Holiday weight gain happens because of the many treats and large meals during the holiday season. There’s tons of parties, tons of (unhealthy) foods, it’s cold outside and you don’t want to change into your workout clothes. There’s a million reasons for that holiday weight gain. Your lean workout routine will suffer during the holidays if you aren’t diligent about your actions.
Luckily we have 3 weight loss tips and strategies for you to prevent holiday weight gain from happening to you so you can stay lean all year round.
Stop worrying about holiday weight gain forever by building good habits this year.
How much weight to people gain during the holidays?
It’s been said that most people don’t gain that much weight over the holidays – just a few pounds. But if you’re on a lean workout routine, no weight gain is ideal.
The real problem is that they never actually lose the weight. So think about it. If every year from 25 onwards you gain just a pound between Thanksgiving and New Years but never lose it, you might not really notice it at first. But after a few years of continually doing this—your lean, athletic college body will succumb to holiday weight gain and become softer, less muscular, and overall weaker.
How do I avoid holiday weight gain?
The best thing to do now is plan ahead, be aware and change your mindset. If you start setting these good habits now then by the time next year’s holiday season rolls around, you’ll be ready. And January won’t feel so overwhelming with all of your new resolutions
You can watch all holiday weight loss tips in this video:
Here are Your 3 Tips to Avoid Holiday Weight Gain
1. Weigh Yourself Every Day
Weigh yourself even when you don’t feel like it. You’ll notice there are small fluctuations but you will probably tend to be around the same weight every day (unless you are actively trying to lose weight, in which case the numbers should go down slowly but consistently.) If you do notice the numbers creeping up slowly and staying up there, then it’s time to change something right now.
2. Think Long Term
This is a great weight loss tip not just for holiday weight gain but any time of year. Ok, so it’s been 15 years that you’ve been gaining only a pound a year and now you’re 15 pounds overweight and don’t feel lean. At this point, your goal shouldn’t be to lose the 15 lbs. this week or even this month. Yes, you definitely could but that would be extreme, miserable to accomplish, and impossible to maintain.
The more reasonable (and efficient) approach would be to try to lose just 1 lb. every month. By the end of the year, you’ll almost be at your goal and you will have barely noticed it. You will have only had to cut about 116 calories from your eating every day (an apple or a tablespoon or olive oil) or included an extra 15 minutes of exercise daily. You could do both and get your results in half the time! Having long term goals makes weight loss and health manageable and achievable.
3. Feel Empowered
You are now aware of why holiday weight gain happens, how to stop it, reverse it and, hopefully, prevent it from happening in the future. You have the knowledge and skills to get to your goal weight. Now let’s make a solid plan and get started. You could even try a Mission Lean workout.
Jon Pearlman is a former standout tennis player at Harvard, ATP-ranked touring pro, and author of The Lean Body Manual. He founded Mission Lean to share his unique formula for lean body fitness and nutrition, an approach that took over a decade to develop and perfect. He is an ACE Certified Personal Trainer and Fitness Nutrition Specialist.
