You may be thinking about the gatherings you will attend with friends and family this holiday season and feel worried about the temptation you will face when you see all of the food on the table. During the holiday season, many people worry about losing all of the progress that they recently made in regards to weight loss. We are here to tell you that this year, you shouldn’t worry about that, and we will share a few reasons why.
Stress Doesn’t Help
First of all, stressing about your weight, how hard it will be to eat with your family for the holidays, or how your new outfit might not fit anymore by the new year is simply not helping the situation. Stress is linked to weight gain, sleep disturbances, and food cravings, all of which will only contribute to worsening any situation. So one of the best things you can do is to simply not worry so much about weight fluctuations during the holidays.
You Can Always Choose Healthier Options
Even if you won’t be following your meal plan for a few days, you can still make empowered choices around the food that you do choose to eat. Even if it’s not the healthiest meal, it’s still great when you choose the best options available to you at the time. You can focus on choosing options that leave you with a balanced plate, including adequate protein and vegetables. If you are worried about the temptation of dessert, you can offer to bring a dessert that is a little healthier than most of the other options that you know will be offered. This way, you know you can eat something so you won’t feel left out, and you won’t have to feel like you made a terrible choice the next day.
You Don’t Need to Be 100% All of The Time
This is true all year long, but it’s important to remind ourselves of it during the holiday season. A few days of not following your meal plan won’t undo the progress you’ve made in making lifestyle changes. It can be helpful to celebrate even the smallest victories or changes in eating habits. For some, it may be that they ate one less cookie than they normally would have. Success looks different for everyone because not everyone starts out at the same place. It creates a more positive mindset when you celebrate small habit changes opposed to fixating on how far you still have to go. Don’t hold yourself to perfectionist standards. They’re often unattainable and lead you to believe you’re constantly failing, when in reality, you may constantly be making progress in the right direction. You deserve to enjoy the holidays without the added stress of worrying about your weight.