Hello, my friends.

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving last week.

This specific time of year brings a very complex mix of emotions. There is joy, yes. There is celebration.

But lurking underneath the festivities, there is often a quiet, humming anxiety about health. It’s the season of festive meals, endless treats in the office, and the disruption of our carefully built routines.

And with that comes the fear of the slide.

The fear that one heavy meal will turn into a heavy month, and that we will wake up in January feeling like we have lost all the ground we fought so hard to gain.

I want to talk about this honestly today.

I want to look at the data, but more importantly, I want to look at what is happening in our heads. Because while the scale might fluctuate, the real battle isn’t happening on your waistline.

It’s happening in your mind.

Let’s address the elephant in the room. You aren’t imagining it—maintaining your health goals during the holidays is harder.

We know from multiple studies that weight gain is most pronounced during the holidays themselves, particularly around Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year.

The data shows a sharp increase in weight during this festive period, with the majority of annual weight gain actually occurring during these few weeks. In fact, adults typically gain about 0.4–0.9 kg (roughly 1-2 lbs) just between mid-November and early January.

And the hardest pill to swallow? This gain is not usually reversed in the following months.

The reasons are exactly what you’d expect: increased caloric intake from festive foods, higher alcohol consumption, more social gatherings, and the fact that it’s cold and dark, leading to reduced physical activity.

But here is where I want to pause.

In the world of "The Grazelletters," we don't obsess over the number on the scale. We focus on health, vitality, and longevity. However, we cannot separate the two completely. A healthy weight is a component of a healthy life.

But what fascinates me—and what destroys our progress—isn't actually the turkey or the pumpkin pie. It’s how we respond to eating them.

Why do so many of us eat one heavy meal on Thanksgiving Thursday, and then decide to abandon our health goals entirely until January 1st?

Why does a "bad day" turn into a "bad month"?

The answer lies in our psychological response. Research shows that factors such as guilt, shame, and feelings of failure are the true culprits that cause us to abandon our health goals.

We tend to engage in what psychologists call "dichotomous thinking"—or as I call it, All-or-Nothing thinking.

We tell ourselves: "Well, I already ruined my diet with that second slice of pie. I might as well eat whatever I want for the rest of the year and start fresh in January."

This is a trap.

Studies show that individuals who interpret dietary lapses as personal failures are significantly more likely to abandon their plans entirely. Conversely, those who adopt a flexible perspective are more likely to persevere.

When we feel shame, we disengage.

Self-criticism actually reduces our self-efficacy (our belief in our ability to succeed). It creates a negative emotional state that triggers more emotional overeating, especially in women.

It becomes a vicious cycle: we eat because we are stressed, we feel guilty about eating, and then we eat more to soothe the guilt.

Guilt is not a fuel for transformation. It is a fuel for giving up.

If guilt is the poison, what is the antidote?

Self-compassion.

Now, I know "self-compassion" can sound soft. It can sound like "letting yourself off the hook." But the science says the exact opposite.

Responding to lapses with kindness and understanding actually promotes higher self-efficacy and continued goal pursuit. Studies show that self-compassion after a dietary lapse is associated with greater perceived control over weight management behaviors.

When you are kind to yourself after a slip-up, you reduce the negative affect (the bad feelings) that usually leads to quitting.

You acknowledge the mistake without letting it define your identity.

This is the key to consistency.

It’s not about never falling, but how quickly you get back up.

So, how do we operationalize self-compassion?

How do we take this psychological concept and turn it into a practical tool you can use right now, in the middle of holiday chaos?

I want to offer you a framework I use personally and with my clients. It’s called The 24-Hour Reset Rule.

The Definition: No matter what you ate, how much you skipped your workout, or how "off track" you feel, you must return to your baseline habits within 24 hours. This could be the very next meal. Or it could be the very next morning.

The rule is simple: You are never more than 24 hours away from being back on track. This rule works because it hacks your brain’s "failure detector."

We have a region in the brain called the habenula. When we perceive we have failed, the habenula activates and chemically downregulates our motivation. It literally kills our drive to try again.

By using the 24-Hour Reset Rule, you prevent the event from being labeled a "failure." It becomes just a "disruption."

And because it’s just a disruption, your motivation stays intact.

I lived this rule intimately during my pregnancy, specifically in my second trimester.

I had weird, intense cravings.

Unlike other pregnant women who might obsess over one particular food for months, my cravings were chaotic. I would crave one specific food today, and tomorrow the thought of it would make me sick.

Several times, the craving was ice cream. But not just any ice cream—it would be a different flavor every time. One week it was strawberry. The next, chocolate.

Now, as a lifestyle medicine expert, I know the data on added sugar. I know what is "optimal."

But I also knew that fighting these cravings constantly would create stress, and stress is just as toxic.

So, I indulged myself. Once or twice a week, I ate the ice cream.

But this is what I didn't do. I didn’t spiral. I didn’t tell myself, "Grazelle, you’re a terrible example to your online audience." I didn’t tell myself, "Well, I ate ice cream today, so I guess I’ll just eat junk food for the rest of the week."

I enjoyed the ice cream. I satisfied the craving. And then? That was it.

The very next meal, or the very next morning, I went back to my usual foods. I went back to my whole grains, my legumes, my fruits, and my vegetables. I applied the 24-Hour Reset Rule instinctively.

Because I didn’t dwell on it, the ice cream didn’t become a "failure." It was just a moment. And because it was just a moment, it didn’t derail my health or my pregnancy.

We are heading into the thick of December. You will have disruptions. You will encounter cookies at the office. You will have festive dinners where you eat more than you planned.

This is normal.

This is life.

The danger isn't the cookie. The danger is the shame that follows the cookie.

Here is how to use the 24-Hour Reset Rule this month:

If your plan requires you to be 100% perfect during the holidays, you will break. You will fail. And you will likely wait until January to fix it.

Flexibility survives. When you learn to flex—to indulge, enjoy, and then immediately reset—you build a consistency that can survive anything. Even Christmas. Even New Year's. Even the chaos of real life.

You never fail. You just iterate.

So, enjoy your holidays. Hug your loved ones. Eat the special food.

And then, simply reset.

With gratitude,

Grazelle 🌱

PS: I never thought I’d have fun shopping at Target until having a baby. Ain’t this blue dress so cute?

Whenever you’re ready, here are some other (free) resources you can check out: