How to avoid putting on lots of weight over Christmas

In short

• Christmas weight gain isn’t inevitable
  Most people gain weight at Christmas because of temptations, environment, disrupted routines, and loss of awareness.
• Awareness beats perfection every time
  Knowing your vulnerabilities, setting realistic expectations, and making small, intentional choices has far more impact than trying to be “good” or giving up entirely.
• Regular weighing helps you stay in control
  Stepping on the scales regularly allows you to see what’s actually happening and intervene early, before a small increase turns into something harder to manage. In my experience, both personally and with clients, those who continue to weigh themselves tend to manage their weight over Christmas far better than those who avoid it.
• You can enjoy Christmas without undoing your progress
  Eating the foods you love in moderation, drinking mindfully, staying lightly anchored to your habits, and using data rather than emotion makes January a lot easier to deal with.

The Reality of Managing Your Weight Over Christmas

Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, it’s almost impossible to avoid the availability of rich and enticing food and drink over the festive fortnight and even before. Christmas doesn’t require restriction or misery, but it does benefit from awareness, realistic boundaries, and an understanding of how easily habits slide when food, alcohol, and social pressure collide.

Here’s How I Manage Christmas Without Losing the Plot (or My Progress)

Christmas has a funny way of turning sensible, capable adults into people who feel completely out of control around food and drink.

Every year I hear the same things from clients:
“I’ll have what I want and just start again in January.”
“It’s impossible to manage Christmas.”
“I’ve already ruined it so I might as well enjoy myself.”

And we all know where that leads. And it’s far from enjoyable. 

It’s incredibly easy to gain a lot of weight through December. High-calorie foods are everywhere, routines disappear, alcohol intake creeps up, and suddenly it feels pointless even trying. I’m speaking from experience. Prior to overcoming my struggles with managing my weight (so before 2011) there were years when I gained around a stone over December, as it was easy to consume many more calories than I needed.

It takes 3500 extra calories over what you need to put on a pound and some days I was eating in excess of 5000 calories, through rich foods like cream, butter, chocolate, cakes, mince pies, ice cream, Baileys, cheese, nuts, pate… and that’s just the snacks… it doesn’t include meals!

Double cream has 120 calories per 15 mls and it’s easy to pour at least 100 mls over a mince pie… 5 Heroes or Celebrations add up to a regular sized chocolate bar (250-300 calories), a matchbox size of cheese is 130 calories before you add any crackers, and a small handful of nuts is almost 200 calories.  If your hand is going in and out of the tub all day, like mine was, you can see how it all adds up. I was eating enough some days to put on almost a pound a day, after taking into account my weight maintenance level of around 2000 calories!   Then I’d wake up in January feeling physically dreadful and mentally fed up, with some of my clothes no longer fitting me, and wondering how I’d let it happen yet again. The guilt and shame were heavy.

These days, I’m able enjoy balance – eat the food, drink the drinks, but not to excess or unrealistic restriction, and certainly no guilt or shame. I physically cannot eat the volume of food I used to consume, as my body has got used to eating a lot less. 

I no longer let December turn into a month-long free-for-all that leaves me feeling rubbish. I realised that no amount or type of food is worth feeling like that for. What used to be a stone’s gain is now maybe a couple of pounds. That’s a very different situation to manage once life returns to normal in January.

What follows are the exact strategies I use every Christmas. They’re not magic. They’re not about willpower. They’re about awareness, planning, and understanding how humans actually behave around food.

They work for me. They can work for you too.

Start with acceptance, not denial

Before December even starts, I make one decision that changes everything. I decide how much weight, if any, I’m prepared to gain over Christmas, and I accept it.

That might sound counterintuitive, but it’s incredibly grounding. Weight isn’t static. A small, temporary increase doesn’t mean failure. When you accept that upfront, you stop panicking every time you eat a mince pie.

This also helps you set realistic boundaries. Not rigid rules, but limits. How often you’ll drink. Which events really matter. Where you’re happy to be relaxed and where you want to be more intentional. Trying to “be good” without defining what that actually means is where most people come unstuck.

Use the scales as information, not judgement

One of the biggest differences between people who manage Christmas well and those who don’t is whether they keep weighing themselves.

Avoiding the scales doesn’t stop weight gain. It just delays your awareness of it. And potentially means it can go on faster. It’s a small price to pay for achieving balance.

Regular weighing without judgement gives you early feedback. It allows you to notice patterns, spot when things are drifting, and make small adjustments and get some balance before it gets out of hand. A pound or two is easy to deal with. A stone feels overwhelming.

Both in my own experience and in my coaching work, the clients who continue to weigh themselves over Christmas are consistently the ones who stay more in control. Not because they’re perfect, but because they’re informed. Data keeps emotion in check.

The scales are not a moral judgement. They’re just information to enable to you make better decisions.

Know your vulnerabilities

Christmas is challenging for very specific reasons. More food in the house. Different food in the house. More time at home. More social eating. More alcohol. Less structure. Poor sleep. Dark mornings. Low mood.

None of that makes you weak. It makes you human.

If you want to manage Christmas better, you have to stop pretending these things don’t affect you and start working with them. If food is in the house, it’s more likely to get eaten. If alcohol is involved, food choices get harder. If you’re overtired or hungry, decision-making goes out of the window.

Once you know your pressure points, you can reduce their impact rather than relying on willpower alone.

Slow everything down

One of the biggest problems at Christmas is impulsive eating. Delicious food is everywhere and often eaten without thought.

I pay close attention to my body signals and my behaviour. If I feel the urge to eat, I pause. Sometimes literally counting to ten. That small gap is often enough to work out whether I’m actually hungry or just reacting to what’s in front of me.

I don’t deny myself foods I enjoy, but I wait until I’m physically hungry before indulging. That one habit alone prevents a huge amount of mindless snacking.

I also make sure I never let myself get too hungry. If I’m heading towards a big meal, I’ll have a very light snack beforehand. It prevents the “feeding time at the zoo” effect where everything disappears before your brain has caught up.

Use the environment to your advantage

Christmas environments are designed for overconsumption. You don’t have to fight that. You can just make it harder.

I eat slowly. I use smaller plates. I use a teaspoon for dessert. I only put on my plate what I intend to eat.

If nibbles are around, I keep them out of sight or out of reach. Barriers matter. Even small ones create a pause, and pauses create choice.

Sometimes I weigh calorie-dense foods if it’s practical. Not obsessively, but enough to stay anchored in reality. A handful of nuts, a few chocolates, or a generous pour of cream can add up very quickly if you’re not paying attention.

Awareness beats perfection every time

I often track my food and drink over Christmas, especially if the temptations are coming thick and fast. Not to be “good”, or to stick to a limit, but to stay aware, in the same way I stay aware of how much money I’m spending. It’s just responsible behaviour and a small price to pay to reach January feeling good, not guilty. 

If I can see it’s adding up fast I have the ability to change my decisions about food. I can save things for the next day if need be. I don’t have to miss out.

Tracking isn’t about perfect numbers. It’s about honesty. Without awareness, people drift. With awareness, you can course-correct. I think it’s wonderful to be able to enjoy food and walk away from a meal without feeling stuffed and uncomfortable. 

I also write my plan down. What events are coming up. What matters. What I’m prioritising. The act of planning alone helps your brain stay more rational, even if the plan changes.

Keep moving, but keep it simple

Movement at Christmas doesn’t need to be heroic. I set a daily activity goal and aim to get it done early in the day.

That might be a walk, a short run, or simply getting my steps in. It’s not about earning food or burning calories to fit more in. It’s about mood, appetite regulation, supporting digestion, and reminding yourself that your health still matters. Going out early in the day can set you up well. 

You are allowed to be in charge

You are in the driving seat. You have control if you choose to accept it.

You are also allowed to discard excess food. Eating something you don’t want because it’s “a waste” doesn’t make it less of a waste if it ends up on your waist. You are not a food waste bin.

And you don’t have to eat something just because it’s there, someone bought it, or someone insists.

Detach the emotion from the food

Food is not the main character at Christmas. It’s a supporting act.

Most Christmas food is simply everyday food in fancy packaging. You can eat it any time of year.

When you detach emotionally, the urgency disappears. You stop feeling like you need to eat everything now before it’s gone forever.

Enjoy Christmas, properly

Enjoy yourself. Eat the foods you genuinely love, slowly, and in moderation. Drink mindfully. Laugh. Rest.

And don’t feel guilty.

Whatever weight you put on, you can and will lose after Christmas. One month does not undo a lifetime of progress unless you decide it does.

If you found this helpful,  share it with someone who needs it. Christmas is hard enough without feeling like you’re the only one struggling.

Eat, drink, and be merry. Just do it with your eyes open.

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