Why you can forget about the diet at the end of the year, according to nutritionists

When the holiday season arrives, nutritionist Lorella Barbi usually makes an unusual recommendation to her patients.

“I say forget that I exist, pretend you don’t know me and fill yourself with French toast”, he jokes.

And this year, she says the advice is even more needed.

“We survived a lot, so we need to enjoy the date and celebrate, eat what we like, without thinking about it too much.”

Barbi, who is a researcher at the University of Lisbon, in Portugal, argues that, although food has the function of nourishing us, it also has another role that should not be ignored.

“Food has a social and cultural function. It won’t be a big problem if someone forgets about their diet for two days if they eat well the rest of the year.”

Nutritionist Luiza Mattar goes along the same lines and points out that no one needs to be worried if they overdid their supper.

“Our body is resilient. What we earn at Christmas we lose easily afterwards. It’s a night and a day, not a week or a whole year.”

So she says she doesn’t have to try to make up for the overeating later—let alone shut her mouth in advance.

One risk for those who do this is falling into compulsion.

“Saving your stomach for supper is not a good strategy nor is it healthy,” he advises.

“There are people who go on a diet for one, two, three months or spend Christmas Day without eating and then open the gate. But, at the time, the person cannot control himself, because he was restricting everything before.”

The nutritionist says he is against diets not only at Christmas, but throughout the year, because he does not believe they work and says that the vast majority of people regain the weight they lost in a short time.

“It’s not good to lose weight thinking about the end of the year and get fat again later. This is bad for the body. It’s better to weigh a little more and be able to maintain it.”

The nutritionist physician Carlos Nogueira de Almeida explains that diets are only mandatory for those who have some dietary restriction because of a health problem.

In other words, diabetics should not eat sugar or celiac should eat foods with gluten even at the end of the year.

For these people, says the doctor, going off the diet for a few days at a time can land them in the hospital.

But if people just want to lose weight, they can eat a little more without much harm at these times, says Almeida, who is a professor at the Federal University of São Carlos.

“If we’re talking about diet in the medical sense, the person needs to take care of themselves even at supper, but if it’s a diet in the popular sense, I don’t think it’s the right time, because it has a social and pleasure component that is also important,” evaluates.

Supper fit can be a trap

Today, there is no shortage of tips on the internet on how to make Christmas or New Year’s meals healthier.

Or fitness recipes from traditional dishes. It even has tips on how to lose weight or gain muscle with supper.

But this could be a trap, warns Barbi.

“Sometimes, these fit products are even worse, because they are full of preservatives, dyes… Then the person takes the cream out of the milk, but is filled with additives”, defends the nutritionist.

“Nobody needs to make chia pudding. It can be condensed milk anyway. But you don’t need to eat until you feel like throwing up either.”

In other words, you can try all the desserts if you want, but the ideal is to get just a little of each.

The nutritionist Andrea Pereira, president of Instituto Obesidade Brasil, recalls that more than half of Brazilians are overweight.

But she says it’s important to find a happy medium between deprivation and exaggeration.

This is true not only for food, but also for beverages, especially alcoholic beverages.

“This year, after being isolated because of the pandemic, people will have an extra reason to spill, but they don’t need to drink everything they see.”

Nutritionist Victor Hugo Rosa de Oliveira says that a good alternative for those who are going to drink is not to mix alcohol with something sugary, such as energy drinks, juice or soda.

He also recommends not mending too many excess days, but he says it’s not to stop socializing for fear of getting fat.

“You don’t need to be narrow-minded. I’ve had cases where this concern has turned into a psychological disorder”, says the nutritionist.

Luiza Mattar agrees that the care with a healthy diet is harmful if it becomes excessive or becomes an obsession. “Health also encompasses mental health,” he says.

“Christmas is for eating what you like, having fun, not fighting and to be thankful that we’re alive.”