Enjoy December AND Set Yourself Up for Weight Loss Success in 2026
3 Small Habits You Can Start Right Now
The holidays are a lot…
You have tasty food all around you, including a ton of sweets. In many families and workplaces (mine included), baking and sharing treats is part of the fun.
All of that amazing food—combined with stress—makes it incredibly easy to overeat.
And that can feel especially discouraging if you’ve been trying to lose perimenopause weight (or at least not gain more).
So many women I’ve spoken with struggle during this time of year.
Here’s the strategy I use myself and encourage clients to consider:
Don’t try to lose weight right now.
Not if it makes you feel restricted, grumpy, or more stressed.
Instead, use December to lay the foundation for success in 2026. Think of these last weeks of the year as a time to assess, reflect, and plan.
These 3 small habits help you start January already feeling strong, steady, and capable.
Habit 1: Assess Your Intake
Start paying attention to what you eat. Notice patterns in the timing and the types of foods you eat throughout the day.
For example, maybe you skip breakfast (and sometimes lunch), and by 1:00 you’re hungry enough to grab a coffee drink and a quick salad.
Maybe you eat a good breakfast and lunch but crash mid-afternoon because perimenopause insomnia and hot flashes are waking you up at night—so you reach for caffeine and sugar.
Maybe you nibble throughout the day and eat a larger dinner (and then snack on the couch later).
Don’t judge—just become aware.
Write down what you eat, when you eat it, and roughly how much. Nothing fancy—“about a cup of broccoli” or “3 cookies” is perfect.
And if you know you won’t remember, use a tracking app or something simple like the Notes app on your phone or a Google Sheet. I like Cronometer (the free version).
The goal here is awareness, not perfection. When you capture what’s actually happening, patterns appear—and those patterns are what you’ll revise in 2026. If tracking every meal feels like too much right now, track just one meal a day and rotate: breakfast one day, lunch the next, dinner the next.
Why it matters:
Perimenopause weight gain is often tied to inconsistent eating, too little protein, sugar-driven crashes, late-night snacking, or eating when tired instead of hungry. Awareness makes your January plan far more effective because you’ll be adjusting the right things—not guessing.
Habit 2: Set a Movement Minimum
My personal secret for rebuilding a habit is to make the goal so unbelievably small that I know I can accomplish it—no matter how tired or busy I am.
When I started exercising again after my second kiddo, I got on the elliptical for 5 minutes a day. That’s all I was confident I could commit to. From there I slowly increased the time, always by an amount that felt achievable.
Choose a movement minimum that feels almost silly—because consistency beats intensity every time.
Examples include:
• 5-minute walk
• 10 air squats
• 1-minute stretch break every hour
• 3 yoga poses before bed
• Walking up and down your hallway during a commercial break
Why it matters:
Movement reduces cortisol, improves insulin sensitivity, supports mood, and keeps your nervous system calmer.
All of these make weight loss easier, especially during perimenopause, when hormones are volatile and stress is high.
Habit 3: Do a 10-Minute Sunday Prep
Do you make a to-do list each night? Habit experts and mental health professionals both recommend it because writing down tomorrow’s tasks helps your brain stop spinning. Once it’s on paper, you can stop worrying and start unwinding, you’ve already set yourself up for tomorrow.
Sunday meal prep works the same way. It sets the tone for your entire week. But unlike a simple to-do list, meal prep can feel overwhelming, and it looks different for everyone.
Maybe you love oatmeal in the morning, so prepping a batch of overnight oats sets you up for easy, nourishing breakfasts. Or maybe your downfall is afternoon chips or sugary coffee drinks, so having grab-and-go snacks ready might be the game-changer for you.
Choose any two:
• Chop fruit or veggies
• Prep 2 servings of protein
• Wash and bag salad greens
• Plan 3 breakfasts
• Fill your water bottle for the next day
• Create one grab-and-go snack box
The goal isn’t meal prepping your entire week. It’s reducing just enough friction that weekday choices feel easier.
Why it matters:
Stress and fatigue create decision fatigue. When you’re overwhelmed, the quickest option always wins, usually not the most nourishing one. A tiny bit of prep sets you up to make steadier, calmer choices all week long.
Moving Forward
And that’s it. Three simple habits that don’t require perfection, pressure, or turning December into a self-improvement bootcamp. Enjoy the holidays, give yourself some breathing room, and embrace these small steps. Your future self will thank you, and you’ll be setting yourself up to start 2026 already moving toward your weight-loss goals.