Dr. Jubbal, MedSchoolInsiders.com

The holiday season is a time to  relax and spend time with loved ones,  

but it can also throw a wrench in  your long-term goals if you let it.

Here are four things you’re probably  

doing wrong this holiday season and  what you can do to correct them.

Holiday mistake number one is failing  to balance productivity and recovery.

Time off during the holidays can  provide a much-needed reprieve  

from the day-to-day grind of school and  work; however, if all you do is sleep,  

scroll through social media, and  watch Netflix, you’ll miss out on  

the opportunity to make meaningful headway on  the things you don't usually have time for.

There is an upper limit to how productive  you should be during the holidays though.  

If you spend all of your time studying or  trying to be a productivity grease monkey,  

you will quickly burn out.

As with most things in life, it  is best to avoid either extreme.  

Try to find the sweet spot  where you can enjoy, unwind,  

and relax with friends and family, but also  make progress towards your long-term goals.

Preparing for the MCAT or the USMLE? Use this time  to jumpstart your studying at lower intensity.

Trying to get in shape? Use this time to dial in  your diet and establish your exercise routine.

Trying to learn a new skill? Use this time to  read books, watch videos, and begin practicing.

Time is our most precious resource,  

and the unfortunate reality is that  many of us don’t treat it as such.

When used correctly, the extra time  during the holidays can allow you to  

make significant progress towards your  long-term goals. When used incorrectly,  

it puts your progress on pause  and sets you back months.

Holiday mistake number two  is neglecting your finances.

Although the holidays are a time for giving,  

your generosity should not come at  the cost of your financial wellbeing.

Research has shown that there is a neural  link between generosity and happiness.  

In short, being generous makes us feel  good, and that good feeling serves  

as positive reinforcement which  encourages us to give even more.

I’m sure many of you have found  yourself in the situation where  

you start out buying a gift for one  person, and the next thing you know  

you have a cart full of items for all of  your friends, coworkers, and their grandmas.

You don’t have to be excessively  frugal over the holidays,  

but you do need to exercise some restraint.

Buying expensive gifts for everyone in  your life, although well-intentioned,  

can quickly add up and put a financial strain on  you that lasts far beyond the holiday season. You  

can easily deplete months of savings, putting  a damper on your long-term financial goals.

To avoid this, factor your holiday  expenses into your budget and never  

spend more than you can afford. If you’re  trying to save for something important,  

like a house or retirement, continue to save  as you do normally. And you should never,  

under any circumstances, go into  debt for presents and gadgets.

If money is tight during the holidays, there  are always other ways to show your loved ones  

that you care. Remember, the fundamental  objective behind gift-giving is not to give  

someone a shiny new belonging, but rather to  strengthen your relationship with that person.

A small, thoughtful gift is often more  impactful than just buying something expensive.  

Be creative and really think  about what that person enjoys.

Additionally, experiential gifts have been  shown to produce greater improvements in  

interpersonal relationships compared to material  gifts, and there are many experiences that you  

can give to someone which cost little  to no money at all. The reason is that  

experiences tend to evoke a greater emotional  response when compared to material items.

When I think back to some  of my best holiday memories,  

they have nothing to do with  the gifts that I received,  

but rather the time I shared with my loved ones.  The time we spent together was a gift in itself.

So instead of spending an arm and a leg on an  expensive gift that the person may or may  

not use, give them a memory that will last a  lifetime. Plan a weekend getaway or road-trip.  

Or take a yoga class and laugh  at how inflexible you all are.  

Creating a memory will often be much more  meaningful than any item you can give.

Holiday mistake number three  is neglecting your diet.

I recently discussed the topic of  navigating the minefield of holiday  

eating on my second channel, Kevin Jubbal M.D.,  

link in the description.

There’s nothing wrong with indulging in  one or two big meals over the holidays  

though. One meal is unlikely to have  a long-term impact on your health.

In fact, the weight gain that you notice in  the days following a large meal is largely  

due to water retention as a result of  the increased sodium and carbohydrate  

intake. It is usually short-lived and will  disappear as you return to your normal diet.

The issue is when you don’t return to  your normal diet, and you let one or two  

large meals turn into an entire season of  overeating. This occurs for a few reasons.

Large holiday feasts often leave  behind an abundance of leftovers,  

allowing you to continue overeating in the days  following the initial meal. All you have to do is  

pop some leftovers in the microwave and you have  Thanksgiving dinner part two...or three...or four.

The solution is to minimize the leftovers.  The most obvious way is to make less food;  

however, when you have guests over, it’s usually  better to over prepare than under-prepare.

So the next best thing is to have your guests take  the holiday leftovers home with them. Doing so  

will take away the convenience factor and decrease  temptations as you return to your normal diet.

Social pressures along with increased consumption  of alcohol around the holidays can also lead to  

lower inhibitions and self-control. “It’s the  holidays, so you should have that extra slice of  

pie or that extra pint of egg nog”, or “so-and-so  is in town, you should let loose and celebrate.”

The decreased inhibitions and lapse in  self-control can then lead to counter-regulatory  

eating, where you eat more following a large  meal than you would have if you had eaten nothing  

at all. This is in contrast to regulatory  eating, where you eat less following a meal.

Counter-regulatory eating is often attributed  to the “what the hell” effect. Once a person  

breaks their diet, they feel that further  restriction is pointless. Since they’ve  

already “fallen off the wagon,” so to speak,  they might as well continue to overindulge.

To combat this, here are  a few tactics you can use.

Start by decreasing your caloric intake in the  days leading up to a holiday feast. I personally  

do intermittent water-only fasts of 3 days every  few months as well as before a large holiday meal.

Although I wouldn’t recommend doing  something as extreme as a water-only fast,  

decreasing your caloric intake in  the days before a feast can let  

you indulge without compromising  your diet goals. That being said,  

make sure to consult with your physician  before making any kind of dietary changes.

An added bonus that comes with  restricting your calories before  

a holiday meal is that it makes the  food taste even better come feast time.

Another tactic is to utilize time-restricted  eating, sometimes referred to as intermittent  

fasting, on the day of the feast or the  days following. This places the focus on  

when you eat instead of *what* you eat.  Consolidate your calorie intake into a  

six- to eight-hour window. Within  that window eat and drink freely,  

but don’t allow yourself to eat  or drink any calories beyond that.

Lastly, use low- to no-calorie  alternatives to quell cravings.  

If you find yourself craving something sweet,  instead of reaching for a slice of pecan pie,  

try reaching for sparkling water  or a piece of fruit instead.

I’ve found that oftentimes when I’m craving  something, I just want something that tastes  

good and provides the experience of eating  or drinking. By the time I’m done with the  

low-calorie alternative 10-, 20-, or 30-  minutes later, the craving has usually passed.

Last but not least, holiday mistake number  four is neglecting your exercise routine.

Between traveling and social gatherings,  it can be easy to miss a day or two of  

exercise during the holidays. And much like  the “what the hell effect” with dieting,  

once you fall off of your exercise routine,  it can be difficult to pick it back up again.

Many people will fall off of their  exercise routine during the holidays  

and wait all the way until New Years to  pick back up again. This is a mistake  

as there is nothing inherently  magical about New Year’s Day.

Making exercise a regular part of  your life comes down to habit.  

And the sooner you start, the more  time you have to make it stick.

One monumental effort for New Year’s will not  make exercise into a habit. What will though  

is to stick with it, especially during  a challenging time like the holidays.

Plan your exercise routine around the  holidays and avoid missing two days in  

a row to minimize the risk of adopting  the “what the hell” mentality. Even on  

days like Thanksgiving or Christmas  when the gym is closed, plan ahead.

For instance, I typically use Wednesdays  as a rest day and exercise on Thursdays,  

so for Thanksgiving I’ll exercise on  Wednesday and take Thursday off instead.

It’s these little changes that will keep you  on track and prevent you from falling off.

Did I miss any holiday mistakes? Let me  know in the comment section down below.

Thank you all so much for watching!  If you enjoyed this video,  

check out my videos on 10 Holiday  Gift Ideas for Future Doctors or New  

Years Resolutions | Research Explained.  Much love, and I’ll see you guys there.