The science of post-holiday weight loss: Why now is the best time to go on a diet

Feel like you over-ate these holidays? Well now might be the best time to lose weight. Here's why diet-related New Year's resolutions are totally achievable.

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If you — or someone you care about — are embarking on post-holiday weight loss, understanding the body’s physiological responses to excess kilojoule intake could give you the edge for a successful New Year’s resolution.

Weight loss is never easy, but the first days to weeks are easier than what’s to come. That’s because whenever you consume more kilojoules than your body burns — think big, festive feasts and then sitting around for hours with your friends or relatives — your body activates a series of physiological processes that actually help you to reverse excess. I call these physiological processes the “fat brake”, because they put the brakes on fat gain.

The most obvious sign of your fat brake is a reduction in your drive to eat. So in the aftermath of holiday overeating, if you’re attentive to your body’s hunger and satiety signals, you may not feel as drawn to as abundant or as rich foods. To make the most of this effect, it’s important to not eat when you’re not hungry — even if that means eating less than a weight-loss diet’s allowance.

Get jiggy with it

In addition to reducing your drive to eat, the fat brake can also increase your propensity to be physically active, the amount of energy you use when you are active, or both. These also help to allay fat accumulation.

This effect of the fat brake means the start of a new year is an excellent opportunity to get into physical activity (but be gentle with your body if you’re just starting out). By the time the fat brake wears off, you could be on your way to active new habits. 

In the aftermath of holiday overeating, if you’re attentive to your body’s hunger and satiety signals, you may not feel as drawn to as abundant or as rich foods.

As well as decreasing the drive to eat and stimulating the amount of energy expended on physical activity, some but not all studies show that excess energy intake — such as over the holiday period — leads to an increase in the amount of energy the body burns while at rest. This is known as your “resting energy expenditure” or “resting metabolic rate”, and the change in it also helps to reverse holiday excesses.

To get a sense of whether your fat brake has activated your resting energy expenditure, consider how much you’re wearing now compared to before the holidays. If you wear lighter clothing or use fewer bed coverings than before festive feasting began, then your resting energy expenditure has likely increased. That’s because body temperature is directly related to resting energy expenditure.

The festive season often involves large meals followed by lots of sitting around. Try integrating smaller, healthier meals into your new year diet. We love this Middle Eastern chickpea and pumpkin salad. More healthy recipes here.

Look for the waterfall

If you follow your fat brake’s lead by eating less and being active this New Year, then your body will burn off your holiday excesses very efficiently. This will contribute to rapid weight loss, not only due to the loss of fat, but also due to the loss of glycogen.

Whenever you eat more than your immediate needs, such as during the festive season, your body converts some of that food into glucose (a simple sugar) and then into glycogen. This is stored in your muscles and liver to tide you over in times when you’re eating less. Your body can store about half a kilo of glycogen in total. Remaining excesses are stored as fat.

The interesting thing about glycogen is that it holds roughly three times its weight in water. So when you embark on a weight-loss plan, your body uses up its stored glycogen in the first few days, and the water that was packaged with it (easily a litre) is released. Much of it ends up as urine.

So if you notice that you need to relieve yourself more often than usual in the post-holiday period, it’s a sign that you could be on the right track because your body is using up glycogen.

Fast and furious

With the fat brake reducing your appetite and increasing energy expenditure, and your body using up glycogen, weight loss in the immediate post-holiday period can be the fastest it will ever be — up to several kilos per week. And this can be extremely motivating.

A common misconception is that fast weight loss is bad. Indeed, it is not uncommon to hear recommendations to limit weight loss to half to one kilo per week or less.

But, new research shows that fast weight loss does not result in faster weight regain than gradual weight loss. This is all the more reason to try your hardest with post-holiday weight-loss efforts – to make the most of your body’s natural physiology (the fat brake), which is actually helping you to rapidly reverse holiday weight gain.

Beware the speed hump

Once you’ve been losing weight for a while, your body will recognise you are no longer in energy excess, and your fat brake will deactivate. This — and the fact that you will have depleted your body’s glycogen stores by then — will contribute to an increase in your drive to eat and a reduction in your rate of weight loss.

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When the fat brake switches off is different for different people; it’s dependent on many factors including how much excess weight you’re carrying, how long you’ve been carrying it for, how much weight you’ve lost, and your genes. For most people, it will likely occur within a couple of weeks (around mid-January), when many people abandon their New Year’s resolution to lose weight.

The best weight-loss tip is to act now to reverse energy excess, while your fat brake is activated and the window of opportunity is still open.

Be alert but not alarmed about the imminent increase in the amount of effort you’ll need to exert to keep losing weight. Accepting this, and the falling rate of weight loss, could mean the difference between giving up your New Year’s resolution, and powering over the mid-January speed hump towards a noticeable outcome.

But be warned — research suggests the fat brake doesn’t stay activated forever, even if you don’t lose any weight. If you don’t act on your body’s signals by eating less and moving more now, it may come to accept the holiday excess as part of the status quo, and you could be stuck with those holiday kilos for the whole year and beyond.

The best weight-loss tip is to act now to reverse energy excess, while your fat brake is activated and the window of opportunity is still open.

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How to Stop Yo-Yo Dieting

Weight gain, weight loss, weight gain... we've got 8 tips 

for keeping the pounds off for good

Are you constantly losing weight—only to gain it back again? You might be starting to wonder if you'd be better off just accepting your belly rolls. But we promise, the perils of being overweight still outweigh the risks of yo-yoing.

So how do you quit the cycle for good? It is possible:

Be realistic
"Make sure your diet is one you can stick with," says Anne Fletcher, R.D., author of Thin for Life. No crash diets or fads that will be impossible to maintain. In fact, reconsider the whole notion of dieting as a temporary fix. Think of what you're doing as a permanent lifestyle shift: "This is how I eat now."

Be patient
Don't try to lose too much too soon. A healthy goal for slimming down, according to the National Institutes of Health, is to reduce your weight by approximately 10 percent over six months.

Be supported
Researchers have found that socializing with others who have successfully lost weight improves your odds of maintaining your own weight loss. So enlist a buddy or join a group.

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Be analytical
Record your mood changes and hunger levels so you can learn to distinguish when you're eating for emotional reasons. 

Be vigilant
"If you lose 30 pounds and then gain three, it's easy to think that's no big deal. But it's a slippery slope," says Gary Foster, Ph.D., director of the Center of Obesity Research and Education at Temple University in Philadelphia. Especially if you have a history of yo-yoing. Weigh yourself weekly, and have a clear plan of action ready if the scale swings too far. 

Be flexible
"Switch eating plans if you get bored," says Michael Dansinger, M.D., weight-loss and nutrition advisor for The Biggest Loser and assistant professor at Tufts School of Medicine in Boston. Research indicates you're more likely to be successful. 

Be active
Besides consuming a low-calorie, low-fat diet and being mindful about self-monitoring, you must exercise. This is the key strategy that keeps the 6,000 members of the National Weight Control Registry (an ongoing study of adults who have lost at least 30 pounds and kept it off for a year) from regaining weight. That doesn't mean you have to train for a marathon: Half an hour of walking every day is all you need to burn calories, build muscle, temper cravings, and increase "feel good" endorphin levels. 

Be optimistic
"One of the most important tips for being a successful weight loser is not to let past failed attempts keep you from trying again," Dansinger says. "Every time you fail, you get more insight about what to do differently next time."

Have you struggled with the effects of yo-yo dieting? Comment below tips you've found helpful to conquer your yo-yo diet cycle!

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End the Yo-Yo Diet Cycle

Tired of watching your weight go up and down (and up again)? Here's how to ditch diets forever and get happy, healthy, and body confident.

Why Yo-Yo Dieting Is Bad for You

Last spring you reached your goal weight and celebrated by hitting the beach in a bikini. Then your job got stressful, you had trouble finding time to work out, and your cruise vacation had a round-the-clock all-you-can-eat buffet. Now when you step on the scale, you realize there's no way you're going to fit into the dress you bought for your friend's wedding next month unless you start dieting...again.

We're betting that this scenario sounds all too familiar. Yo-yo dieting — or weight cycling, as experts call it — is practically a national pastime. An estimated 54 percent of people in the United States are currently trying to shed pounds, fueling a $59-billion-a-year industry of supplements, books, and packaged foods that promote weight loss, according to Marketdata Enterprises, a marketing research group. But our efforts don't stick. Most of us will regain almost all of what we lost, according to research, which is why the typical dieter tries a new plan four times a year. "We have this mentality that a diet is something to go on and then get off as quickly as possible," says FITNESS advisory board member Madelyn Fernstrom, PhD, founding director of the University of Pittsburgh's Weight Management Center. "But lasting weight loss requires making lifestyle changes that will work long-term."

It's not only your waistline that suffers from yo-yoing. "Repeated crash dieting increases metabolic hormones, such as insulin, and elevates levels of sex hormones, including estrogen," says Andrea Pennington, MD, author of The Pennington Plan for Weight Success. "These changes cause you to start putting on weight around your middle, which research has linked to insulin resistance, diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease."

Your confidence also takes a hit. "The more times you go through the gain-lose-gain cycle, the less convinced you become that you can break free from the constant ups and downs," says Keri Gans, RD, a dietitian in private practice in New York City. "No one wants to diet forever; it's hard work."

Which is why we know you're ready to lose the weight and keep it off. Here top experts spill the success secrets that will help you balance the scale for good.

Tips to Stop the Yo-Yo Cycle

Soothe Without Food

You've got a looming deadline at work, your in-laws are coming to town, and the house is a mess. Before you know it, you've demolished an entire bag of chips while freaking out over your to-do list. "Stress eating can quickly turn into a binge: We don't register what we're munching on because the food's going down so fast," says Martin Binks, PhD, assistant consulting professor at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina. Make a list of calming strategies that don't involve reaching for the cookie jar, Binks suggests. When you feel overwhelmed, consult your list and pick out something you can do in the next 10 minutes. Go for a quick walk or post a Facebook status update. Either will distract you long enough for your stress levels to come down.

Change Your Goals

There will always be a reunion, wedding, or vacation to slim down for. But once the big event has come and gone, what will keep you from splurging on dessert every night? "With special-occasion weight loss, it's all about dropping pounds quickly," Fernstrom says. Do this too often and you may find that it's even harder to lose than before. "Constant crash dieting causes your body to cling to the calories you do eat because it's not sure when it's going to get more," she explains. Rather than keep the pounds off just long enough to impress strangers on your vacation, think about rewarding long-term achievements. Maybe you want to train for your first half-marathon or get in shape to hike the Grand Canyon. Setting a big new goal each time you check one off your list will keep you headed in the right direction.

Scale Back

Yes, the point of dieting is to ditch pounds, but focusing solely on calories in and calories out can make it hard to stick to your plan if you aren't seeing results. "Even if you're doing everything right, your weight can fluctuate based on the time of day or how hydrated you are," says Evelyn Tribole, RD, coauthor of Intuitive Eating. In fact, research shows that women who fixate on counting calories and restricting their food intake report more stress and have higher levels of cortisol, which is linked to overeating. "Instead of obsessing about every morsel, think about how eating right and exercising make you feel," Tribole says. "Do you have more energy? Are you able to keep up with your kids?" If you take the time to notice the positive effects of each healthy behavior — whether it's pushing away from the table before you clean your plate or biking for 30 minutes a day — it's easier to motivate yourself to stay on track.

Share Your Meals

Studies show that tracking what you eat every day can help you lose up to twice as much weight as people who wing it. But forget the pen and paper. Social-networking Web sites like TweetWhatYouEat.com and FoodFeed.us upgrade old-school food diaries and give you something a journal can't: a virtual support group. "It's much easier to pass up the piece of cake when you know that other people are going to hold you accountable," Fernstrom says. Plus, your online pep squad will provide you with the support you need to stay on track.

More Stick-to-It Weight-Loss Strategies

Kick It Up a Notch

Your weight isn't the only thing that can yo-yo; motivation can wax and wane too. Instead of skipping your workout when you're feeling less than inspired, get over the hump by intensifying your efforts. "Pushing yourself a bit harder than usual shows that you can take on and tackle tough challenges, which boosts your confidence," says Christina R. Johnson, PhD, professor of sport and exercise psychology at the University of Iowa in Iowa City. The more pumped you are, the easier it is to bounce back from inevitable setbacks and plateaus. The next time you're dragging, partner with a faster friend for your usual four-mile run or opt for the advanced yoga class rather than the intermediate one.

Know How Low You Should Go

If you find yourself stuck at a certain weight for more than a month, it could be that you're fighting an unnecessary battle. "You may want to be 130 pounds, but if you're doing everything you can — watching portions and exercising — it may not be right for your body," Gans says. To gauge whether you've lost enough weight, take a good look at your body. If you've got a lot of excess around your tummy, you probably should keep trying to lose a few more pounds, Dr. Pennington says, since belly flab is linked to heart disease, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and even cancer. But if the fat is in your hips and butt and your body-mass index is within a healthy range (18.5 to 24.9), it may be time to stop dieting and start maintaining.

Find a Success Story

You know that sticking to a diet is easier if you have a friend who is also shedding pounds. But teaming up with someone who has already lost the weight and kept it off can be even more useful, says Judith S. Beck, PhD, author of The Beck Diet Solution. "A mentor can empathize, help you navigate potential pitfalls, and remind you of how good it feels to be in control of your body," Beck says. You can find your own successful loser on our message boards or at group meetings of a program like Weight Watchers.

Make a Clean Sweep

A messy house can interfere with your efforts to make smart choices, says Peter Walsh, an organizational expert and author of It's All Too Much. It's hard to feel inspired to hit the treadmill if it's serving as a clothes hanger or to go for a walk if you can't find your sneakers. Plus, "an overflowing pantry or fridge makes it more likely that at mealtime you'll opt for takeout or packaged food instead of digging around to see if you have healthy ingredients to cook," Walsh explains. A few hours spent cleaning can do wonders for your waistline. Walsh suggests starting with the kitchen: Clear the counters so you have no excuse not to prepare meals. Then clean out and restock your pantry and fridge with good-for-you picks — fruits, vegetables, lean meats, soups, and whole grains. It's simple to whip up a quick, satisfying dinner when you know you've got tasty foods on hand.

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3 Ways to Change Your Weight Loss Mindset

Losing excess weight shouldn’t be so difficult – but it is for many people

Here you are sitting in the nutritionists’ office asking for yet another diet plan. But, deep in your heart you know this is not what you want. You know that you will follow the diet plan for a while, you will lose some weight, but then the weight will start creeping back on.

Why do you do this to yourself time and time again? Why do you try each and every new diet that hits the market thinking that this will be THE one?

You no longer trust yourself to listen to your body to guide your eating

You only know how to listen to and follow the diets. Let’s face it. When you go on a diet, you are following the eating recommendations that the “diet expert” is telling you to follow. Why do you think that expert knows what your body’s cells are asking for?

They don’t.

Yes, if you are speaking with a reputable registered dietitian nutritionist with training in nutrition and whole foods, he/she can teach you a lot about how to nourish and fuel your body for best performance and optimal health. But that is not what I am referring to here.

Does the following scenario sound familiar to you?

You’re standing in front of the mirror having changed your clothes three times already this morning.  Nothing seems to fit right.  You are discouraged and start with the negative self-talk you are all too familiar with.  “Why can’t I just stick to my diet”, you say to yourself.  “I am such a failure; I will never succeed at weight loss”.

This inner conversation and negative self-talk is cementing that lack of trust in yourself, your body and your food choices. You then say…“Tomorrow I will start my diet again”.

If you have been battling your weight for some time, then you are reading this and shaking your head in acknowledgment. You have been on countless diets that have not worked long term and you have become very good at berating yourself for your failures.

The commercials all sound so promising!  The radio ads promise fat burning powers of the miracle pills you just bought at the health food store.

MORE: 3 Mindset Shifts That Help Weight Loss

Why aren’t you able to lose weight?

The answer likely lies in the fact that you are trusting the diets, and not yourself. Yet the diets fail you each and every time. It’s not you who fails, it’s the diets. You see, nobody lives on a diet.  One goes on a diet but eventually goes off the diet.

The statistics on dieting

40-50% of American women are trying to lose weight and are on a diet at any point in time. Half of pre-teen and teenage girls are on diets. However, 95% of all dieters regain their lost weight and and add more on top within 1 to 5 years.

 These are very alarming statistics because dieting clearly doesn’t work and repeated “yo-yo” dieting has been shown to have negative health effects, including an increased risk of heart disease and long-lasting effects on the metabolism.

The best solution to achieving weight loss and a body you love is to embrace an intuitive eating approach to food.  

Intuitive eating is eating based on your physiological hunger and satiety cues, not based on situations or emotional cues.  So that means eating when you are hungry and stopping when you are satisfied or comfortably full.

I recognize that for the chronic yo-yo dieter, this is not necessarily easy.  It requires you to explore how you got to where you are today in your eating habits and understand deeply what it means to become an intuitive eater.

During this process, it is important for you to begin to get rid of the diet mentality that you have, and to truly believe that you will never diet again.

If you continue to think there is “just one more diet, this time I’ll be good”, then you won’t be able to move forward to becoming an intuitive eater. You will continue to have foods that are “good” and “bad” and you will continue to think of yourself as being “on” or “off”.

It all starts with your mindset

Here are 3 ways to change your mindset around weight loss:

          1. Commit to NEVER following a diet again. I know, this sounds scary. But until you recognize that you must give up the restriction and deprivation that dieting brings with it, you will continue on the diet roller coaster you are on.

          2. Understand your big WHY. Why do you want to lose weight? What lies underneath your desire you shed the excess weight and how will it affect your life long term?

          3. Seek out caring support to help you on your journey.  Don’t think you have to “go it” alone. Changing your mindset around losing weight is a process and it’s important to surround yourself with like-minded people and a supportive coach who can provide guidance and positive feedback along the way. Here is a FREE Online Support Group for women who have committed to giving up dieting and are supporting each other on this new journey. Come and check it out.

Losing weight and keeping it off does not have to be impossible

You were born with the natural instinct to eat when hungry and stop when full; to trust your inner wisdom to guide your eating. You can reclaim this and achieve guilt-free eating, a body you love and a life free of dieting. Intuitive eating is the answer you have been looking for and it all starts with your mindset.

Comment below mindset strategies you've found helpful to assist in your weight loss journey. Love to hear your tips :)





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Diet for healthy post-baby weight loss

Eager to get back into shape now that you're no longer pregnant? For long-term success – and to keep yourself feeling good along the way – keep these tips in mind.

Don't start dieting too soon

Your body needs time to recover from labor and delivery. Give yourself until your six-week postpartum checkup before you start watching your calorie intake and actively trying to slim down. And if you're breastfeeding, experts recommend that you wait until your baby is at least 2 months old before you try to lose weight.

Starting a diet too soon after giving birth can delay your recovery and make you feel more tired – and you need all the energy you can muster to adjust to life with your newborn. In addition, if you're nursing, dieting can affect your milk supply. If you're patient and give your body a chance to do its work, you may be surprised at how much weight you lose naturally, especially if you're breastfeeding.

Be realistic about weight loss

Keep in mind that you may not be able to return to your exact pre-pregnancy weight or shape. For many women, pregnancy causes permanent changes such as a softer belly, slightly wider hips, and a larger waistline. With this in mind, you might want to adjust your goals a bit. For a reality check, see our photo gallery of real post-baby bellies.

Embrace exercise

There's no magic pill to help you lose weight: A healthy diet combined with regular exercise is the best way to shed the pounds – and to keep them off. And it's important to exercise while trying to lose weight to ensure you're losing fat instead of muscle.

Once you're ready to begin losing weight, start by eating a little less and being more active – even if you're just taking a quick walk around the block with your baby in the stroller.

Lose weight slowly

Don't go on a strict, restrictive diet. Women need a minimum of 1,200 calories a day to stay healthy, and most women need more than that – between 1,500 and 2,200 calories a day – to keep up their energy and prevent mood swings. And if you're nursing, you need a bare minimum of 1,800 calories a day (most nursing moms need more like 2,000 to 2,700 calories) to nourish both yourself and your baby.

If you're breastfeeding, you'll want to make sure to take it slow – losing weight too quickly can cause a decrease in your milk supply.

Too-rapid weight loss can also release toxins that are stored in your body fat into the bloodstream – and into your milk supply. (Toxins that can make it into your bloodstream include environmental contaminants like the heavy metals lead and mercury, persistent organic pollutants like PCBs and dioxins, and solvents.)

Weight loss of about a pound and a half a week is safe and won't affect your milk supply if you're nursing. To achieve this, cut out 500 calories a day from your current diet (without dipping below the safe minimum) by either decreasing your food intake or increasing your activity level.

Eat up – and take your time!

With a new baby and schedule, it can be hard to find the time to eat. But skipping meals can make energy levels lag – and it won't help you lose weight. Many moms find that eating five to six small meals a day with healthy snacks in between (rather than three larger meals) fits their appetite and schedule better. (A small meal might be half a sandwich, some carrot sticks, fruit, and a glass of milk.)

Don't skip meals in an attempt to lose weight – it won't help, because you'll be more likely to eat more at other meals. And you'll also probably feel tired and grouchy.

Even if you've never been much of a breakfast person, keep in mind that eating breakfast can help keep you from feeling famished – and tired – later in the morning, and it can give you the energy to be more active.

In addition, numerous studies show that skipping breakfast can sabotage your weight loss efforts. According to the National Weight Control Registry, which has tallied the successful strategies of dieters who have lost an average of 66 pounds and kept it off for 5.5 years, 78 percent of the dieters eat breakfast daily. Slow your eating down, too, if possible. When you take your time eating, you'll notice that it's easier to tell when you feel full – and you're less likely to overeat.

Be choosy about foods and drinks

Research shows that consuming low-fat milk and dairy products and choosing whole grain products like whole wheat bread and whole grain cereal can help you lose weight. Other good choices include low-fat, high-fiber foods such as fruits (like apples, oranges, and berries) and raw vegetables (like carrots, jicama, and red pepper strips) for healthy snacks.

Other ways to squeeze in more fruits and veggies: Make fruit (or veggie) smoothies, use fruit or vegetable salsas or vegetable reduction sauces (sauces made from puréed vegetables) over fish or chicken, add shredded carrots to your sandwich, try grilled vegetables, and try puréed vegetable soups. (Puréeing your soup makes it creamy without having to add cream, which is high in calories and saturated fat. It's also a great way to eat veggies you might not ordinarily eat on their own.)

Fat has twice as many calories as carbohydrates or proteins, so trimming the extra fat from your diet is probably the easiest way to cut calories. Look for low-fat or fat-free dairy products (you don't need to drink whole milk in order to make quality breast milk!), choose broiled or baked rather than fried foods, and limit your intake of sweets, which have extra calories from sugar and fat.

Keep in mind, though, that fat is an important nutrient, so your goal isn't to eliminate it from your diet. In fact, including some fat at each meal will help you stay full and keep you from overeating carbohydrates. (Too many calories from any source – fat, protein, or carbs – can lead to weight gain or keep you from accomplishing weight loss.)

The trick is to choose "good" fats rather than "bad" fats. The best fats are mono- and polyunsaturated fats, like those in canola oil, olive oil, avocado, olives, nuts and seeds, and fatty fish like salmon. The oils to avoid are saturated and trans fats, which can contribute to heart disease and perhaps diabetes, and can be transferred to breast milk, too.

Saturated fats are found in meats and dairy products, and trans fats are typically found in many fried foods, snack foods, and baked goods. (Food labels specify which kinds of fats the products contain.)

Finally, although you should be drinking about 8 or 9 cups of fluids each day, watch what you drink – a surprising number of calories can be hidden in juice, soda, and coffee drinks.

Daily food plan for healthy post-baby weight loss

The food plan below adds up to 2,200 calories a day for breastfeeding moms. For non-breastfeeding moms, it totals 1,800 calories a day. Use this as a rough guide – your individual calorie needs will vary depending on your weight, metabolism, and activity level, and also on how much you're breastfeeding.

View and print daily food plan.


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