Comments on: 10 Tips to Deal with Holiday Weight Gain

By: Kat

Kat — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 05:12:15 +0000

Yes! I did all this and can’t believe I’m reading about it here now. These tips certainly work — and then you don’t need to be a weirdo at xmas eve dinner and you can enjoy some celebratory traditions.

I survived the holidays by fasting all day until feasting, working out right before eating (I’m a runner — lots of miles before the feast, done fasted, remember), and since I get to be the cook at family meals, the food would be gluten-free, made from scratch, and not loaded with cheese (but still indulgent and classic). I didn’t go for the cheese plate or eggnog and tried to satisfy myself on the carbs and protein; but, that said, it wasn’t lowfat, by definition, and definitely constituted a mixed meal. Anyway, I ate quite a bit the past couple months but I am the same size 4 I was when I went into the holidays. Its amazing what multiple days of smart, restricted eating will do for one day or one weekend of feasting — its quite a buffer you get.

I do find, however, that I have a slightly soft veneer that wasn’t there before, so I’m doing 4 days of RFL and then “going back to normal” to get closer to the size-two-almost that I can be.

By: Hero999

Hero999 — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 21:06:21 +0000

All good tips, I notice I’ve practised some of the above without even realising it.

I often deliberately eat less and run a couple of miles the day before going out for an evening meal because I enjoy the food more, especially if it’s an all you can eat buffet!

I tend to make sure I eat the meat and greens first and if I leave anything it’ll be the white carbs (potatoes, pasta, rice etc.) so I’ve got room for dessert, if I feel like it.

If I overeat, I notice I eat less the following day which isn’t a conscience effort, it just happens. I may skip breakfast or just have an apple rather than the usual muesli and Allbran or porridge/bran mix. I know you’ve probably heard you shouldn’t skip breakfast but if you shouldn’t eat when you’re not hungry and if you know you’ve overeaten the night before, it should be obvious.

I’m not dieting or bodybuilding, just maintaining my healthy weight and don’t want to go back to how I was before.

By: Evelyn Miles

Evelyn Miles — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 04:24:39 +0000

I did a BB contest soon after Christmas and as my trainer said….it is one day, the rest is an excuse! True and False.
It is not always easy but it is do-able to take a ‘considered’ approach to what you shove in your mouth. It is always a choice and as much as you hate that reality – here it is.
Imagine how proud you will be when you DON’T blow out like some of your friends/associates.
So, aim to be proud of your will power an considered eating over the festive season.
- Ev

By: James

James — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 22:25:13 +0000

Great article, No. 10 made me go read the “Flexible vs. Rigid Dieting” article again because oh boy is that a familiar scenario for me. It seems so strange I can go through weeks upon weeks of perftect dieting, only to suffer a severe bout of lack of control when something unexpected comes up (ahh, my parents pantry…). I’d love to hear more about the topic!

Thanks.

By: Aidan

Aidan — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 01:44:10 +0000

I love this article, thanks for updating and re-posting. Number eight is priceless..

By: Alex Zinchenko

Alex Zinchenko — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 19:02:33 +0000

Well put, Lyle. But holiday weight is not something that I recommended to worry about. This weight won’t be with you for too long. In my experience I could gain a kilo and drop it down the day after. If you eat clean most of the days in a week or month you’ll be fine.

- Alex

By: Deanna

Deanna — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 04:19:05 +0000

Oh, no, I had to laugh out loud because I’m that asshole who should be pinned down and stuffed with fudge until I vomit!

Actually, for what it’s worth, for Thanksgiving I just made a couple sides to contribute, so I wasn’t eating it by myself, and I did eat my mother-in-law’s pie. And at my husband’s family dinner party, I did eat freely of meatballs and veggies, but had my own meal when it came time to chowing lasagna. But I did eat dessert, too, so I’m hoping that balanced out.

My husband’s family are all cheese-a-holics, and dairy does not agree with me at all! I hope that buys me some asshole forgiveness!

By: Eric

Eric — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 05:47:30 +0000

I had a terrible week diet-wise (a week-long refeed?) but now I’m back at home and I only gained 2 pounds, which is in the measurement noise as far as I’m concerned. Time to get back to work. I’m glad I didn’t pay attention to those insane ramblings. (Actually, I did and felt guilty all week.) It’s good to find a middle ground here between those ramblings and the worthless advice the media spout.

By: Hugo

Hugo — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 11:28:47 +0000

Great post. Read it before but it’s still valuable.

What I found most convenient and effective is a good workout in the morning, fasting till the afternoon, have a piece of cake, big dinner and go for a walk after that. Then in the evening it’s not that hard to keep food intake to a minimum. If you stick to it, you can even get below your maintenance for the day.

And if not, what if you DO gain some weight? How much can it possibly be in 2 days? nothing you can’t lose the week after.

The stressing out about all this alone produces more fat storage then the actual calories

By: Ahmed

Ahmed — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 17:44:31 +0000

The mix of intermittent fasting + training usually does it for me. Plus not stressing.

I can spot a dieter at a holiday gathering in a second. They’re the ones stressing about the food on the table before the food is even on the table, while others are enjoying themselves, the entire point.