The Holiday season is upon us and something I hear a lot is “I feel stress when I think about eating around the holidays.” Maybe that questions sounds familiar. The tricky part for many of us with eating around this time of year is that it tends to feel like you have to choose between enjoying your favorite appetizers, desserts, holiday themed drinks and more or simply leave it all behind and eat only the protein and the veggies provided. Either way can feel defeating where on one end, you get to enjoy all the holiday foods but may feel not so great later from a stomach ache. On the other hand, feeling great from the inside out but sad and lacking enjoyment in your holiday celebrations avoiding all of the foods that are a big part of what make this cozy season so joyful. So what is the consensus? Keep reading for strategies to navigate the Holiday season with confidence and balance and little bit of middle ground!
Prioritize Foods You Love & Add On
Research has shown that during the holidays, “individuals tend to consume significantly more food in a 24 hour period than they would typically (Abdulan et. al., 2023).” You may be wondering what action, if any can we can take to keep intake a bit more balanced without taking out holiday favorites. One of the biggest tips I often give is to resist the urge to fend off your favorite holiday foods, the ones you love the most. Instead, prioritize these foods! If you only get to enjoy your grandmothers most prized molasses cookie recipe once a year at Christmas, or your favorite frozen ice cream pumpkin pie is available only at Thanksgiving, give yourself full permission to enjoy a slice (or two)! Enjoying the foods you love and look forward to will bring joy, satisfaction with eating and leave you feeling fulfilled whereas saying no will have you longing for these foods later and may lead to overeating at the end of the night or when festivities are coming to a close. An intentional enjoyment of a few of your favorite foods and desserts goes a long way in checking all of the boxes. This aids in keeping overall intake in a good range, feeling satisfied with eating and content rather than trying to restrict and fight the urge.
Utilize Protein & Fiber to Stabilize
One of the biggest tools in the tool box is creating blood sugar balance around holiday eating. Eating enough throughout the rest of the day rather than saving it up for the big meal later on, will allow you to go into the celebration feeling much more balanced to be able to make more connected and informed nutrition decisions. Often times around the holiday season, a lot of foods tend to be more carb based, and when consumed in high amounts without much fiber this can lead to a spike and subsequent fall in blood sugar, leaving strong hunger shortly after as well as low eating satisfaction and thus may increase overall daily calories. Interestingly, a study from the New England Journal of Medicine in three countries found that the participants’ weight rose within 10 days after Christmas Day, as compared with 10 days before Christmas Day, with weight increases of 0.4% in the United States, (Helander et. al., 2016). Adding in fiber and protein around foods high in carbs, added sugar or saturated fats can aid in staying fuller longer, keeping blood sugar balanced and in overall weight management during the holiday time period while still enjoying foods you love. A few examples would be pairing a dinner roll with turkey for protein and sweet potatoes for fiber or pairing a cookie with a glass of higher-protein, ultra-filtered milk.
Get Connected To Hunger and Fullness Cues
Hunger and fullness may seem like easy to understand concepts but getting connected to how these feel in your body can be key in making all of the difference to enjoy the holidays without the discomfort or side effects that may come with overeating. When thinking of hunger and fullness on a scale of 1-10 (one being ravenous/starving and ten being overly full/stuffed/feeling sick) it can help to conceptualize what a comfortable hunger level and fullness level feels like in your body specifically. Ideally, aiming somewhere around a three for hunger where your body is beginning to feel hungry versus emergency hunger at a one is best. Conversely, aiming for six to seven on the scale for fullness is a good goal. This is the point where your body feels that you could eat a bit more but when more time passes it may push into a higher level of fullness or reaching into discomfort. Listening to your body and how it feels and the signals it is giving is a surefire way to stay connected during the holidays without cutting out foods or restricting the desserts you love most.
Go For a Walk After Eating
Another great tip is to take a quick walk after eating a larger meal. Even a brief 10 minute walk has been shown to lower peak glucose levels and thus improve blood sugar response after eating according to research (Hashimoto et. al., 2025). Whether it’s nice out where you live or quite chilly at this time of year, a shorter walk accommodates all and has some great benefits. It is best however, to walk as soon as possible if not immediately after eating for best action on the blood sugar response.
Take Some To-Go For Later
Last but certainly not least, take some of your favorite foods for later! If you’re listening to your hunger and fullness cues you may not want to over do it so you can leave feeling your best and comfortably full. If you don’t want to miss out on a few favorites you didn’t quite get to, take some for later if they’re up for grabs. Allowing yourself to enjoy these foods over the next few days tends to be much better than cramming them all into one day on both your stomach, your fullness levels and overall comfortability.
References:
Helander, E.E.; Wansink, B.; Chieh, A. Weight Gain over the Holidays in Three Countries. N. Engl. J. Med. 2016, 375, 1200–1202 https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMc1602012
Abdulan, I.M.; Popescu, G.; Mas,taleru, A.; Oancea, A.; Costache, A.D.; Cojocaru, D.-C.; Cump ˘at, C.-M.; Ciuntu, B.M.; Rusu, B.; Leon, M.M. Winter Holidays and Their Impact on Eating Behavior—A Systematic Review. Nutrients 2023, 15, 4201. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15194201
Hashimoto, Kaito et al. Positive impact of a 10-min walk immediately after glucose intake on postprandial glucose levels. Sci. Rep. 2025, 15, 22662. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-07312-y
