How to Enjoy the Holidays Without Losing Yourself
… and how one pound can change everything
Do you ever catch yourself staring into the refrigerator…
You’re not even necessarily hungry…
… but your brain is fried and you’re desperate for a quick escape?
These moments sneak up on us every December.
You’re stressed by the chaos the holidays and the end of the year bring.
Your “normal routine” barely exists.
Your willpower is hanging on by a thread.
So you start negotiating with yourself…
“It’s the holidays, I deserve to treat myself.”
“It’s been a long year, I need a break.”
“It’s fine, I’ll get back on track in January.”
For most people, those negotiations add up to one single pound.
A pound you don’t feel.
A pound so insignificant it seems silly to think it matters.
But it does.
Because that one pound — the one the average American gains between Thanksgiving and New Year’s — makes up 76% of their total annual weight gain.
And nearly no one loses it.
That pound just… sticks around.
The Hidden Pattern Nobody Notices
A fascinating study followed adults for an entire year, weighing them every 6–8 weeks.
No guesswork.
No food logs.
Just real data.
Here’s what they found:
Most people gained one pound during the holidays.
Not five. Not ten. One.
But that single pound accounted for the majority of their yearly weight gain — and almost no one took it back off.
Repeat that for 10 years and suddenly you’re 10 pounds heavier, wondering where it all came from.
The answer?
Not massive overeating.
Not one “bad” month.
Not a dramatic fall-off-the-wagon moment.
But consistency — the wrong kind.
It’s Not One Thing — It’s Everything
You’d think the study would blame:
Stress eating
Office parties
Holiday travel
Alcohol
A seemingly infinite supply of cookies that regenerate on the counter
But researchers found no single culprit.
It wasn’t stress.
It wasn’t travel.
It wasn’t even the number of celebrations.
It was the mindset shift.
As soon as the calendar flips to late November, something subtle loosens inside us:
We move a little less.
We sleep a little worse.
We snack more often and with less awareness.
We give ourselves permission to “deal with it in January.”
It’s not the indulgence that gets us — it’s the abandonment.
Why Holiday Weight “Sticks”
Throughout the rest of the year, we live in a natural ebb and flow:
Good weeks, sluggish weeks, strong weeks, off weeks.
That’s normal.
That’s human.
That’s balance.
But during the holidays, the flow disappears.
Every small decision compounds in the same direction.
The holiday pound doesn’t stick because it’s powerful.
It sticks because the habits that normally pull you back to center… vanish.
So What’s the Solution?
The answer is not perfection.
I’ll be the first to tell you:
Enjoy the dessert.
Have the drink.
Go to the party.
Laugh too hard.
Stay too late.
Make memories — not macros — the priority.
But don’t lose yourself.
Don’t let December erase the anchors that keep you grounded the other eleven months of the year.
Those anchors don’t need to be dramatic:
A breakfast built around protein and fiber
Intentional daily movement — not as punishment, but as self-love
Paying attention to true hunger, not autopilot snacking
A 20-minute walk after dinner
Two glasses of water for every glass of wine
You don’t need to prevent ten pounds — you just need to prevent one.
You don’t need a full lifestyle overhaul — you just need to protect the tiny habits that keep you from drifting further than you want to go.
Because small changes lead to big results — but small abandonments do, too.
Both paths are built the same way: one decision at a time.
The Real Question to Ask Yourself This Season
As you step into the holidays, ask yourself a gentler, wiser question:
What would it look like to enjoy fully, without losing myself?
Because if one subtle shift can pull you off course, one small choice today can pull you right back.
Enjoy the season.
Enjoy the food.
Enjoy the people.
Enjoy your life.
Just don’t forget the version of you you’re trying to build.
