ABS Audio Newsletter: Dealing with Holidays
Issue 34: How to handle dieting during the holidays?
ISSUE 34:
How should YOU manage your diet during the holidays?
Welcome to the 34th issue of the ABS newsletter! Given Thanksgiving is this week, I felt compelled to discuss dieting during the holidays. I’ve spent the past week discussing with clients the various options that can be implemented for occasions such as this. As with many things in life there are several avenues of varied tiers of flexibility. How do we determine which is best for us?
The answer: Perform a cost/benefit analysis for each.
Stay the course and continue to diet:
still can make progress towards your goal
may limit holiday and family time enjoyment
restriction with high temptation could lead to binge
Take a day at maintenance:
allows for a bit more flexibility
can lead to some brief psychological relief
could exacerbate cravings
quick turnaround to get back on track
Take a day off from tracking and focus only on core meal design:
more flexibility
essentially a “free day”
focus only on general concepts (protein centric etc)
less restrictive physically and mentally
may overconsume calories on the day
quick turnaround
Take a “weekend” at maintenance (2 maybe 3 days):
several days with added flexibility
longer psychological break
more enjoyment with family and friends
minor pause on progress
Take a full week diet break:
full week in maintenance practice
significant psychological break
could be coupled with a deload
week long of no progress
End the diet and begin a maintenance phase:
maximum flexibility
practice maintenance eating
no real downsides as the diet has been ended and the goal is maintaining
Each of these have different situations and may or may not be appropriate for the individual. Based upon your situation and needs will dictate which option is best for you and facilitates your goals.
The outline of our conversation:
1. General intro.
2. Overview
3. Pros and Cons of each method
4. My top picks
5. My final thoughts and HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
I greatly appreciate your viewership; catch you all in the comments. Stay tuned for the 35th issue next week!