I’ve been working as a nutritionist and weight loss coach in Wall, NJ, for about twelve years now, and every October I start having the same conversation with clients. They look at me and say, “I want to lose weight before the holidays.” And I get it—nobody wants to feel uncomfortable in their clothes at Thanksgiving dinner or New Year’s Eve.
But here’s the thing I’ve learned after helping hundreds of people in Monmouth County with their weight loss goals: trying to drop 20 pounds in six weeks right before the holidays usually backfires. What actually works is a lot more realistic, and honestly, a lot more sustainable.
Let’s Be Honest About Timing
It’s early November. Thanksgiving is three weeks away. Then you’ve got Christmas parties, Hanukkah celebrations, New Year’s Eve, all of it. If you’re thinking you’re going to lose a ton of weight and then cruise through the holidays effortlessly, I’m going to level with you—that’s probably not happening.
You Can Lose Weight During Holidays!
What you can do is lose some weight now, feel better going into the holidays, and have a game plan that keeps you from gaining it all back, plus extra. That’s actually achievable, and it doesn’t require you to eat nothing but chicken and broccoli for the next two months.
I had a client last year, a woman in her late forties from Brick, who came to me in early November wanting to lose 15 pounds before Christmas. We talked about what was realistic. She ended up losing about 7 pounds before Thanksgiving, maintained through the holidays, and then lost another 12 pounds by March. She was happier with that than she would’ve been if she’d crashed, lost 15 pounds, then gained back 20 by January.
What Actually Works Right Now
If you’re serious about losing some weight before the holidays, you need to start with clean eating. I don’t mean some complicated diet with a million rules. I mean, eating real food that you can identify and cutting back on the processed stuff.
Here’s what that looks like in practice: more vegetables, lean proteins, whole grains, fruit. Less stuff that comes in a bag or box with ingredients you can’t pronounce. Cook more at home. Drink water instead of soda or juice. That’s clean eating in a nutshell.
I work with a lot of people around Wall and the surrounding areas who tell me they don’t have time to cook. I get it—you’re busy, you’re tired, cooking feels like a whole project. But we’re not talking about elaborate meals. Grilled chicken, roasted vegetables, brown rice—that’s 20 minutes and it’s clean eating. A stir-fry with whatever vegetables you’ve got and some protein—15 minutes. It doesn’t have to be complicated.
One of my clients in Belmar said something that stuck with me: “I realized I was spending more time deciding what to order for delivery than it would’ve taken me to just make something.” She started batch-cooking on Sundays—nothing fancy, just basics she could reheat during the week. Lost 23 pounds over four months and said it was the easiest weight loss she’d ever done because she wasn’t hungry and wasn’t eating weird diet food.
The Holiday Reality Check
Let’s talk about weight loss during holidays, because this is where most people fall apart. You do great for a few weeks, then Thanksgiving hits and suddenly you’re eating pie for breakfast and telling yourself you’ll start again Monday.
Here’s my approach with clients, and it works: you don’t have to be perfect during the holidays. You just can’t go completely off the rails for six straight weeks.
Thanksgiving Day itself? Enjoy it. Christmas Day? Enjoy it. The random Tuesday in December when someone brings cookies to the office? That’s where you make choices. You don’t need to eat four cookies just because they’re there. One cookie, or maybe none if you’re not even really hungry—that’s how you maintain during the holidays.
I tell people in my Monmouth County weight loss groups to think about the 80/20 rule during the holidays. Eighty percent of the time, you’re eating clean and staying on track. Twenty percent of the time—the actual holiday meals, the special occasions—you relax and enjoy yourself. That balance keeps you from gaining weight without making you miserable.
Movement Matters, But Don’t Overthink It
Weight loss is mostly about what you eat, but moving your body helps. You don’t need to join a gym or start training for a marathon. Just move more than you’re moving now.
Walk around your neighborhood in Wall or wherever you are. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Park farther away from the store entrance. Play with your kids or grandkids. It all counts.
I’ve got clients who’ve lost significant weight without ever setting foot in a gym. They just started walking 30 minutes a day and watching what they ate. It’s not sexy or exciting, but it works.
What Not to Do
Don’t do a crash diet. Those juice cleanses, the cabbage soup thing, whatever the latest fad is—they don’t work long-term. You’ll lose water weight, feel terrible, and gain it all back.
Don’t skip meals thinking it’ll speed up weight loss. It just makes you so hungry that you overeat later. I see this all the time—people skip breakfast and lunch, then eat everything in sight at dinner.
Don’t weigh yourself every day and let the number ruin your mood. Your weight fluctuates for all kinds of reasons that have nothing to do with fat loss. Once a week is plenty.
And don’t try to do this alone if you’re struggling. Whether it’s a nutritionist like me, a support group, or even just a friend who’s also trying to lose weight, having support makes a massive difference.
Start This Week
If you want to feel better going into the holidays, you need to start now. Not Monday, not after this weekend—now. Make one change today. Cook dinner at home tonight. Go for a walk after work. Drink water instead of soda with lunch.
That’s how this works. Small changes that you can actually stick with, not some dramatic overhaul that you’ll quit in two weeks because it’s miserable.
I work with people all over Monmouth County—Wall, Belmar, Spring Lake, Manasquan, all around here. The ones who succeed aren’t doing anything magical. They’re eating real food, moving their bodies, and being consistent. That’s it.
You’ve got three weeks until Thanksgiving. You can lose 5-8 pounds in that time if you’re serious about it. You can go into the holidays feeling good about yourself instead of already defeated. And you can have a plan for getting through December without undoing all your progress.
Or you can wait until January like everyone else, make a New Year’s resolution, and join a gym you’ll stop going to by March.
Your choice. But if you’re ready to do this the right way, start today. Not tomorrow. Today.