It’s been funny thinking about weight gain/weight loss recently upon the release of my course, Magic Meets Weight Loss.

Now that I’ve started talking about this awesome area of my life, it’s come up in conversation almost daily. It’s so fun! I love sharing the mindset, nervous system, and emotional hacks I use to maintain my ideal weight year after year.

But here’s what I mean by “it’s funny”: I’m realizing there are SO many mindset tricks I’ve been living by and taking for granted, and now that I’m stopping to think about them and talk about them, I’m so eager to share them.

(And I’m also getting lots of interesting questions from readers. And I’m having lots of interesting conversations.)

For instance: the subject of holiday weight gain has come up in THREE different conversations this month. And it’s so bloggable because I’m realizing it’s maybe something that A LOT of people are thinking about, even if they’re not saying it out loud.

The science-y part of holiday weight gain

Fitness professionals, dietitians, personal trainers, and general weight loss pros will tell you this:

Holiday weight gain is normal. (You can know this intellectually but it can still kind of shock you.)

If you’re stepping on a scale and thinking, “why do I weight SO much after a holiday?!” just know this: We tend to consume more dessert, holiday cocktails, salt, and extra calories over the holiday period. Duh! December a time to have fun!

It’s actually REALLY hard to put on that much “true weight” (meaning fat gain) over the holiday season. You’d have to eat, like, a LOT of cookies to truly gain 10 pounds of fat. Not entirely impossible, but most likely if the scale is really high, it’s not because you truly gained that much weight.

It’s most likely a lot of bloat and water weight. Your body is puffy and hanging on to extra puff.

Ok, sweet. But that doesn’t make me feel any better.

Here’s where everyone gets it wrong. Weight loss pros say, “it’s not really weight gain! Just patiently get back on track, and you’ll be ok! No crash diets…just try to gradually get back to eating more veggies, stop consuming sugar and alcoholic drinks, and no more late night snacking.”

Here’s why that doesn’t work:You feel kind of “blah” and puffy right now. Holiday eating, shorter days, and colder weather do that to many people! And when you feel bad physically, and you’re full of guilt, you don’t feel inspired to stick to new goals like cutting out alcohol, limiting sugar intake, and stopping the late night Christmas candy binge sessions.

At least, not for long. We might do them for a bit, but we’ll fall off the bandwagon eventually.

Here’s the new approach that I learned

Holiday weight gain used to be something that seriously stressed me out. 10 years ago I remember beating myself up SO badly in early January when I would step on a scale and think, “ugh, the number is going up EVEN HIGHER!” It felt awful.

These days, I literally don’t stress about it the tiniest bit. I don’t step on a scale (unless I have to at an annual doctor appointment.) I know my body will always, always, always find the perfect weight again. I trust that balance means that sometimes I lean more toward indulging and other months I lean more toward discipline, and it always balances out. I love finding a new healthier middle ground in January!

I lost 30 pounds 10 years ago (kind of by accident!) and figured out a magical way to keep it off consistently for the past decade. It’s been the funnest possible way to live because I never think about weight loss or weight management — I just get to enjoy restaurants, enjoy fitness, and enjoy my life.

What to do when you gain weight over the holidays

I’m going to share maybe some unconventional weight loss advice.

But I live an unconventional life, and I really want more people to know about this method. If you’re absolutely exhausted of trying the same thing over and over, feeling frustrated about your weight, and getting bored with restrictions, here’s a different way of looking at it.

Start by noticing how you want to feel.

I get that this is maybe backward from how you usually think about things, but instead of waiting to lose weight in order to feel amazing, could you try to feel amazing and notice how that inspires you to make the right choices to lose weight?

I talk about it in my free 5-day Light Body Reset guide. You can get it here if you want!

Don’t do a crazy crash diet or cleanse.

I know, I know…everyone and their grandmother is doing Dry January, or a Whole30 cleanse, or whatever other trends are in for the next month. It’s soooo popular to do a more intense diet in January when the motivation is high, and then completely fall off the bandwagon in February with chocolates and champagne.

I’m going to offer something different to you. It’s served me well for over a decade now:

What if you focus on eating and drinking things that feel fun and life-giving?

If you’re like, “omg eye roll, if I just ate things that sounded like fun I would consume a bucket of wings dipped in ranch every single night while I binged Netflix.”

But here’s the kicker: go back to that prompt of deciding how you want to feel. Do you want to feel energized? Invigorated? Lean? Focus on that feeling! And then ask yourself – and I mean, really really ask yourself and listen to the answer -“what do I want to eat in order to feel like that person?”

What if we all found a way to live a lifestyle that didn’t expire at the end of January…but lasted for 12 months? Or 12 years? Imagine how easy-breezy and flowy that would feel to just know your body is going to fall into new habits continually find its perfect size!

Water-sleep-water-sleep-water

My favorite way to kind of “hit reset” after a trip, vacation, or holiday, is to focus on the big 2 necessities for our bodies: WATER and SLEEP.

It’s easier to add than to subtract (think: add in healthy items rather than focusing on taking away unhealthy things), so I also just focus on consuming big tumblers of delicious, purified water (we had an RO tap added to our sink during our kitchen remodel and it is soooo fun) and getting a significant increase in Zzz’s…like 8.5 hours of sleep every night.

It’s absolutely crazy how good I feel when these two things are aligned. My healthy weight can’t wait to find me again.

When I’m fully hydrated and fully rested, I find that I’m able to enjoy food, dine out, pay attention to my hunger cues, and listen to my body’s cravings really easily. I literally crave healthy habits and feel excited about them!

When I’m dehydrated and exhausted? Well, that’s when the wheels feel like they’re going to come off. And good news: drinking water and sleeping are both lots of fun. Easy win.

Festive seasons are a part of life! I love a delicious glass of wine, a thoughtfully-made Thanksgiving feast, and a cute holiday cookie.

But during the seasonal changes when we started thinking, “hmm, maybe it’s time for some healthier options,” just remember that your body knows its way back. It wants to feel good!

And when you focus on feeling good ahead of time, your internal motivation that fuels behaviors and nutrition will automatically be sky high. You’ll be finding your vegetables, proteins, fiber, and gallons of water intake without really feeling like you’re “dieting” at all…because healthy living and indulgent living can actually go hand-in-hand.

I have plenty of other free ideas for you in my FREE 5-day Light Body Reset. You can snag your copy right here for immediate access!