Nutrition by Dawn - Blog

The holiday season is officially upon us! If asked to describe the holiday season, we might say it’s the season of joy, of gratitude, of giving to others, and for many people, the holiday season also translates to the snacking, baking, eating season before the eventual crash diet in January. 

Like all families, my own family has some traditional treats that we’ll be making this season, and I’m so excited for that, so please don’t think I would ever discourage you from enjoying all of the foods you love, both during the holidays and all year long. But what I do hate is to hear someone half-jokingly say that they are going to eat their way through the season and then find their diet in January of the next year. 

Let me make something clear: we are not here to pop from diet to diet. It takes up so much of our brain power and emotional energy when there are so many other things we could be doing to bring us joy. 

Today, I want to talk about how we can break the cycle of binge eating to crash dieting at the start of the new year. 

Two of the most popular diet fads right now are intermittent fasting and keto, or low-carb. Neither of these diets are a healthy strategy for losing weight, and I want to dive into why. 

The bottom line of intermittent fasting is skipping meals. Now, you wouldn’t let your kiddo leave the house without breakfast, would you? You wouldn’t let them go without dinner, right? So why should you treat yourself that way? We should treat our body like it belongs to someone we love (I love this quote from Hannah Corbin!). 

Skipping meals makes you hangry, drops your blood sugar, and kills your metabolism. Is it possible you’ll drop a couple of pounds? Probably, because you’re eating less. But at the end of the day, intermittent fasting isn’t a healthy way to lose weight if that’s your goal, and the pounds will return just as soon as you stop skipping meals. 

Keto is the other fad diet going around right now. A healthy lifestyle consists of eating proteins, fats, and, yep, carbs! If you are restricting your body from eating carbs, you're cutting the fuel that your body has to have to function. When you stop feeding your body what it needs, your body essentially cannibalizes itself by using your muscle mass for fuel. 

These crash diets that promise huge results in tiny time periods aren’t healthy, realistic, or helpful to your long term goals. Instead, use these tips to stay healthy during the holidays without binging or restricting your eating. 

1. Let it be a moment in time, not a new lifestyle. 

You don’t have to resort to binge eating in order to enjoy your holiday treats. Let a cookie be a cookie, not a lifestyle that you’re switching to for the next month. Enjoy your treats, but don’t feel like you have to live off of nothing but sugar cookies and dinner rolls until January in the name of the holidays. Eat as you regularly would throughout the day, and then when it’s time to indulge, enjoy it! You’ll feel so much better than if you simply binged all day long. 

2. Drink lots of water. 

While you’re enjoying the season and doing some snacking, plan to drink lots of water throughout the day. Not only does it keep you hydrated, it will slow down your snacking and help digest all of the yummy things you enjoy. 

3. Find holiday activities that aren’t food-centered. 

Maybe you gather the family to work together on a puzzle, or go outside to throw a football, or head to the movie theater. I know that so many of our holiday traditions involve food, and it’s hard to get away from that, but I am asking you to be brave. Do something different, and you’ll get different results this year. 

What holiday treat are you looking forward to this year? Let me know in the comments!

And if you need some inspiration for healthy living, please join me in my Facebook group Never Diet Again for a great community filled with yummy discussion!