The Christmas Cookie Crisis
It’s the most wonderful time of the year and the worst time for a diet. There will be parties for hosting, marshmallows for toasting, gingerbread houses for construction, and endless cookies for consumption. Being on a restrictive diet plan might turn you into the Grinch, grumbling at every Christmas Cookie Party invite. During the holidays, it’s more important than ever to remember that there’s no such thing as good or bad foods. All food is made up of nutrients and you get to choose which nutrients will make you feel your best.
Are stressed that the endless holiday parties might derail your progress? Well, The Habyt believes that relaxing around food is an important practice. You know what will happen if you go over your macros during the holidays? Absolutely nothing. A day off isn’t going to ruin all your hard work. You are strong and you are still on track.
New to macros? You might find yourself thinking, “There’s no point in starting a diet during the holidays.” There’s always going to be temptation, no matter the time of year. So why not start now? Sure, you could wait until January 1st, but why would you want to delay doing something that will make you feel good? It doesn’t matter when you get started, just that you start.
Still not convinced? Consider this- to gain one pound of fat, it takes eating 3,500 calories over your total daily energy expenditure. What does that even mean?? Your TDEE is the total number of calories burned in a day when exercise is taken into account. So it’s your BMR (the calories your body burns just being alive) plus your calories burned for exercise and activity. In short, it’s extremely hard to gain a pound of fat in one day. So for anyone stressing over gaining weight over the holidays, stop. Remember it’s only one day! Heck, it’s only one meal.
So before you freak out if you see the scale jump up, think about these things: food has weight, when you’re eating more food, it’s normal for that to be displayed on the scale. Increased food naturally increases sodium, and usually fiber. Both of those pull water in, so again you’re likely going to see an increase on the scale. An increase in carbs, means an increase in glycogen. Each gram of glycogen stored, stores 3-4g of water with it... Again, leading to an increase on the scale.
A table of pies should never give you anxiety. Cravings and indulgences are normal and okay. Consider that tray of sprinkle cookies an exercise in trusting yourself and respecting your body’s cravings. Plus, you won’t be able to fully enjoy the company of your friends and family if you’re too busy trying to log Grandma’s famous gingerbread cookies in MyFitnessPal (she’ll never give you the recipe anyway). Of course, we’re not saying to purposely overindulge. Keep things manageable. Just remember that being present and spending time with your loved ones is the most important thing to keep track of during the holidays.
Enjoy the holidays how YOU want, and focus on the people you are with!
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