Navigating Nutrition During the Holidays

Navigating holiday eating can be challenging for athletes and active people, especially when winter weight gain, lost routines, and sugary seasonal treats start to creep in. As a dietitian, Alex Winnicki sees this every year—clients fall into all-or-nothing thinking, “burn it to earn it” habits, impulsive eating, and crash-dieting that backfires by January. But the biggest barriers to healthy holiday nutrition aren’t about whether a food is “good” or “bad”—they’re rooted in the behavioral side of eating: how we make choices, respond to cravings, manage stress, and interact with food in social situations. That’s why this guide focuses on simple, science-backed strategies to help you stay mindful, avoid overeating, and enjoy your favorite holiday foods without guilt. These practical tools can help you build better habits, maintain balance, and feel more in control throughout the season, no matter what your performance or wellness goals are.

As a dietitian, I see this show up often in athletes who:

1. Have an all-or-nothing mindset
2. Live by “burn it to earn it”
3. Crash-diet throughout the year
4. Struggle with impulse control
5. Are fast or distracted eaters

If we’re being honest, most of us can relate to at least some of these pitfalls during parts of the year. I don’t think this is something to be ashamed of. In fact, I’d argue these challenges are much bigger barriers for most people than the classic “Is ___ food good or bad for me?” question.

In Nutrition 101, dietitians are taught that nutrition has two major domains:

• The literal nutrition science — how food interacts with you (this is where most people put their attention).
• The behavioral science of nutrition — how you interact with food (and where I spend the majority of my time with clients).

So in this article, I want to walk you through my checklist of behavioral principles to survive the holidays. Regardless of your goals, I think you’ll find these “soft skills” are rooted in hard science—and can provide some much-needed guidance around holiday eating.

Mindfulness

Perhaps one of the most overused words of the last decade—and one of the most underused practices.

Many therapeutic approaches used today—whether in nutrition, mental health, or overall well-being—trace their roots back to foundational principles of Buddhist philosophy. Core concepts like mindfulness, present-moment awareness, non-judgment, self-reflection, and creating space between thought and action are the unseen threads woven into modern modalities.

Applied to nutrition, these same principles help us slow down, observe our patterns without judgment, let go of rigid narratives, and make intentional choices. The wisdom of mindfulness doesn’t just support emotional resilience—it’s also a powerful guide for building a healthier, more peaceful relationship with food.

How to Use It

Take a Lap

• Before you plate your food, walk around and survey what’s available. Ask yourself:
• What am I most excited about?
• What have I tried before?
• What’s new and worth exploring?

Taking stock of your options helps you maximize enjoyment without filling up on things you don’t truly want. Why load your plate with Hawaiian rolls when your mom’s famous mac ’n cheese only shows up twice a year?

Check In

Before eating, pause and rate your hunger. Then stop halfway through the meal and reassess:

• How full am I (1–10)?
• Am I eating too fast to enjoy this?
• Is there something on my plate I’m not loving?

Give yourself permission to leave food behind, discard it, or save it for later. You’re not obligated to finish everything just because it’s there.

Slow It Down

It takes about 15–20 minutes for fullness and satisfaction signals to register, yet many of us can clear a plate and be lining up for seconds within that window.

• Slowing down helps your body catch up
• Put your fork down between bites
• Sip fluids or talk to someone
• Try eating with your non-dominant hand

Pause to notice taste, texture, color, and aroma—pretend you’re a food critic (a nice one).

Forecasting

Ask yourself halfway through the meal:

“How much more food will bring me to about 80% fullness?”

This anchors your decision not only to internal cues but to visual ones.

In a famous “bottomless bowl” experiment, participants using self-refilling soup bowls ate significantly more than those with regular bowls. This showed how heavily we rely on visual cues—not internal ones—to decide when a meal is “done.”

Many of us grew up in the “clean plate club,” which has long been recognized as counterproductive for teaching portion control or honoring fullness.

Drop the clean plate club.

Be conservative when plating.

Use forecasting so your eyes aren’t leading you past your needs.

No Good or Bad Foods

There are no “bad” foods (unless you’re allergic or the food is expired). Sounds cliché, but it’s true.

When you assign moral value to food, you also judge:

• People who eat it
• Yourself when you eat it

Did you steal the food? Punch someone for it? No? Then you’re not bad. Eating fun or nostalgic foods is part of a normal, healthy diet. Of course we want balance. Cake every day isn’t sustainable—but never having cake again isn’t either. Many clients tell me they’re “all or nothing,” or that they “can’t be trusted” around certain foods. But telling yourself this is a perfect recipe for a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Takeaways

Using the techniques above—and working with a dietitian—can be eye-opening. I genuinely believe that balance is available for everyone, even with fun foods, when we take the right approach.

If you’d like help navigating your own situation this holiday season, feel free to reach out or reply.

References 

Cunningham, P. M., & Rolls, B. J. (2021). The Satiation Framework: Exploring processes that contribute to satiation. Physiology & behavior, 236, 113419. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2021.113419

Wansink, B., Painter, J. E., & North, J. (2005). Bottomless bowls: why visual cues of portion size may influence intake. Obesity research, 13 (1), 93–100. https://doi.org/10.1038/oby.2005.12

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