I want this to feel like” and “What went well today”
2. Drop the idea that food must be earned.
You are already allowed to eat. Movement is there to help you feel capable, strong, and less stressed, not to pay off a plate of stuffing.
3. Make structure as easy as possible
If you want help keeping some movement non negotiable during the chaos, this is where structured workouts shine. Group classes give you set times, a coach, and a group of people who are also just trying to stay consistent through the holidays. You do not have to think, you just have to show up.
This Season Is Not A Test
Holiday eating is not a test you pass or fail, it is just part of a season that is already full of moving parts. You will have days that feel dialed in and days that feel messier, and both can fit inside a healthy life.
If you can come out of this holiday stretch knowing you enjoyed some special foods, kept a few simple habits going, and did not try to earn or punish your meals, that is a real win. Long term progress is built on exactly that, small choices repeated, not perfect control.
Join Our Signature Group Classes This Holiday Season
If you want help staying consistent without adding more stress, our Signature Group Classes give you structure, coaching, and a set time to move your body.
You will get efficient workouts that fit a busy schedule, support your goals without trying to “burn off” food.
Ready to keep your momentum through the holidays, not start over in January?
[Click here to join our Signature Group Classes and save your spot.]
Works Cited
Carbonneau, Noémie, et al. “Feel Good, Eat Better: The Role of Self-Compassion and Body Esteem in Mothers’ Healthy Eating Behaviours.” Nutrients, vol. 13, no. 11, 2021, article 3907.
Carraça, Eliana V., et al. “The Association between Physical Activity and Eating Self-Regulation in Overweight and Obese Women.” Obesity Facts, vol. 6, no. 6, 2013, pp. 493–506.
Kelly, Allison C., and Elizabeth Stephen. “A Daily Diary Study of Self-Compassion, Body Image, and Eating Behavior in Female College Students.” Body Image, vol. 17, 2016, pp. 152–160.
Olson, KayLoni L., et al. “Strategies to Manage Weight during the Holiday Season among US Adults: A Descriptive Study from the National Weight Control Registry.” Obesity Science & Practice, vol. 7, no. 2, 2021, pp. 232–238.
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.