To avoid holiday weight gain, aim to maintain your weight from early December to New Year’s rather than lose, and plan each event in advance: eat a normal meal before parties, set a drink limit, keep training even if it’s shorter, and keep weighing yourself. The average holiday gain is small, often under a kilogram, but research shows it tends not to come off afterward, which is how many men gain steadily year after year. Holding steady through December puts you ahead in January.
How much weight people actually gain
Holiday weight gain is real but smaller than the headlines.
- In a study of adults weighed before, during and after the American holiday season, the average gain over the holiday period was 0.37 kg. The bigger finding: compared with early fall, they were 0.48 kg heavier in late winter, and that weight was still there the next September (Yanovski et al., 2000).
- In a European weight-maintenance study, weight rose by an average of 1.35% over the Christmas period and wasn’t fully lost in the following months (Turicchi et al., 2020). For a 100 kg man, that’s about 1.35 kg.
Half a kilogram or so a year doesn’t sound like much. Over ten years, it’s a different waistline. And men who already drink more, travel more or work at events can easily gain more than the average.
Why maintenance is the right December goal
Trying to lose weight in December sets up a fight with your calendar. Parties, client dinners, family meals and time off all push in the same direction. Maintenance is achievable, and it’s a real skill: people who keep weight off long term report a consistent eating pattern across the week and regular self-weighing (Wing and Phelan, 2005). December is a good month to practise both.
So reset the target. If your plan had you eating 2,200 Calories a day, raise it to maintenance for the month, and spend the extra on the events that matter to you.
A plan for each kind of holiday event
| Event | The trap | The plan |
|---|---|---|
| Office party | Open bar, grazing for hours | Eat dinner first; two drinks, then water; leave before late food |
| Client dinner | Rich menu, wine refills | Protein main, skip the bread basket, turn your glass down after two |
| Family dinner | Big portions, second rounds, dessert | One full plate, eat slowly, dessert yes, seconds of one thing only |
| Cookie tins at work and home | Mindless snacking all day | Out of sight; take one on purpose with coffee |
| Days off between holidays | No routine, late nights | Keep your wake time, walk every morning, plan one meal around family |
| New Year’s Eve | Long night of drinking | Big dinner, set a drink number, water in between |
On drinking, Canada’s Guidance on Alcohol and Health advises no more than two standard drinks on any one occasion (CCSA). That’s a useful default for most December events. Alcohol and weight loss for men explains why drinks do more damage than their calories suggest, and business dinners and drinks has tactics for work events.
Keep training, even if it’s shorter
The gym is usually the first thing to go in December. Don’t let it vanish; shrink it.
- Lift twice a week instead of three times, 30 minutes each, focused on the main lifts.
- Walk every day, especially the morning after a big dinner. It’s also a good way to get time alone during family gatherings.
- Have a no-equipment backup for travel days: push-ups, split squats, rows with a band.
Holding your strength through December means January starts from where you left off, not from scratch.
Keep weighing in
Weigh yourself each morning through the season and watch the 7-day average. Expect bumps the day after big meals; much of that is salt, carbohydrate and water. If the average climbs more than about 1% over a week, tighten up for a few days between events. Weighing daily is also what makes January easy: you know exactly where you stand.
January without the crash
If you did gain, don’t start a crash diet on January 1. Go back to your normal targets and routine on the first workday. Part of the gain will clear within a week or two as your eating normalises. Then resume your planned deficit. Winter itself brings its own challenges, covered in losing weight in a Toronto winter.
The bottom line
The holidays don’t have to cost you a kilogram a year. Switch to maintenance, plan the events that matter, keep a short version of your training, and weigh in daily. If you want a coach to adjust your targets through the season and keep you on track into the new year, Monthly 1:1 Coaching runs month to month with no end date, so it covers the holidays and what comes after. The weekend version of the same problem is covered in weekend eating that undoes progress.
Questions people also ask
How much weight does the average person gain over the holidays?
Less than commonly claimed. In one well-known study, adults gained about 0.37 kg over the holiday period on average. The catch is that the gain wasn't lost again by the following autumn.
Should I try to lose weight in December?
For most busy men, no. Aiming to maintain through the holidays is realistic and leaves you starting January ahead of where most people are. Save the deficit for the new year.
What's the best way to handle an office holiday party?
Eat a normal protein-heavy meal before you go, decide your drink limit in advance, alternate with water, and leave before the late food comes out.
I gained weight over the holidays. How do I get back on track?
Return to your normal routine the first weekday after New Year's, without a crash diet. Part of the gain is water and food in your system, which clears within a week or two.