123: Don't Do These 8 Things If You Want To Lose Your Holiday Weight
8 Things You Need to Stop Doing to Actually Lose Holiday Weight
Stop sabotaging your fat loss! Discover the 8 post-holiday mistakes that wreck your metabolism, spike cortisol, and make losing weight harder instead of easier.
If you're like most women, January hits and you immediately want to "undo December." The holiday cookies, the endless parties, the extra glasses of wine, suddenly you're ready to go all-in with extreme calorie cuts, daily HIIT sessions, and stepping on the scale every morning like it's your new religion.
Here's the problem: those so-called "fixes" are actually making fat loss harder, not easier.
In the latest episode of Broads, Tara breaks down the eight biggest mistakes women make when trying to lose holiday weight, and spoiler alert, most of them look productive on the surface but are quietly wrecking your metabolism, spiking your stress hormones, and making you feel like garbage in the process.
Let's get into what you need to stop doing if you actually want results that stick.
Stop Trying to "Undo December" Fast
We get it. You want the holiday weight gone yesterday. But trying to reverse weeks of indulgence in a matter of days is a recipe for disaster. When you go from eating more food during the holidays to suddenly slashing your calories and ramping up exercise, your body doesn't see this as a fresh start, it sees it as a threat.
The truth is, aggressive approaches spike cortisol (your stress hormone), tank your energy, and can actually make your body hold onto fat instead of burning it. Fat loss that sticks requires patience and a sustainable approach, not a metabolic panic attack.
Drastic Calorie Cuts Are Sabotaging Your Metabolism
If you think eating 1,200 calories and doing two-a-day workouts is the answer, think again. Extreme calorie restriction might create initial weight loss, but it comes at a cost: your metabolism slows down to match your intake, your hormones get thrown off, and you lose muscle along with fat.
When you drastically cut calories, your body goes into conservation mode. Your thyroid function can decrease, cortisol rises, and suddenly you're exhausted, irritable, and not losing weight despite eating like a bird. Instead of going to extremes, focus on a moderate calorie deficit that keeps your energy up and your metabolism humming.
Cutting Carbs or Fats Wrecks More Than Your Energy
Low-carb or low-fat diets might seem like the fastest route to fat loss, but eliminating entire macronutrient groups has consequences. Cut carbs too low and you'll notice your workouts suffer, your sleep quality tanks, and your mood crashes. Cut fats too low and your hormones, including the ones responsible for fat loss, take a major hit.
Your body needs carbs to fuel intense training and support recovery. It needs fats for hormone production and overall health. The key isn't eliminating one or the other but finding the right balance that supports your goals while keeping your energy and hormones in check.
More Cardio and Daily HIIT Will Stall Your Progress
If your plan is to burn off holiday weight with hours of cardio and daily HIIT sessions, you're setting yourself up for burnout. While cardio has its place, doing too much (especially high-intensity work) can backfire. Excessive cardio and HIIT spike cortisol, increase inflammation, and put your body in a chronically stressed state that makes fat loss harder.
Your body doesn't distinguish between the stress of a HIIT workout and the stress of a crazy workday or a bad night's sleep, it all adds up. When stress hormones stay elevated, fat loss stalls, especially around your midsection. Instead of adding more cardio, focus on quality over quantity and make sure you're giving your body adequate recovery time.
Skipping Strength Training Leads to "Skinny Fat" Results
Here's a mistake that's way too common: focusing exclusively on cardio and neglecting strength training. When you lose weight without lifting weights, you're not just losing fat, you're losing muscle too. And less muscle means a slower metabolism, a softer physique, and that frustrating "skinny fat" look where you're smaller but not leaner or more toned.
Strength training is your metabolic engine. Muscle tissue burns more calories at rest than fat tissue does, which means the more muscle you have, the more efficient your metabolism becomes. If you want to look strong, feel strong, and actually change your body composition (not just see a lower number on the scale), you need to prioritize lifting.
Daily Scale Obsession Creates Worse Decisions
Let's talk about the scale. Weighing yourself daily can quickly become an emotional roller coaster that dictates your mood, your food choices, and your self-worth. The problem? The scale doesn't tell the whole story. Water retention, hormones, digestion, sodium intake, workout intensity, all of these factors influence daily weight fluctuations that have nothing to do with actual fat loss.
When you obsess over daily weigh-ins, you're more likely to make reactive decisions based on normal fluctuations. You might slash calories further after a slight increase or give up entirely after a week of no change. Instead, focus on trends over time, how your clothes fit, your energy levels, and your performance in the gym. Those metrics matter way more than a single number.
What to Do Instead
If you're ready to actually lose the holiday weight without destroying your metabolism or your sanity, here's what works: eat in a moderate calorie deficit, prioritize protein to preserve muscle, lift weights consistently, keep cardio reasonable and balanced, manage your stress, and be patient with the process.
Fat loss doesn't have to be miserable. It doesn't require extremes or suffering. It requires smart training, strategic nutrition, and giving your body what it needs to function optimally while in a deficit.
Ready to stop spinning your wheels and start seeing real results? Check out the Broads app for customized training programs that actually work with your body, not against it. And if you found this helpful, share it with a friend who needs to hear this message, because the sooner we all stop doing these eight things, the sooner we'll actually reach our goals.
What's one post-holiday habit you're committing to change this year? Let's make it a good one.
