You spent the year committed to regular workouts and cutting back on ultra-processed foods. Then came the holidays: a time of sedentary indulgence.
“You’re eating out of your comfort zone, and you’re probably out of your fitness routine,” Maddie Pasquariello, a registered dietitian in New York, told Business Insider. “Those things combined make people spiral.”
Pasquariello, who follows the 80/20 diet rule of eating mostly whole foods with occasional treats, said that as long as you’ve been consistent most of the year, a week or two of pure fun won’t derail the long-term progress you’ve made. It doesn’t make it any easier to avoid bad weight loss advice disguised as aspirational New Year’s resolutions, though.
“My number one tip is actually to just get off social media,” she said. “I find that a lot of the reason people overthink their meals or go on crash diets is because they’re following all of these different health influencers and wellness creators, and there’s just a lot of noise.”
Pasquariello shared a few of the most common diet trends she sees online every year — and which she stresses to avoid.
Intermittent fasting for quick weight loss
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Intermittent fasting is buzzy year-round among celebrities and tech CEOs. Whether by fasting 12 hours a day or eating all their meals in an eight-hour window, fans of intermittent fasting find time-restricted eating to be an easier way to restrict calories than counting them in a tracker.
This makes it particularly popular around this time of year, Pasquariello said, who always sees it “promoted heavily around the holidays.”
While intermittent fasting can work for some people and has other benefits, like reducing acid reflux, others won’t see much of a benefit. In fact, one of the pioneering researchers behind intermittent fasting quit the diet in 2020 after finding the evidence wasn’t strong enough to say it works.
“Forgoing breakfast or lunch entirely will usually just make you that much hungrier later in the day, and potentially more likely to overeat,” Pasquariello said.
Instead of skipping breakfast, she recommended opting for a smaller, protein- and fiber-rich meal in the morning paired with movement such as a long walk, jog, strength training session, or HIIT workout. Gentle exercise, like walking, can help with digestion and blood sugar regulation without feeling famished.
“I find that it helps people avoid an ‘all or nothing’ approach, which can turn into a spiral of unhelpful thoughts and eating habits around the holidays,” Pasquariello said.
Stocking up on hypey supplements
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At the height of shopping season, supplement and wellness companies are all making their biggest pitches, from “healthy” hot cocoa to weight-loss hacks.
“Beware of anyone telling you that there is a magical pill or supplement that can curb cravings, boost metabolism, or promote weight loss naturally,” Pasquariello said. “Nutrition science does not work like that, and 99.99% of these supplements are just a waste of your money.”
If you’re deficient in vitamins like magnesium or zinc, Pasquariello said supplements — with the approval of your doctor — can benefit your overall health. Correcting deficiencies can support overall metabolic health, which can indirectly boost energy levels and regulate appetite.
But it’s potentially unsafe to take supplements without getting your bloodwork done and spotting actual deficiencies. Excess vitamins like iron or vitamin A can cause potentially serious health side effects.
Trends like the ‘alkaline diet’
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Around the holidays, it’s more common for people to eat more dairy and acidic foods, including alcohol. Diets like the alkaline diet, which claims that eating alkaline foods like fruits and vegetables can alter your body’s pH and help promote weight loss.
It’s all pseudoscience, Pasquariello said: “Your body regulates pH on its own. Anyone promoting that they can change their pH through a supplement, hydration pouch, or diet does not know what they’re talking about.”
She said some people feel better on alkaline diets — which encourage limiting or even cutting acidic foods like meat, fish, eggs, dairy, grains, and alcohol — either because they reduce how many ultra-processed foods they eat, or have a gluten or dairy sensitivity.
However, a super-restrictive diet like this means you miss out on other beneficial nutrients, like omega-3s found in salmon. Cutting out protein-rich foods like meat, fish, and eggs can also make it harder to lose weight, as protein is filling and crucial for muscle growth.
For those eager to cut back on sweet treats and booze, the Mediterranean diet — focused on lean proteins and whole foods — is actually grounded in research. It’s also a lot less miserable.
