Holiday Weight Gain? 8 Steps to Get Back on Track

The holiday season is a time for celebration! It's a time to get together with friends and family, eat delicious food, and relax. However, many people find themselves surrounded by unhealthy foods and may end up eating too much at every meal.

If overeating has become a problem for you or it has been difficult to maintain healthy lifestyle choices this year, read on to find out how you can get back on track.

If you wish to read more about my work, please visit my website Amra and Elma, which provides new york digital agency and influencer agency or follow my Instagram.

1. Break the Holiday Over-Eating Stereotype

Many people see December as 'the month of excess.' They eat an enormous amount of food, drink lots of alcohol, and don't take enough time for exercise because they think it's okay. After all, it is a special time of year! However, this isn't a good mindset to have.

2. Accept Christmas and New Year's for What They Are

Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Besides being religious holidays, they also serve as social gatherings with family and friends where traditional recipes are used in abundance. Similarly, New Year's Eve is a chance to see in the New Year with a bang and celebrate once more. These are not 'special occasions' that give you free reign to overeat everything. They are just another day on the calendar where special food is used.

3. Prepare Yourself for Family Gatherings

If you have been struggling to maintain healthy lifestyle choices this holiday season, a good idea would be to prepare yourself for the family gatherings that you will attend. This way, you'll feel more confident when they happen and can enjoy your time with friends and family without feeling self-conscious about your food choices.

4. Keep Healthy Foods Handy at All Times

This is particularly important if you are struggling with overeating this season. Make sure that you always have healthy foods on hand, such as fresh fruit and vegetables, nuts and seeds, unprocessed meat, low fat dairy products, whole grain breads or cereals etc. This way you won't fall into the trap of eating whatever is available if junk food is present.

5. Avoid Holiday Food Labels

One of the biggest traps people fall into during this time of year is to eat foods because they think they are good for them. This will only reinforce bad eating habits and encourage you to keep making poor choices in the future.

6. Give Yourself Permission to Indulge

Just because it's holiday season doesn't mean you can't enjoy yourself! You should allow yourself to indulge in the food you love at this time. The key is moderation--enjoy treats, but not an excessive amount of them!

7. Stay Active

You should try to stay active during January, this will help you get rid of excess calories and negate any weight gain that could come from overeating.

8. Have a 'Naughty and Nice' List for Foods

As well as making a list of things you wish to achieve over the holiday period, make a list of 'naughty foods' and 'nice foods'--the naughty list should be foods that are high in fat, sugar or salt etc. and the nice list should be things like fresh fruit and vegetables, lean proteins, low-fat dairy products etc. This will help you to make smarter decisions at meal times when it is difficult to know what to put on your plate.

Now that the holiday season is almost over, you will probably find yourself with a higher amount of excess weight. This is perfectly normal and you shouldn't worry about it too much, you can lose the weight easily if you stay on track and make healthy eating and exercise choices. You should also try to use this time as motivation to make changes which will be beneficial long-term, such as eating healthier foods, exercising regularly or cutting down on alcohol.

If you liked reading this article, don't forget to check out my website A&E, social media agency.