The Absolute Easiest Ways to Lose the Holiday Weight

Author: Billy Storm

January is here, and you did NOT behave. 

Instead, you celebrated like a champ. You cleared that turkey leg, stuffing bowl, and pie on Thanksgiving. You devoured that Christmas ham and entire plate of desserts on Dec 25th. And of course you hammered plenty of glasses of champagne on New Year’s. 

And if that weren’t enough, you had plenty of “ugly sweater” parties where people unloaded every unhealthy holiday treat imaginable in front of you. 

Maybe you didn’t go that far, or maybe you went even farther. 

Either way… Holiday calories do count. As much as that brand new, shiny 2026 sticker makes it feel like last year has disappeared, you’re still experiencing the effects today. 

Those effects can be belly fat. And they can also include higher blood sugar, skewed hormones, and a metabolism that isn’t quite sure what to do with all this extra baggage to process. 

So what now? 

Assuming you want to lose the holiday pounds… you’re going to have to make some clear decisions and actions to turn things around. 

1) Completely & Totally Forgive Yourself 

Believe it or not, this might be the most important on the list. 

Most likely, when you were growing up, you were punished, and told to self-punish. It wasn’t enough to absorb a negative consequence for something you did. You were supposed to feel bad about it. 

And that is how people learn and grow. But an unfortunate carryover of this is that we tend to harbor guilt and shame for things that really aren’t a big deal. Things that haven’t even hurt anyone. This applies a lot to diet and weight. 

You overeat… and you feel guilty. So what does a guilty, sinful person deserve? They deserve bad things… like getting fat. So if you’re like a lot of people, on some level you might feel like 

you deserve to put on those extra pounds. And the easiest way for your subconscious to make that happen is to trick you into eating even more. 

Now, some people thrive on self-laceration and even self-hatred. But that’s a very small part of the population. For most people, when they berate themselves, they increase their cortisol levels, sleep more poorly, and have less energy to work out. Overall, they get in worse shape. 

So even if the pounds remain from 2025, let the weight of your decisions go for that year. 

You’re much more likely to create healthy new habits if you let yourself off the hook and maintain a positive attitude for the future. 

2) Start Tracking Foods (With No Rules!) 

Do you want to know the easiest way to lose weight that almost no one does? 

Simply record your foods and calories in an app. There are plenty to choose from. Cronometer is my favorite. There's also MyFitnessPal, LifeSum, LoseIt, and more. 

Pick one you like, and start entering all the foods and drinks you have every day. Sometimes it’s as easy as entering a restaurant item or scanning a bar code on a food product. And sometimes you have to be vague and just put “4 oz pork ribs” and hope it’s close. It’s perfectly fine to guess. 

Most of all, feel free to change absolutely nothing about your diet. 

That’s right. You’re free to eat and drink whatever you want. 

What you’ll find is a number of amazing things start happening. 

First, you’ll discover it’s actually kind of fun. If you have a foodscale, you may find it’s addictive to count out the exact grams of your popcorn. Or you might count the exact number of Doritos you eat. 

Next, you’ll quickly develop a “Terminator Vision.” You’ll be able to glance at a burger at a restaurant and know how many calories it has. This will soon become a party trick your friends get tired of, but you’ll still love doing it. 

And then… you’ll start making better choices, without even having to try. 

There’s only so many times you can pound 700 calories every night before bed, before you ask yourself, “Wait? Why am I doing this?” You may have always known your late night snacks were trouble, but now that you’re counting, the choice starts to feel pretty silly. 

It’s similar to how it would be if you always bought clothes without looking at the prices. What would happen if you suddenly started looking at the price tags? You wouldn’t need a budget to start acting more financially responsible. You’d just simply realize that buying that $200 shirt didn’t make much sense when you liked that $50 one almost as much. 

This is where your priorities start naturally shifting, so willpower becomes almost unnecessary. 

And to be clear, food tracking apps work even better if you have a plan in mind. You can track your macros, calories, nutrients (including fiber), and so much more. I’m just saying that the awareness and natural motivation you pick up from tracking is arguably better than following a strict diet without tracking. 

So pick an app and just start. You’ll get the hang of it really quickly, and it only takes a few minutes a day. 

3) Have Someone Lose the Weight For You 

It’s incredible how far weight-loss technology has come in the past 20 years. We’ve gone from people running from fat, to running from carbs, to trying every possible diet like only-meat, zero-meat, and even different diets based on your blood type. 

Nowadays, modern weight-loss medicine has gotten brutally effective. We now know how to snipershot the real causes of overeating: appetite, cravings, and the brain’s ability to talk you into “just one more.” 

The remedies getting the most buzz are GLP-1 injections like Semaglutide and Tirzepatide. What do they do? They simply turn down the “food noise.” Your snack radar gets quieter. You feel full sooner. You get less of a dopamine buzz from grabbing a potato chip. 

And life just gets super-simple, almost immediately. What many people report is that they feel like their appetite settings have been reset to what “normal people” have. In a way, it’s like fixing your car engine so your vehicle suddenly doubles its mileage, and you don’t need to hit the gas station so much anymore. 

Your belly just starts getting slimmer, and you don’t even need to think about how to eat. 

Sound like a Devil’s bargain? Yes and no. For some people, using GLP-1 products can cause side effects like nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, constipation, and stomach pain. Most people would prefer hunger over that. 

And yet… some people experience zero meaningful side effects. A loose stool here and there, maybe. But nothing that would make them second guess what they’re doing. 

So if you go this route, make sure you talk with an experienced clinician or doctor. You’ll find out if there are any red flags, or if this might be a great fit for you. 

By now, I hope you can recognize that all the solutions listed above are in your control. And they’re pretty simple. Be kind to yourself, keep track of what you’re eating, and get some extra help if that makes sense. All you need to do is decide that your health and goals are important to you, and start making the first steps. 

About the Author: Billy Storm is a fitness researcher and creator of the Body of Brutality training system. Storm has spent years studying muscle growth, physiology, and the psychological impacts of different body types across cultures. His work focuses on unconventional approaches to building strength and presence, including research into nutrition's effects on hormone levels and specialized training techniques.