Gary Brecka

This is probably the biggest factor.

And most people have no idea how much it's working against them.

When you drink alcohol, your body treats it like a toxin because well, it is.

And your liver's number one priority becomes metabolizing that alcohol and getting it out of your body as fast as possible.

That means that fat burning gets put on hold completely.

Your body can't burn fat until the alcohol is cleared.

So now you're hungrier, less satisfied, and your body is telling you to eat even more.

Now let's talk about the food.

Ultra-processed party foods are everywhere during the holidays.

Chips, crackers, cookies, cakes, fried appetizers, breaded anything.

These foods are engineered to be incredibly shelf-stable and very palatable, but that means they're quite far from being fresh.

They hit your brain's reward centers harder than whole foods ever could, and they drive you to eat more.

Studies have shown that when people eat ultra-processed foods, they consume significantly more calories than when they just eat whole, minimally processed foods, even when both diets have the same macronutrients available.

And finally, let's talk about stress.

I don't care who you are, the holidays are stressful at some level.

You're juggling travel, family dynamics, work deadlines, and financial pressure.

Stress raises cortisol and high cortisol does a few things.

It promotes fat storage, especially visceral fat right around your organs.

It increases inflammation and it causes your body to hold onto water.

So that's what you're up against.