Written by Jordyn BS, MS Nutrition BS

If you’re trying to lose weight, the holidays can be an especially hard time to stick to your weight loss goals and workout schedule but fear not! It's possible to eat, drink and enjoy the good festivities without adding on those extra pounds. Did you know a typical holiday meal that a guest can have can be up to 3000 calories! These meals can easily wreck your weight loss journey! When we are at a party we normally don’t think about consuming those additional calories, we just wanna have fun and enjoy the night. When the holiday season comes around for each adult it usually adds about 5 to 10 pounds to our waistlines. We all want to go and socialize but there always is a disadvantage. You worked so hard with your weight goals, why throw it all away with holiday gatherings and festivities. However, over the past couple of years as a college student and a working post grad student; I can honestly say I have some tips and tricks up my sleeve to go to parties without gaining extra weight, especially the holiday ones. 

1. Eat Before Hand! 

Don’t arrive hungry. This can cause you to easily over eat and not be in your calorie deficit.  I  used to attend a lot of holiday parties on an empty stomach and eat the food as my meal throughout the years. I learned to eat at home beforehand and snack on small hors d’oeuvres such as fruit veggies or low carb appetizers. Remember to add in those high protein or high-fiber snacks like meals before you go to the party. This can include greek yogurt or veggies with hummus. Doing this throughout each party you go to and thinking about eating beforehand can save you countless calories. 

2. Skip out on the High Calorie Alcohol Festive Drinks 

Throughout the holidays, there can be a trend for a very high calorie drinks such as “ A White Christmas cocktail” or a “Spiked Apple Cider Mimosa”. These are calories from drinks that are often forgotten about which can be high. These fall under the high “empty calories” because you're not getting full from drinking, leaving you even more hungry. And chances are from drinking, you could increase your appetite which studies have shown. Carbohydrates and Protein have 4 calories per gram while fat has 9 calories per gram and alcohol has 7 calories per gram. This means aside from the fatty foods, the calories from alcohol add up quicker than any other macronutrient. In the future, you can start skipping out on the high calorie alcoholic drinks and go for the spritzers or seltzer mixed drinks with diet soda instead. Keep in mind, you don’t have to stop drinking, you just have to make smarter choices with the kind of drinks you consume. Still, it is a holiday celebration and you should enjoy yourself, so choose wisely on how to make your smart drink choice or stick to a glass of wine or a light beer.

3.  It’s Okay to Say YES to Dessert 

Since it is the holidays, it is a special occasion and you deserve to celebrate and definitely say YES to dessert. Desserts can be a part of a healthy diet since you should be focusing on your total calorie intake. Thus, if you want to “spend” more of your calories on dessert for that day, it’ll be fine because calories are calories. However, since calories are calories, you may not need the extra alcoholic drink if you are going to plan for dessert. You can go over your calorie intake a little, but you can’t indulge. I am not personally a big desert person but when it comes to Christmas, I go over my calorie intake with my favorite frosted sugar Christmas cookies. Keep in mind, when you’re at a party you should plan on what you’re going to choose for your dessert and do a lap around the dessert table before making the right choice. Whether it’s a larger dessert item or a few smaller desserts; you can put them together to make one for you own dessert serving with your total calorie intake. 

In Conclusion…

I’ve realized throughout the holidays, WEIGHT shouldn’t be the GAME CHANGER. Trying or taste testing your Grandma’s favorite homemade dinner rolls or tasting her famous apple pie (shoutout to my grandma’s amazing apple pie)! It’s OK to indulge a little but we have to remember to keep to our goal weight and keep within our total daily calorie intake so we don’t lose the hard work that was already accomplished. Don’t give up but also don’t give in, you have worked so hard for your results and you wouldn’t want to spoil it this holiday season! Holidays are about making memories, so make sure you enjoy your holiday season with friends and family and not focus solely on just losing weight! Happy Holidays!

To start your sustainable weight loss journey today, check out our calorie-tracking tutorial. The first step of weight loss is being aware of how you eat and our calorie-tracking method can get you there!