Three pillars to help nutrition during the holidays
In Part 1, we saw that the holiday stretch tends to add a little weight, and that all-or-nothing thinking does more damage than any single meal. Now for the solutions. Here are three pillars that make holiday eating easier: anchor your meals with protein and fiber, plan for the big meals instead of the whole season, and keep training steady.
Pillar 1: Anchor Your Meals with Protein and Fiber
Protein and fiber help you feel full and satisfied, which researchers call satiety. A review by Heather Leidy and colleagues found that higher-protein diets can improve appetite control and help with weight management (Leidy et al., 2015). Fiber adds bulk and slows digestion, and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans note that most of us fall well short of our fiber goal.
For people who train regularly, the International Society of Sports Nutrition suggests roughly 1.4 to 2.0 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight daily (about 0.6 to 0.9 grams per pound). Your needs may differ, so check with a registered dietitian or your doctor if you have kidney disease or other conditions.
Action step: Build every regular meal around a palm-sized portion of protein plus a fruit and/or vegetable. Do this at breakfast and lunch on event days, and you’ll arrive at the party less likely to be starving.
Pillar 2: Plan the Big Meals, Not the Whole Season
You don’t need to track every cookie from now until January. You need a plan for the handful of meals that matter. Psychologists call this an implementation intention: a specific “if X happens, then I’ll do Y” plan. A meta-analysis of 94 studies found that these plans have a medium-to-large effect on reaching goals (Gollwitzer & Sheeran, 2006), and a review focused on diet found them helpful for healthy eating (Adriaanse et al., 2011).
That means “I’ll try to eat well at Thanksgiving” becomes “If I’m filling my plate, then I’ll start with protein and vegetables, then add the two dishes I look forward to most.”
Action step: For each event on your calendar, write one if-then plan. Keep it to one sentence.
Pillar 3: Keep Training and Movement Steady
Training does more than burn calories. It helps preserve muscle, supports your mood, and keeps your routine intact when everything else is changing. And you don’t need your best training to keep what you’ve built. In a study by Bickel and colleagues, adults who built strength over 16 weeks were able to largely maintain it for 32 weeks with a fraction of their original training volume (Androulakis--Korakakis et al., 2019).
The takeaway: a busy week of shorter, simpler sessions still counts. The Physical Activity Guidelines recommend 150 to 300 minutes of moderate activity weekly plus muscle-strengthening on two or more days, but any amount beats nothing. If you have to opt for minimal training, the best recommendation is to keep the intensity high by training hard and heavy.
Action step: Set a “floor” for the season: for example, two 30-minute strength sessions and a daily walk. On a good week, do more. On a bad week, hit the floor.
General education only, not medical advice. Please consult a healthcare professional before changing your diet or exercise routine, especially if you have a medical condition.
Conclusion
- Build meals around protein and fiber so you feel full and satisfied.
- Plan the big meals with simple if-then statements, not the whole season.
- Set a training floor so busy weeks don’t become zero weeks.
None of these pillars ask you to skip the stuffing or say no to grandma’s pie. They simply make the choices easier before you’re hungry, tired, and surrounded by dessert. In Part 3, we’ll put all three into practice.
Want to feel satisfied at holiday meals? ✅
Want a plan that doesn’t require perfection? ✅
Want to keep your fitness while life gets busy? ✅
Let’s get to work!
