Cathy chewed the last sugar coated pecan from her plate, but she didn’t taste it. She was in a strange state.
Before Thanksgiving Day, she’d been keeping track of her calories and macros. Then, hungry from all the holiday hustling, and with the feast laid out before her, she ate like it was her last meal.
Two plates in, and she knew she’d already blown past her macro goals. So she’d thrown in the towel.
Now, she was eating things she didn’t even like! But since she was already in this deep—what the hell!—she might as well top things off with a bowl of candied nuts.
Been there? I have. But, in the long run, overindulging at Thanksgiving isn’t the problem, it’s what we do next.
We often see the slip up as the big failure on our health journey, when in reality, it’s the way we respond after a binge that makes or breaks our progress.
Overindulged at Thanksgiving? You’ll be totally fine with this guide.
Step 1: Don’t Panic and Cut Portions
Our first instinct after overeating is to try to make up for it by under-eating. But that response, motivated by guilt and fear of weight gain, tends to backfire.
This guilt-laden tactic is a great example of pendulum swinging. When guilt and making up for what we feel like was a mistake is our motivation, we tend to do two things:
- We adopt a punishment mindset: Eating a healthy diet is life-giving. It should feel like self care and lead to overall better health—things like more energy, better sleep, balanced hormones, and a healthy body weight.Often, however, we think of healthy eating as a punishment we have to suffer through to get the physical results we want. We think of overeating as our time to finally get what we want. Then, we under-eat to make up for our perceived misbehavior.That’s backward thinking. In reality, it’s a privilege and indulgence to pamper yourself with foods that make you feel and look amazing! Unhealthy foods might taste good or satisfy a fleeting craving, but in excess, many of these foods also lead to low energy, breakouts, weight gain, low moods, and sickness.
The more aware we become of how we feel after eating different types of food, the more we’ll naturally love the foods that make us healthier, inside and out. The day after Thanksgiving, we don’t have to think of healthy eating as our punishment for having a good time. Returning to healthy, healing food should feel like coming home.
- We cut too far: When we under-eat to make up for overeating, we also tend to take things too far. Out of our anxiety over weight gain, we make irrational diet decisions.Old advice about cutting calories takes over our thoughts. We plan to eat nothing but egg whites and spinach for the remainder of the week. We start looking up cleanses. We throw what we know about macro-balanced meals and blood sugar balance out the window, thinking we can right our “wrong” by doing the exact opposite of what we did yesterday and skip our meals altogether.We escape the ditch on one side of the road and fall into the ditch on the other side. The quickest way to continue forward on your health and weight loss journey is to get back on the path toward health. The next steps will show you how.
Step 2: Return to Your Normal Nutrition Goals Now
Return to your regular, healthy eating habits as soon as possible. Don’t delay, for any reason! Begin your day with a nutrient dense breakfast. Hit your protein goals throughout the day. Fuel up on the calories, carbs, and fats you need throughout the day. Focus on whole foods. Today is your fresh start to hit your goals! Need menu ideas? Check out my 3-day, high protein menu at the end of this post.
Step 3: Bump Up Your Hydration
Did you dabble in a few holiday cocktails? If you’re like me, you also tend to forget to drink your water during busy holidays. To combat dehydration after Thanksgiving, aim to drink at least 80 ounces of water per day this week. Drinking water can help flush out excess water weight our bodies hold onto after we’ve eaten high-sodium foods (like that honey-glazed ham). Add my favorite electrolyte supplement for faster, fuller hydration.
Step 4: Skip the Elliptical, Grab the Barbell
We don’t have time to mess around at the gym during our busy holiday schedule. Make your workouts count this week, and focus on getting at least 3 strength training sessions completed. Strength training burns more body fat throughout the week than cardio. Plus, it will promote blood sugar and hormone balance! Not sure where to start? Try these:
Step 5: Schedule Your Sleep
Something as simple as sleep can shift the scale. Adequate sleep is essential for overall health and weight management. You need 7-9 hours of quality sleep each night to recover and regulate your hunger hormones. Make it a priority. Write it into your planner. Decide what time you’re shutting down for the day, and give yourself permission to rest. Check out my sleep guide to improve your sleep tonight!
Step 6: Soothe Your Stress
The holidays are supposed to be happy, but oftentimes we feel more overwhelmed than overjoyed. With Thanksgiving behind us and Christmas in front, stress can hit us like a snowball to the face!
Stress impacts our weight and our overall health. We don’t have to get rid of stress altogether to feel and look our best, but it’s critical that we learn how to manage it.
This month, be especially intentional about incorporating stress-reducing activities into your routine. Mindfulness, meditation, box breathing, exercise, and spending time in nature can transform how you feel and increase weight loss!
Soothe your stress this week and watch how this simple step helps prevent emotional eating, reduces your chance of chronic disease, and increases your overall happiness! It’s worth it—start with this box breathing tutorial.
Step 7: Find Your Support
Finding a community with similar goals and supportive professionals will increase the amount of pounds you lose. Don’t be a lone wolf on your weight loss journey. Link arms with us and find the support you need to reach your goals.
