Thoughts on Holiday Weight Gain: Don’t Worry Too Much

We're coming up on Thanksgiving, traditionally one of, if not the, biggest food-related holidays in the country.  It's basically the one holiday where everyone flat out admits they're going to eat too much.

And right behind that comes the fretting about putting on weight thanks to Thanksgiving and other holiday dinners.

The question is, can one meal really cause you to pack on the pounds?

Science says no.

The idea that overdoing things in one big meal can cause you to gain weight is straight out of comics and cartoons.  In other words, fiction.

via GIPHY

What we notice as extra weight immediately after Thanksgiving is water retention from all the salt and carbs we just took in.  As long as we don't keep eating that much, it won't stick around.  It takes sustained overeating to pack on the pounds.

The tough part is, it's the time of year when we're doing a lot of celebrating as the year winds down, and typically that celebrating comes with big meals that taste good, but maybe aren't the best for our waistlines.

So what can we do?

Obviously, I'm not a doctor, but the best advice i can offer is to think critically about what and how much you're eating.

Do you really need to have third or fourth helpings?  How about that second or third round of dessert?

Of course, there's also getting a jump on burning off the big dinner.  Maybe go for a walk or play a game, provided you don't fall into a turkey coma first.

Yes, the holidays are a time of indulgence and over-indulgence, but you're still in control of what goes in your mouth.