Cookies can make it harder to stay on track during the holidays.
But they are a staple.
If you don’t believe me, walk into any Italian family’s home during the holiday season, and you will find cookies galore.
Cookies are just one dessert that makes it harder to stay on track during the holidays.
No, I won’t discriminate against any dessert.
It just so happens that most of my fat-loss clients struggle with one too many Christmas cookies.
By the end of this guide, you will have the steps each of my clients uses to stay on track during the holiday season.
Let’s dive in, shall we?
How To Stay On Track During The Holidays
Cookies, pies, cakes oh my.
It is easy to get overwhelmed by all the tasty treats during the holiday season.
And up to this point, you have been so “good,” right?
Your nutrition has been on point.
You’ve consistently gone to the gym.
You even take the stairs instead of the elevator while at the office.
But there sit the cookies, delicately wrapped in the finest holiday plastic, begging you to eat them.
Like any human, you decide to indulge and have one.
The moment the cookie touches your mouth, it is bliss.
It’s so good you decide to have a few more. It’s been weeks since you have had any sweets, so who could blame you for wanting more?
You feel pretty crumby by the fifth cookie.
Shouldn’t you have more control?
What about my diet?
Did I ruin all of my progress?
If this sounds familiar, don’t worry; you’re not alone.
Falling Off Track During The Holidays
It is impossible to ruin your progress by eating a few cookies.
That’s not how the human body works, no matter what the scale says the following day.
You can only gain weight by consistently eating in a calorie surplus.
Calorie surplus: Eating more calories than your body uses throughout the day.
So, unless you are eating like Joey Chestnut on the 4th of July, you didn’t ruin a damn thing.
I did an entire YouTube video covering six reasons you gain weight overnight.
A short list of reasons:
- You ate salty food.
- You ate more carbohydrates than usual.
- You have not digested the food you ate.
- You have to go to the bathroom.
- Your stress levels.
- Your hormonal shifts (menstrual cycle)
- You did a challenging workout yesterday.
The critical thing to remember is not to let the scale dictate all of your choices.
Data > Feelings
Layne Norton
Single days don’t determine your progress.
Focus on your weekly average and look for trends.
That’s why cookies aren’t the reason it’s hard to stay on track during the holidays. It’s the need to be perfect while dieting that derails your progress.
No one is asking you to be perfect, and if anyone does, they are being a dick.
Instead of trying to be perfect, here’s how you can be more realistic and make progress.
Tools For Staying On Track
Not everyone will want to track calories during the holidays, and no one is telling you that you MUST track your calories.
However, it gets easier to understand portion sizes & have a better grasp on what’s going to help/hurt progress if you are tracking.
Everyone will be different, and tracking calories throughout the holiday season might be what someone wants to do.
If that sounds like you, consider the following options.
Calorie Cycling
Single days do not matter while you are trying to lose weight.
What matters is that by the end of the week, you have maintained a calorie deficit.
If your daily calorie goal were 1,500, then your weekly calorie goal would sit at 10,500 calories.
1,500 x 7 days = 10,500 calories.
Technically, it doesn’t matter how you split your calories if you hit that weekly calorie number +/- 100 calories.
Most of my clients use a 4:3 split for their calories.
Four days are low-calorie, and three days are higher-calorie.
Some might use the higher-calorie day when they have a workout, or they may use it for the weekend.
Increasing their calorie intake makes it easier to hit their weekly goals. It gives more wiggle room.
How To Determine Your Calories
Use my weight loss calculator or the following equations to determine your calories.
High Days: Goal Body Weight x 12 or 13
Low Days: Goal Body Weight x 11 or 12
The only thing that changes between the two days would be your intake of carbohydrates or fats.
You would still hit your daily protein goal within +/- 10 grams.
Remember, by the end of the day, the most critical factor is if you are hitting your daily calorie range.
That’s what determines weight loss or gain.
Protein is essential; however, it still boils down to total calories.
Maybe the thought of tracking through the holidays drives you bananas.
Then consider taking a Diet Break.
Diet Breaks
A diet break is what it sounds like: a break from your diet.
Taking a diet break is a good idea when you have been in a deficit for an extended period.
There’s no hard and fast rule that I would follow when it comes to a diet break.
It depends on how your body responds to your deficit, i.e., sleep, recovery, energy levels, and diet fatigue.
Does a diet break mean you throw all caution to the wind and lather all your food in butter?
No.
No, it doesn’t.
Depending on your situation, a diet break could last from a week to several weeks.
It’s All In The Maintenance
Instead of going on a free-for-all, you would focus on increasing your daily calorie goal to your maintenance calorie level.
Maintenance Calories: the number of calories that won’t cause weight loss or weight gain.
Practicing being at maintenance is something you should do before your “diet” is finished.
If you never practice being in maintenance, maintaining your weight loss progress becomes more challenging.
By practicing before the end of the diet, you will improve your tracking skills & will practice 1-2 days per week without tracking, eating intuitively.
Patience Patience Patience
Nutrition in and of itself is a series of estimations.
Every person is different; however, determining maintenance calories will take some trial and error.
You have been eating in a deficit and losing weight & you can’t return to the amount of calories you ate when you were closer to (insert starting weight).
Your body has different requirements, and your Basal Metabolic Rate, Total Daily Energy Expenditure, and Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis will shift.
All of the above are how your body burns calories throughout the day.
Learn more about each in this helpful guide.
The slow and steady approach might be called a “reverse diet”
A Reverse Diet: Post-diet eating plan that slowly increases your calorie intake (over weeks or months) to prevent weight gain as you return to your previous calorie levels.
Bodybuilders or physique competitors often use a reverse diet after competing in a show. They may spend many weeks slowly increasing by 50 calories or so.
It is very, very, very slow.
You are not a physique competitor, so you will want to take a different approach.
Science Method
If you want to get back to maintenance, add 10-15% more calories each week.
KISS Method
Add 200-300 calories to your weekly calorie total until your weight stabilizes.
*If you were calorie cycling during your deficit, add more calories to your low days.
You Will Gain Weight During The Holidays
When your weight stabilizes after a few weeks, you will notice the scale sitting higher.
Is it fat? No.
Your stomach will be full of food.
Your muscles will store more glycogen & water.
Just like during your fat-loss phase, your weight will fluctuate daily. So, please don’t do anything silly, and stick with the weekly average.
Remember, no one sits at one specific number on the scale for the rest of their lives.
Having a maintenance range of 5-10 pounds is a safe bet.
And if you find you gain more than that, you can always go back into your deficit.
Again, maintenance takes time, and in the long run, it will help you.
Not Ready For Maintenance
Maintenance is an integral phase of your nutrition plan; however, you might want to stick to your deficit a bit longer.
You could be seeing significant progress.
Your energy levels could be top-notch.
Your sleep is on point.
Your workouts are productive.
You’re okay with staying in the deficit because it’s not feeling like you need the break.
If that’s the case, you and about 99% of other people would prefer a “refeed” day.
Staying On Track By Using Refeeds
“Refeed” is a fancy way of saying increasing your calories back up to maintenance or in a slight surplus.
AKA: Take a day off from tracking; you’ll be fine.
Most of my clients don’t track during a holiday.
They all understand that a single day won’t ruin their progress.
At this point, you understand that you can enjoy your favorite Christmas cookie, which won’t derail you; however, if you’re not tracking your calories, can you still enjoy the cookie?
You can still enjoy the cookies if you aren’t tracking calories.
I could have waited longer to tell you that, but getting that out of the way was important.
So, do you need to track calories?
The short answer is no.
The long answer…it depends.
If you are experienced with tracking, pausing during the holidays can be helpful because chances are you have a good idea of what a proper serving size would be.
But let’s say you have never tracked before.
Should you start during the holidays?
I wouldn’t suggest doing that. It’s an easy way to set yourself up for all-or-nothing thinking/ pushing back against the need to track your food.
There are many different tracking forms that aren’t limited to counting calories.
Each method can play a role in how you stay on track during the holidays.
How To Track Without Tracking
Two skills that everyone should work on to ensure they stay on track.
During Meals: Recognize when you are full and stop eating.
Between Meals: Distinguishing hunger from emotions, boredom, or exhaustion.
If every person practiced these skills, weight management would be easier. Keep both of them in mind as we move through different tracking options.
Level 1: Take pictures of all meals and snacks
This is a fantastic starting point for anyone working on accountability and tracking. Think of it as dipping your toes in the water of consistently tracking. Also, there is no excuse not to take a picture; your phone is usually nearby.
Taking a picture of your snacks helps you recognize what you are grabbing. Consider anything you are eating between meals as a snack.
A-la, the tasty peanut butter cookie your great aunt baked just for you.
It’s hard to judge accurate portions based on pictures, but it is an added level of accountability.
Level 2: 3 plates & 2 snacks
It’s pretty straightforward, but the goal is to eat 3 balanced plates and 2 snacks.
Ideally, each meal would have a serving of protein, carbs, fiber, & fat.
Whatever your snack of choice might be, eat it on a plate.
That means the cookies you grab should go on a plate.
A Christmas cookie would count as a snack.
3 cookies would be more than a snack. 😉
If you stick to having three plates and two snacks, you will have an easier time staying on track.
Sticking to a plan is hard if you have no plan, right?
Level 3: Using hand measurements
Building a balanced plate is an essential part of weight management, and using hand measurements is another way to track and be aware of how much you are consuming.
Protein ✋ The palm of your hand, roughly 20-30g of protein
Carbohydrates 🤌 A cupped handful, roughly 20-30 g carbs
Fat 👍 A Thumb length, roughly 7-12 g fat.
Ideally, the plate would start with 50% fruits and vegetables; most folks need the extra fiber.
From there, you can structure your plate using the hand portion guide.
A good base for most individuals would be:
- 1-1.5 palmfuls of protein at most meals.
- 1 cupped handful of carbohydrates
- 1-2 thumbs of fat.
- 2 fistfuls of non-starchy vegetables.
Whichever you choose, stick with it throughout the holiday season.
Another Option For Those Tracking
Tracking during a holiday can be helpful and is another way to ensure you have wiggle room at the family dinner.
Try doing a modified fast.
No, you won’t be skipping meals…because that will lead to overindulging at the family party.
During breakfast & lunch, you will lower your carb and fat intake, focusing on a HIGHER protein intake.
Bringing carbohydrates and fat down during those meals will give you a bigger calorie budget for your dinner.
A higher protein intake during the front half of the day will make it easier to stay full between meals & to hit your daily protein goal by the end of the day.
No matter the option you choose, it all requires you to plan.
Planning How To Stay On Track
You know how you react to each of these situations, so planning helps.
It’s not about creating a complex set of rules. That tends to make someone feel like a failure if things don’t go according to plan.
He was having a hard time on the weekends. There were a lot of family parties, drinks with friends, and huge meals out.
So, he decided he would work on setting horizon guides:
👉 Having one plate and one dessert
👉 2 drinks max when going to parties or out to eat
After setting these “horizon” guides, he noticed that he could wake up on Sunday with more energy and have an easier time kicking off his Monday.
Sometimes the guides worked better than others.
The more he practiced, the more he learned what worked best.
John made some solid progress.
Nutrition is an experiment, and it requires adjustments along the way. It’s not a one-size-fits-all experience; there’s more to it.
Creating a plan is a key part of how to stay on track during the holidays.
Give yourself a plan/guide and it won’t feel like a guessing game.
Final Thoughts: How To Stay On Track During The Holidays
Enjoying yourself during the holidays is how you can stay on track.
Instead of focusing on losing weight, what if you just worked on maintaining?
That means you can enjoy your favorite things with your family and friends.
That means you can continue to workout.
That means you can continue to be aware of portion sizes.
Does it mean things will be perfect?
Nope.
It means you will see the scale fluctuate, but now you know it’s completely normal.
It means you will permit yourself to enjoy the delicious treats your grandmother made.
It also means you can say no when you don’t want something.
Being off track during the holiday is a part of the weight loss journey.
You really can’t fuck this up.
The only way you ruin your progress is by using the holiday as an excuse to quit altogether.
You’re not going to quit.
You’re going to enjoy yourself and keep going.
If you’re short on time and can’t make it to the gym during the holidays, you should grab a copy of my Lean & Strong Blueprint.
Drop your email address below, and I’ll send it to your inbox for FREE.
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