If you've ever heard that the average person gains 5 to 10 pounds between Thanksgiving and New Year's and you're dreading another holiday season of either restricting yourself from the foods you love or completely falling quote, unquote off track and something feels off about putting your life on hold for over a month before you get started in the new year, this episode is for you. Today, I'm sharing three simple strategies that my most successful clients use to maintain or even improve their fitness through the holidays, without giving up traditions or social events. You've probably heard this statistic that most people gain five to ten pounds between thanksgiving and new year's, and that's where all the weight gain comes from. But here's the surprise, here's the myth buster for you. Research shows the actual average is closer to one to two pounds. The problem isn't the holidays themselves. It's's the why, bother, the F? It mindset that leads to us completely abandoning all the habits we've developed if we've developed them until January 1st. New Year's, new Year's resolution. Today we're gonna break down three simple strategies that'll let you enjoy the season while staying on track with your fitness goals. So I hope you enjoy this bonus episode that dropped in your feed, because something inspired me to create this. I've noticed that my most successful coaching clients the ones who make the best change and transformation, not just physically, but with their mindset and their resilience, their approach, a sustainable approach they actually build momentum during the holidays rather than lose it. In many ways, the holidays really aren't anything special. They've built their strategy to handle anything life throws their way, and so the holidays is just another version of that. And then they can do it without giving up their favorite foods or their family traditions or being that weird person who has to weigh their food at Thanksgiving or what have you. And I want to just share these strategies just so you can start somewhere.

If you feel like you're the type of person struggling with this, strategy number one is the protein first method. Probably no surprise, but it really works well. Instead of just trying to control everything about all of these holiday meals and all of your balanced and the fiber and nutrients and carbs and fats and macros and calories, just focus on one thing Just get adequate protein. Even if you're not tracking okay, and I would encourage tracking, but even if you're not, if you simply prioritize it at every meal, every time you eat, it starts with protein, especially before, say, the holiday treats, the baked goods, the desserts, the multiple courses in your meal, you're going to naturally regulate your appetite and preserve muscle mass. So you get a two for one, three for one, four for one, whatever you want to call it, because protein has a lot of benefits. And if you could aim for around 30 grams of protein right, which, again, even if you're not tracking, you can estimate what that is. You know it's a. It's a full size serving of lean meats or a couple servings of other high-protein-containing foods, whether that's dairy egg, vegetables, plant-based sources, grains, legumes and so on, tofu-based products there's so many options. Holiday dinner or in the morning before you have a holiday brunch, you know turkey and ham before you dive into your other dishes at the I know we just had Thanksgiving, but at the Christmas party or Christmas meal, where there is meat just starting with that. So it's a very simple thing to think about whenever you eat and if nothing else, that'll take you pretty far.

Strategy number two is a strategic surplus. So, rather than treating a holiday gathering as a cheat meal or thinking that you have to save up calories or sacrifice things outside of the meal to save up or make the meal work or fit in, simply plan to eat around or slightly above your maintenance calories on those days and then slightly below on your regular days. This is, if you're in a fat loss phase or even trying to be at maintenance, just kind of shifting it a bit. I don't want you to shift it a lot because that's going to cause a feeling of restriction that is going to make you binge, but this is more of a natural cycling that prevents some significant swing in either direction and allows you to enjoy the special occasion and you're doing it without feeling guilty about it or feeling like you're quote unquote cheating. You're simply planning it in that way.

So if you know you have a party Saturday, you, thursday and Friday maybe have just a light routine, again, not restricting foods, not significantly restricting calories, just keeping them routine and normal and kind of on the lighter end, reducing some portions, emphasizing your lean proteins, your vegetables, your fiber, just simple stuff like that. And then you deliberately plan at or above maintenance for the specific day with the event and don't overthink it, don't overthink it, just kind of eat your normal foods leading up to it. Use strategy number one we just talked about protein first and you should be good, and then strategy number three is having a daily minimum for your movement. Whatever that is Okay. I'm not going to prescribe specific movement because it depends on your schedule and your training goals or making excuses that you can't train because of this holiday being in the way.

Just commit to something that you do every day and don't think of it as punishment. Don't think you have to make it up or burn off the food. It doesn't work that way. This is a one or two day thing we're talking about with the holidays. So moving every day, something as simple as, yes, a training session, but even a 20 minute walk earlier in the day to kind of get the juices going, get the heart rate and the blood flow going All of that can really set you up physically but more importantly, mentally. They can improve your mental health and mental fitness for the day and kind of set you up to reframe the situation as you approach the food side of it. The goal isn't to burn calories, it's just to keep the habit and the momentum going. But momentum also does improve your insulin sensitivity, which is another reason I absolutely love it, and that helps your body handle those holiday meals and balance everything out.

So here's what most people miss about holiday nutrition. I think that the goal isn't to prevent all weight gain or to restrict yourself from enjoying things right. The goal is to maintain the routines and habits and your relationship with food through what might seem a challenging time, although, if we really step back, the whole year is full of times that are going to disrupt your schedule. That is just life, because if you can do that during the holidays, you can do it in those times. You could do it anytime, right, and that's exactly why this is a great time of year. You're listening to this, probably around the Friday after Thanksgiving or the week just after.

I'm opening spots in my coaching program now rather than waiting for January, because I noticed that when people get the right guidance and support at this time of year, when it's quote unquote harder, you can then use the next few weeks to build those habits that become easier the rest of the year and you get way ahead of any sort of New Year's resolution or short-term quick fix approach. So if you're ready to take control of your journey before the new year, I've got something special for you because through Monday, cyber Monday at midnight, you can join my coaching program pretty much at the lowest rate I'll ever offer during the year and maybe ever from this point on, because my price tends to go up and what you're going to get is not six months but an extra bonus month. So seven months of personalized one-on-one coaching for the price of six. But really it's less than the price of six because I'm also throwing in a ton of other things to the bundle. I'm throwing in a free adjustment or coaching program or training program for you, for your personal goals, so I'm actually going to customize your program for you.

I'm also throwing in three exclusive guides. I'm throwing in a recipe pack. I'm throwing in a whole bunch of goodies. Just go to the link in my show notes to see, because, honestly, those things the features, benefits aren't nearly as important as the fact that you don't have to choose between enjoying the holidays and staying on track. You can get support now and I've given you some help on the budget side to make it more affordable as well. So why not just get started before everyone else does and get those routines in place during December so that the first six months of 2025 are just slamming for you. They're just super successful and you're gonna get there and that's it. So go to the link in my show notes to look up the Black Friday bundle. I've got a code in there for you BF50. That effectively makes the whole thing about 75% off the normal price and I will talk to you next time here on the Wits and Weights podcast.