Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year on Ozempic, Wegovy or Zepbound: How to Eat, Drink and Enjoy the Holidays

On semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy) or tirzepatide (Zepbound, Mounjaro), you can enjoy Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Eve or a wedding without feeling awful afterward. The trick is to change the order and the size, not to give things up: don’t show up starving, eat the protein first, fill a small plate with a bite of everything and save dessert for the end, in a small piece. The meal most likely to leave you feeling sick is a big, rich one, especially when the holiday falls near a dose increase^[2,3,5].

On names: Ozempic is semaglutide and Mounjaro is tirzepatide, both approved in the US for type 2 diabetes. Wegovy and Zepbound are the same molecules approved for weight management, so I lead with their labels. The full eating plan is in what to eat on GLP-1 medications, and restaurants are covered in eating out on GLP-1 medications.

Why a holiday meal hits differently on a GLP-1

Nausea runs on a schedule. The US Zepbound label says most nausea, vomiting and diarrhea events occurred during dose escalation and decreased over time^[2]. For Wegovy, the EU prescribing information adds that digestive side effects were mainly seen during dose escalation, and nausea lasted a median of 8 days^[3]. Thanksgiving dinner in the middle of a dose increase isn’t the same meal three months later.Dotted underline: a drug-label fact; hover over it to see the date it was checked.

Rich food appeals less. The labels don’t say a feast will make you sick. The EU prescribing information does say that semaglutide reduces the preference for high-fat foods^[3], and that tirzepatide reduces the intensity of food cravings and preferences for high-sugar and high-fat foods^[4]. Those are group averages: you may still want the stuffing and the pie.

The big-meal warning comes from the advisory. The 2025 advisory from four US obesity, nutrition and lifestyle-medicine societies notes that vomiting is more likely with large meals. It also says nausea often shows up after long stretches without eating, and that smaller, more frequent meals, avoiding fatty or high-fiber foods in the first few days of treatment, can help^[5].

The practical upshot: if a big holiday lands on a dose increase, mention it to your prescriber, because your dose schedule is their call. The doctor-visit checklist includes what to do if a step of your dose schedule doesn’t sit well.

A plan for a long holiday meal

Holiday meals last for hours and come in waves: appetizers, the main event, sides, dessert, then cookies on the counter all evening. This plan starts from the 2025 advisory, and I adapt it to that table:

1. Don’t save up your appetite. Skipping breakfast “to make room” is exactly the long stretch without food the advisory suggests avoiding^[5]. Have a small breakfast and a light lunch with some protein, such as yogurt or an egg.
2. Make the appetizers your main course. Shrimp cocktail, sliced ham or smoked salmon pack a lot of protein into a small volume^[10]. If they fill you up, you’ve eaten well.
3. Protein first. The advisory suggests eating protein-rich foods first so they’re more likely to get in^[5]. On each plate, start with the turkey, fish or ham; then the sides.
4. Small plate, a bite of everything. A spoonful from each dish lets you try it all without filling up on the first thing.
5. Pace yourself. Put your fork down between courses and skip the second pass at the buffet line until you know how you feel. In a four-hour meal, nobody needs you to keep up.
6. Sip water all day. The advisory calls for adequate fluids^[5], and the Zepbound label tells prescribers to advise patients to take precautions to avoid fluid depletion^[2], because nausea, vomiting or diarrhea can dehydrate you. How much and which warning signs to watch, in hydration on GLP-1 medications.
7. Stop at the first sign of fullness. That’s the medication talking, not rudeness. The rest can go in a container for tomorrow.

What about dessert?

The advisory lists enjoying portion-controlled treats among the habits to encourage, rather than banning them^[5]. Dessert sits better at the end, once there’s protein on board, and shared: a sliver of pumpkin pie, one cookie, half a slice of cake. If sweets pull at you more than before, or won’t stop pulling, I cover it in sweet cravings on Ozempic or Mounjaro.

Alcohol and toasts

The 2025 advisory says alcohol may worsen nausea and reflux on GLP-1 therapy and should be kept to a minimum^[5], and the WHO Regional Office for Europe stated in 2023 that no level of alcohol consumption is safe for health^[7]. The Wegovy and Zepbound labels don’t address drinking itself, but they do warn that the risk of low blood sugar can be higher when they are used with insulin or a sulfonylurea^[1,2], so if that’s you, ask your prescriber how a drink fits with your treatment.

What’s on the table: holiday foods by the numbers

Many classic holiday foods are in our food pages. Amounts are each page’s reference serving, with USDA FoodData Central data^[10]. Meat and fish are weighed raw, so the cooked piece on your plate weighs a little less.

Appetizers, mains and sides

Desserts, sweets and snacks

Three things the tables show:

• Appetizers can do the heavy lifting. 100 g of shrimp and 40 g of ham already give you 29.4 g of protein before the main course.
• The plain versions of the sides are light. The sweet potato, pumpkin and Brussels sprouts above are boiled, with nothing added. Butter, marshmallows, cream and gravy are where the fat comes in, and fatty food is what the advisory suggests going easy on in the first few days of treatment^[5].
• A tamale is a full meal. Almost half its energy comes from fat. Half a tamale (5.1 g of protein and 6.3 g of fat) with some turkey or beans often sits better than a whole one, especially after a dose increase.

I don’t have food pages yet for pumpkin or pecan pie, stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy, cranberry sauce, eggnog, Christmas cookies, latkes or honey-glazed ham, so I don’t give figures for them.

If you’re cooking

Five of the site’s recipes that work on a holiday table (values per serving):

• Baked sea bass with Brussels sprouts and potatoes: 324 kcal and 32.8 g of protein.
• Roast pork loin with sweet potato and green beans: 340 kcal and 30.3 g.
• Fresh cod with tomato sauce and potato: 304 kcal and 30.7 g.
• Pumpkin soup with crispy chickpeas and yogurt, as a starter: 220 kcal and 9.3 g.
• Cottage cheese toast with smoked salmon, as an appetizer: 215 kcal and 20.9 g.

For the days after, when you want something light, see the light dinners.

Every holiday has its tricky moment

• Thanksgiving: one huge meal in the middle of the afternoon, then pie and leftovers all evening. The plan above helps most here, especially appetizers as your main.
• Office parties and cookie exchanges: grazing on your feet for weeks. Pick one or two things you really want rather than a bit of everything, every day.
• Christmas Eve and Christmas Day: often two big meals in a row. Keep the second one small and built around protein.
• New Year’s Eve: a late dinner, party food and a toast at midnight. A snack with protein in the late afternoon keeps you from arriving too hungry.
• Weddings and birthdays: a cocktail hour, a long banquet and cake. My eating out guide covers what to look for at the buffet and cocktail hour.

If one of them ends with nausea, log it in the symptom diary. It helps you see which meals sit worst and explain them to your prescriber.

When family comments on your plate

“That’s all you’re having?” “Come on, have seconds.” “You’re wasting away.” At a holiday table, comments about plates and bodies multiply. Your treatment is health information, and you decide who hears about it. A few lines that close the topic without opening a debate:

• “It was delicious, but I’m really full.”
• “Can I take a little home for tomorrow?”
• “I’m pacing myself, it’s a long night.”

How to answer “that’s cheating,” what to say when someone thinks you’re too thin, and when to tell people at all, in telling people you take Ozempic or Zepbound.

Holiday travel: your pen and the fridge

The busiest travel weeks of the year come with their own rules for your medication. This is what the US labels say^[1,2]:

If a trip overlaps your dose day, ask your pharmacist or prescriber before you leave. You can add that question to the ones about missed doses in the doctor-visit checklist.

Leftovers: your best friend on a small appetite

A tray of leftovers is tomorrow’s meal already made. To keep it safe, the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service says^[8]:

• Refrigerate within 2 hours. Throw out perishable food left at room temperature longer than that, or longer than 1 hour when it’s above 90 °F (32 °C). That includes cold platters left on the buffet, like deli meats.
• Cool big batches fast. Split a pot of soup into shallow containers, cut the turkey into smaller pieces (slice the breast; legs and wings can stay whole) and slice roasts or hams.
• Eat within 3 to 4 days, or freeze for 3 to 4 months.
• Reheat to 165 °F (74 °C). Bring sauces, soups and gravy to a rolling boil.

The day after: the scale and the weight

“Am I going to gain it all back over the holidays?” The most-cited data comes from Yanovski and colleagues (2000), who weighed 195 US adults before, during and after the holidays. On average they gained 0.37 kg (0.8 lb) between mid-November and early or mid-January, far less than the popular “5 pounds.” What they did find is that the small gain wasn’t lost in the spring or summer^[6]. None of them were on a GLP-1, so treat it as context, not a prediction for you.

What to do with that:

• Don’t make up for it by skipping meals. That’s the opposite of what the advisory recommends: regular, small meals and no long stretches without food^[5]. On a small appetite, skipping meals also puts your protein at risk.
• Go back to your usual routine the next day, not to a special plan. Three or four small meals with protein, like before the holiday.
• If your weight hasn’t moved in weeks, it may be a plateau rather than the holidays. I explain it in weight-loss plateau on GLP-1 medications.

If holiday food makes you anxious, you find yourself compensating for what you eat, or controlling it has become the most important thing, talk to a healthcare professional. MedlinePlus describes eating disorders as serious mental health disorders and notes that there are treatments that can help^[9].

When not to wait

A holiday meal doesn’t change the warning signs. If you’re vomiting over and over, can’t keep fluids down or have severe stomach pain that won’t go away, get medical care, even on a holiday. I explain the signs from the labels in nausea on GLP-1 medications.

Frequently asked questions

Is it a bad idea to start Wegovy or Zepbound right before the holidays?

That’s your prescriber’s decision. What the labels say is that nausea, vomiting and diarrhea were most common during dose escalation, which starts with the first dose, and decreased over time^[2,3].

Can I still have pie and Christmas cookies on Zepbound?

Yes, in a small portion and preferably at the end, once you’ve had some protein: the 2025 advisory favors portion-controlled treats over banning them^[5]. If cravings are hard to manage, see my guide to sweet cravings.

How long can my pen stay out of the fridge when I travel for the holidays?

It depends on the device. Per the US labels, a Wegovy single-dose pen can be kept at 46 °F to 86 °F for up to 28 days before the cap comes off, and a Wegovy FlexTouch pen up to 56 days after first use. A Zepbound single-dose pen or vial can stay at up to 86 °F for a total of 21 days, and a Zepbound KwikPen is thrown away 30 days after first use. None can be frozen^[1,2].

Will I gain back the weight over the holidays?

I’m not aware of any holiday study in people taking a GLP-1. In one of 195 adults not taking these medications, the holidays added 0.37 kg (0.8 lb) on average^[6]. What matters most is going back to your usual meals the next day, without skipping meals to compensate.