Clocks have officially been set back an hour, the sun is setting sooner, and a subtle nip fills the morning air. As the majestic landscape of Napa Valley transitions from vibrant hues of green to shades of burnt orange, umber, and sandy brown on the grape leaves that line the countryside, we can sense fall is drawing to a close and winter is just around the corner. Along with the changes of environment the cooler months bring us, the traditions of the end of American year-end celebrations bring about rituals involving common holiday feasts and themes at many households, workplaces, and schools. November and December mean getting ready for a Thanksgiving feast, where a substantial amount of food is piled on the table, and we see holiday-themed treats brought home from school or scattered around desks and break rooms at our jobs.
The years’ end typically brings a sense of closure in preparation for the new year. As we endure the colder, darker months, the tradition of having Thanksgiving and holiday treats offers a sense of comfort. Some people take half the week off to spend time with their families during Thanksgiving week. Kids come home from college and elementary school to take their winter breaks during Thanksgiving week. Similar to coming home after a long day of work, kicking the shoes off, flopping on ones favorite recliner, grabbing a beer and flipping on Monday night football to let off some steam after a busy work day, the Thanksgiving and holiday season offer a broader sense of taking some time off from our usual hustle and bustle to eat comfort food and relax physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Let’s not forget the month immediately following holiday season, January 2026. A popular theme that sparks a craze among people are New Year’s resolutions. Common New Year’s resolutions include learning new skills, being a better person to those around us, and one of the most popular goals: losing weight.
It should come as no surprise that weight loss is a challenging concept to master. Analyzing what foods we eat, modifying dietary habits, and exercising more can be a daunting modification to normal daily routines . If we add in the splendors of indulging in holiday comfort foods such as cookies, a week’s worth of leftover turkey sandwiches, and enough mashed potatoes to fuel an elementary school’s rations for the week, we’ve built a blueprint for storing subcutaneous fat mass. This would be a perfect formula for a bear that wants to hibernate through winter since it doesn’t have food available in the arctic tundra as it sleeps for a few months. However, we’re not bears. We’re humans. When humans overeat for a period of weeks to months, we increase the likelihood of storing fat mass, which takes a tremendous amount of physical, mental, and emotional energy to shed.
With the threat of overconsumption present during these holiday seasons and deterrents to engage in physical activity due to cold and wet weather, the need for dietary awareness can’t be overstated. A tactic we commonly discuss with our personal training clients to aid in managing overeating is to focus on eating treat foods on the same day as exercise. This means that when we know a large meal is scheduled, engaging in physical activity or exercise is critical in counteracting the effects of converting calories to fat.
If calories are consumed during a day of inactivity, most of the calories won’t be utilized as energy. For example, after sitting down all day to watch Thanksgiving football, drinking eggnog and apple cider, and snacking on the family’s delectable selection of buns, cookies, and fudge, a significant amount of calories is absorbed by the body. When the body doesn’t use those calories as energy, they convert to fat mass. However, if the body has a reason to shuttle those calories toward the regeneration of muscles that have been stressed from physical activity, those calories can be utilized to repair skeletal muscle. Furthermore, burning calories during an exercise session or physical activity creates a gap for calories to be consumed due to the amount of substrate expended to fuel the exercise. In other words, before we embark on a holiday food excursion, it’s probably a good idea to prepare our bodies by conducting some form of physical activity or participating in an exercise session to mitigate the effects of taking in the bliss of holiday food.
We don’t get many times where we can be thankful for family and friends and be in the same setting while enjoying a delicious feast. We must cherish those experiences. By preparing for events of indulgence by exercising and moving more on days we know we’re going to indulge in copious amounts of food, we’ll start our New Year’s resolution lifetime fitness goals off on a strong foot.
Sean McCawley, the founder and owner of Napa Tenacious Fitness in Napa, CA, welcomes questions and comments. Reach him at 707-287-2727, napatenacious@gmail.com, or visit the website napatenaciousfitness.com.