Christmas diet break

I read an article several years ago that was talking about how for much of the population, the slow and gradual weight gain is attributable to the holidays and winter in general where, for example, someone puts on 10 Lbs over the winter but loses 5 afterwards in the Spring/Summer...rinse and repeat to where 5 years later the person is 25 Lbs heavier and wondering how they got there.

I totally buy that as it was pretty typical for me to put on 8-10 Lbs over the winter when I was in maintenance...some of that was holiday type foods and whatnot, but a lot of it was just a decline in activity overall, including exercise. I think a goal of maintenance during this time is perfectly reasonable and you're probably doing better than gen pop with that.

For myself, this is not a particularly good time of year to actively try to lose weight and so far I've maintained this winter rather than putting on my usual poundage so I consider that a win. I have put a greater focus this winter on keeping up with regular exercise and being consistent in the weight room and come January I will get back into actively trying to lose my COVID Lbs.

I'd point out that you've posted this question in the "maintaining weight" part of the Community, so probably quite a few people reading your post are eating at maintenance over the holidays because they're eating at maintenance most of the time now. But that's OK - we do have past experience, most of us, or minor seasonal weight loss needs.

For me, a key factor in handling this season is not so much where I set my calorie goal, but to consciously think of this season as about holidays, not holiweeks or holimonths.

There are many events and celebrations, but not all of them require me to eat in some extra-heavy way. I can go out for the happy hour, order the lighter appetizer, stick to limited/low-cal drinks, especially if this is happening at just some regular restaurant (not a special place). I can sample the foods at a potluck/buffet and be selective . . . and may decide to exceed my calorie goal if there's something really special on offer in a particular case. If FOMO drives me to sample multiple types of pie at the actual main holiday dinner, they can at least be small pieces. And so forth.

Sometimes it's worthwhile because of the food itself to eat more than goal, but a lot of times, the point is social, and the food is just a part of the picture . . . not the most important part. Earlier in life, I would've overeaten just because of my own expectations that that was the thing to do at any/every celebration (or lots of other excuses to overeat, actually).

Looking at total calories over a week(ish) and aiming to stay at or below maintenance calories (on average) can be a way to implement that, and allow more flexibility. Unless someone's bodyweight itself is an acute health threat, what's the downside? Delay in reaching goal weight - that's pretty much it. Is that delay worth it? That's an individual-specific question. Also, there's value in maintenance practice, before actual maintenance arrives, I think. Why not do it at holiday time?

I admit, at this point - around 7 years into maintenance - I don't worry much about an over-goal day here and there, as long as they're more rare than frequent. It's a drop in the ocean of life. Usually, there's a little water weight jump on the scale, then I go back to normal routine, and weight steadies out to normal within around a week. It's not a big deal.

Early in the process, during loss and the early months of maintenance, I was more worried about this sort of thing. In a way, I think there was a little magical thinking going on, some subconscious belief that I would gain all that weight back from one or two over-goal days. That's just not how it works, but it took a while to absorb that idea viscerally.

You might like this thread (not from me, but started by another MFPer with experience, with comments from others):

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10878914/holiday-challenge-maintain-not-lose

Best wishes for great holidays!

Nope. Sticking with the plan. It's a very slippery slope for me.

I know this is past, but there are many other days/times of the year where it's applicable.

I don't do anything specifically for the 'holidays' to avoid gaining weight. I am naturally less active, I eat more, I eat the sweets and good stuff that we only have at Christmas/Thanksgiving time. I don't do a damn thing. So I naturally gain some weight.

I just get back to my normal routine and things go back to normal.

I don't calorie count on the evening of Christmas Eve, and on Christmas Day. On Christmas Day, I eat whatever I like, no limits. After that I return to normal, except I give myself a week off from weighing myself (usually I self-weight more or less every day). Seems to work OK for me the past couple of years. The key for me is to take a few days off at most, not a few weeks / months. But it is easier for me given that I don't live in a country that celebrates Thanksgiving, so the whole "season" starts a good deal later.