How to Navigate Eating During the Holiday Season Without Losing Your Momentum

Chase Crouse
3 days ago
5 min read

The Advent & Christmas season is one of the most joyful times of the year. It is also one of the most challenging when it comes to nutrition. Between work parties, family gatherings, baked goods that seem to multiply overnight, and the cultural pressure to “just enjoy yourself,” many people enter December already expecting to lose control and “start over in January.”

That mindset is neither necessary nor helpful.

Advent is a season of joyful waiting and Christmas is meant to be a season of celebration, not self-sabotage. With the right framework, you can honor the spirit of the season, practice temperance, support your fitness goals, and still fully feast on Christmas Day. The goal is not restriction for the sake of restriction. The goal is intentionality.

Here is how to do that.

1. Lead With Protein at Every Gathering

The single most powerful nutritional strategy during party season is simple: be protein forward.

Protein stabilizes blood sugar, regulates appetite, preserves lean muscle mass, and naturally reduces the likelihood of overeating hyper-palatable foods. It is your nutritional anchor in a sea of cookies, casseroles, and cocktails.

Before you worry about what to “avoid,” ask yourself one question at every event:

Where is my protein coming from?

Look first for:

Turkey, ham, roast beef
Grilled or baked chicken
Shrimp or seafood
Eggs and cheese
Greek yogurt based dips
Protein-rich appetizers

Build your first plate around protein and vegetables. Then, if you choose to enjoy other foods, you do so from a position of stability rather than impulse. This alone dramatically reduces mindless overeating without creating a restrictive mindset.

Protein does not just support your physique. It supports your energy, your mood, and your ability to make clear decisions in social settings.

2. Practice Temperance, Not Perfection

Temperance is one of the four cardinal virtues, and it applies directly to how we eat. Temperance is not deprivation. It is ordered enjoyment. It means you enjoy good things in the right amount, at the right time, for the right reason.

During the Advent & Christmas season, this looks like:

Enjoying dessert at a party without needing every dessert
Having a cocktail without turning the evening into a drinking contest
Tasting holiday favorites without grazing for hours

You do not need to win every food battle in December. You simply need consistency in your principles. When temperance guides your choices, you stop relying on guilt and willpower and start relying on virtue.

And virtue is sustainable.

3. Eat Before You Go to the Party

One of the most underrated strategies for party season is never arriving hungry.

When you walk into a gathering starving, every decision becomes harder. Hunger amplifies cravings, lowers inhibition, and makes it easier to abandon intention.

Before any party or dinner, have a simple protein forward meal or snack:

A protein shake
Greek yogurt with berries
Eggs and fruit
Chicken and vegetables

This does not “ruin your appetite.” It protects your ability to choose wisely, to engage your intellect and will. You will still be able to enjoy the meal. You simply will not be driven by urgency.

4. Choose Your Indulgences on Purpose

Trying to avoid all indulgent foods during December usually leads to a rebound that is far worse than simply choosing them wisely from the start.

Instead of saying “I can’t,” shift to:“I choose this, and I pass on that.”

You might choose:

Your grandmother’s pie
A favorite Christmas cookie
A glass of wine with dinner

And pass on:

Store-bought sweets you don’t actually love
Mindless snacking while standing in the kitchen
Multiple rounds of drinks out of habit

This transforms indulgence from loss of control into a deliberate act of celebration.

5. Keep Training as a Non-Negotiable Anchor

The Christmas season is busy, but movement remains one of the most powerful regulators of appetite, mood, stress, and consistency.

Your workouts during December do not need to be perfect. They need to be present.

Training keeps:

Blood sugar more stable
Stress hormones in check
Identity rooted in discipline rather than emotion

Consistency in the gym reinforces consistency at the table. Even 30–40 minute sessions matter. The goal is not peak performance in December. The goal is maintenance of structure.

6. Christmas Day Is a Feast and That Is a Good Thing

Here is a truth that must be stated clearly:

Christmas Day is meant to be a day of feasting.

The Church gives us seasons of preparation and seasons of celebration for a reason. Feasting is not failure. It is a proper response to joy when rightly ordered.

On Christmas Day:

Eat the meal
Enjoy the dessert
Share the table
Be present with your people

Do not “diet” on Christmas. Do not eat out of fear. Do not turn a sacred celebration into a stress test.

One day of feasting does not undo months of discipline. What causes damage is not a single feast. It is the abandonment of structure for weeks on end.

Feast well. Feast joyfully. Then return to rhythm the next day.

7. Drop the “All or Nothing” Mindset

One of the most destructive habits during the holidays is the belief that one imperfect choice ruins everything.

It does not.

Progress is not erased by a cookie. Momentum is not destroyed by one dinner. Discipline is not lost because of one celebration.

What does cause setbacks is the belief that a single misstep justifies weeks of inconsistency.

The goal during the Christmas season is not flawless execution. The goal is quick course correction paired with long-term fidelity.

8. Your Body Is a Gift, Not a Battleground

Ultimately, how you navigate the holidays comes down to how you view your body. If you see your body as an enemy to be controlled, every gathering becomes a battlefield. If you see your body as a gift entrusted to you, your choices become acts of stewardship instead of punishment.

You are not called to fear food. You are called to master yourself in love.

And mastery grows through consistency, not extremes.

The Big Picture

Navigating Christmas nutrition is not about rigid rules or anxious restriction. It is about maintaining principles while embracing celebration.

Be protein forward. Practice temperance. Train consistently. Choose indulgences on purpose. Feast joyfully on Christmas Day. Return to structure without guilt.

When you do this, you will enter the New Year not from a place of regret, but from a place of gratitude, strength, and momentum.

Free Resource: Feasting with Purpose

If you want a deeper framework for navigating Advent, Christmas, fasts, feasts, parties, and celebrations without losing your physical or spiritual footing, we created a free eBook just for you.

📘 Download our free eBook: Feasting with PurposeInside, you will learn: