How to Combat Messages About Winter Weight Gain

Contributor: Staff at Montecatini Eating Disorder Treatment Center

Having an extra jingle bell cookie or a second glass of eggnog is as much of a holiday tradition as unwrapping presents or writing out a wish list.

The holidays tend to be a time when many people worry less about what they’re consuming and more about keeping up seasonal traditions — many of which involve eating and drinking. There have been a number of studies on whether winter weight gain is a real trend or just a running joke as we celebrate with family and friends.

Turns out, packing on a holiday pound or two isn’t just a myth. One study showed that people gain an average of 1-2 pounds between late September and March [1]. Another narrowed the focus to early December through early January, finding that people gained 2.4 pounds on average during that stretch before shedding 1.7 of it by March [2].

Winter weight gain isn’t just a product of food and drink. People tend to be indoors more during these months, exercising less, with an increase in sedentary activities. A small percentage of people may also develop seasonal affective disorder, which is clinical depression that is brought on by short winter days.

With enough information out there about how winter weight gain is an annual trend, it’s naturally a hot topic around this time of year to dissect on social media, on television programs, and in magazines. Google “winter weight gain” and you’ll find approximately 279,000,000 results — many of which suggest how to avoid it or what to do if it happens to you.

For someone who is in recovery from an eating disorder, being inundated with talk about winter weight can be a significant trigger.

Understanding that it’s not all about strategies to keep the pounds off

Exercise more. Don’t go to a party hungry. Avoid alcohol. Weigh yourself every day. These are common strategies discussed in some of those search results to help avoid holiday weight gain.

On the surface, those tips aren’t necessarily harmful. But for a person who is in recovery and may already be preoccupied with weighing themselves or exercising excessively, they can be emotionally damaging.

There are other legitimate reasons why winter weight gain happens for many people. Due to shorter winter days, our pineal glands respond to the lack of sunshine by producing melatonin, the hormone that can make you feel ready to sleep [3]. Melatonin is also tied to heightened appetite.

Our metabolism also increases in winter to burn more energy and stabilize our body temperature to stay warm, which means that we often need more food to increase our body’s demands [4].

Most of those potentially triggering blog posts and nutrition articles focus on seasonal excess and avoiding sweets and libations rather than the science behind what changes in the body during winter.

But that doesn’t necessarily make it easier when this topic consistently pops up in your social media feed and causes a triggering effect that threatens your recovery.

So, what can you do when that happens?

Tips to not let winter weight gain messages affect your recovery

These constant reminders of people being at risk for putting on weight in the winter months can be devastating to your eating disorder recovery — and your mental health.

It’s important to have a strategy for when you’re confronted with this messaging during the holiday season. Here are a few tips that can help:

1. Stay in touch with your support network.

Whether it’s your therapist, dietitian, or even your friends and family who know you best, make sure to rely on those you trust. Reaching out to these people when you feel vulnerable can help combat feelings of shame or isolation. And don’t be afraid to tell them what you need. Share how these sources of support can help you, whether it’s by simply lending a friendly ear, planning an enjoyable activity, or helping you develop coping strategies.

2. Don’t forget about self-care.

It’s easy to beat yourself up when you feel triggered by a message about weight gain. Try to fight that temptation by showing yourself compassion. Nestling up with a good book, watching a favorite movie, participating in some aromatherapy, and getting on a Zoom call with friends can be easy ways to take care of yourself at a time when you might otherwise find yourself cooped up indoors and vulnerable to feeling isolated.

3. Keep a journal about how you’re feeling.

A 2018 study showed that online journaling can lessen mental stress and boost overall well-being among people who have medical conditions [5]. This can apply to food-related triggers because it allows you to explore your emotions. It can extend outside the online world as well. Writing something down on paper, taking notes on your phone, or even recording a message to yourself allows you to express what you’re feeling in a healthy way.

Being constantly surrounded by messages about winter weight gain can be stressful. But by taking action, you can gain ownership of your eating disorder recovery and enjoy the holiday season.

References:

[1] Yanovski, J., Yanovski, S., Sovik, K., Nguyen, T., O’Neil, P., & Sebring, N. (2000, March 23). A prospective study of holiday weight gain. The New England Journal of Medicine, 342(12), 861-867. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJM200003233421206.

[2] Turicchi, J., O’Driscoll, R., Horgan, G., Duarte, C., Palmeira, A., Larsen, S., Heitmann, B., & Stubbs, J. (2020, April 30). Weekly, seasonal and holiday body weight fluctuation patterns among individuals engaged in a European multi-centre behavioural weight loss maintenance intervention. Plos One. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0232152.

[3] Brody, J. (1981, June 23). From fertility to mood, sunlight found to affect human biology. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/1981/06/23/science/from-fertility-to-mood-sunlight-found-to-affect-human-biology.html.

[4] Westerterp, K., van Ooijen, A., van Marken Lichtenbelt, W., & van Steenhoven, A. (2004, Sept. 15). Seasonal changes in metabolic and temperature responses to cold air in humans. Physiology & Behavior, 82(2-3), 545-553. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2004.05.001.

[5] Smyth, J., Johnson, J., Auer, B., Lehman, E., Talamo, G., & Sciamanna, C. (2018, Dec. 10). Online positive affect journaling in the improvement of mental distress and well-being in general medical patients with elevated anxiety symptoms: A preliminary randomized controlled trial. JMIR Mental Health, 5(4), e11290. https://doi.org/10.2196/11290.

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About Montecatini

Montecatini provides comprehensive treatment for women who are struggling with eating disorders and co-occurring mental health concerns.

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The opinions and views of our guest contributors are shared to provide a broad perspective on eating disorders. These are not necessarily the views of Eating Disorder Hope, but an effort to offer a discussion of various issues by different concerned individuals.

We at Eating Disorder Hope understand that eating disorders result from a combination of environmental and genetic factors. If you or a loved one are suffering from an eating disorder, please know that there is hope for you, and seek immediate professional help.

Published January 5, 2022, on EatingDisorderHope.com
Reviewed & Approved on March 11, 2024 by Baxter Ekern, MBA