How To Not Gain Weight This Holiday Season

Starting Point

I’ve always felt that not gaining more weight is a great starting point for slimming back down once we’ve become heavy. It’s realistic, it’s doable, and it gives you the confidence that reversing the numbers on the scale is absolutely achievable. When we stop the upward climb, something inside us shifts. We start paying attention. We eat with more awareness, and over time, our bodies slowly find their natural balance again.

I’m 58 years old, 5'9" tall, and I weigh about 145 pounds. I’m not a fitness coach, a diet expert, or a doctor of any kind. I’m a Swiss woman who was raised on nothing but home-cooked meals. The small town I grew up in had no takeout, no pizza, no hot dog or hamburger stands. My mom cooked three meals a day from scratch every single day. And since we didn’t have a dishwasher, the cleanup was shared between us three kids and our mom. But let me not get sidetracked with those small, nostalgic details.

Here I am, some 50 years later, still cooking most of my food from scratch. I’m at a great weight, have no health issues, and I’m a very active person. Most importantly, I’ve never been on a diet in my life. Maintaining a “normal” weight isn’t about dieting. It’s about lifestyle. It’s about recognizing that food should be seen for what it truly is: nutrition, fuel, and energy.

Of course, we all eat for pleasure too. But keeping the “for pleasure” part of eating in balance becomes natural once we change our habits, retrain our taste buds, and start to better understand nutrition. And that, my dear friends, is where I come in on your weight loss journey. I’d like to share what has and still is working for me. Chances are, it will do the trick for you as well.

Understanding Nutritional Values

In order to get control over our eating habits, we need to understand what’s actually in the food we eat. We’ve all heard about proteins, carbs, and fats countless times, but very few people really know what they do for the body. Once we understand that, eating well starts to make a lot more sense.Nutritional values are simply the way we measure what a food gives us. Certain foods build and repair, some provide quick energy, and others keep us full and steady for hours.

Protein

Proteins are complex molecules made up of smaller parts called amino acids. They’re the body’s main building material, helping us repair tissue, build and support muscles, and keep our organs working properly. Each protein has its own unique job, from carrying nutrients through the body to helping with digestion, energy, and cell repair.

Some foods provide a perfectly balanced mix of amino acids, meaning they give our body everything it needs in one go. Great examples are eggs, fish, chicken, tofu, quinoa, nuts, legumes, and Greek yogurt. When we mix these sources throughout the day, we easily cover what our body needs to stay strong and balanced.

Fats

Fats often get a bad reputation, but they are an essential part of a healthy diet. They give us energy, help absorb vitamins, protect our organs, and keep our skin and hair healthy. The key is to choose the right kinds of fats and keep them in balance.

Cravings

Cravings are our body’s way of asking for something it’s missing. In week six of How Not to Gain Weight, we’ll take a closer look at what they really mean and how to use them to our advantage.