The holidays are my favorite time of year, and they are also the trickiest. Between Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve, the average American puts on a few pounds that tend to stick around well into January. I made peace with that reality a long time ago by building a simple pre-holiday ritual. I lean into soups.
For the three to four weeks before Thanksgiving, I shift the bulk of my daily eating toward broth-based, protein-forward, vegetable-loaded soups. The reason is simple. Soup fills you up on relatively few calories, gives you deeply nourishing nutrients, and leaves plenty of room in your week for the one or two indulgent holiday meals that actually matter. This is the broth-loading pattern I walk my patients through, and the one I built into the Bone Broth Diet framework. It works because it is not a diet in the restrictive sense. It is a rotation.
Below are the five soups I actually eat on repeat in November. Every one of them starts with real bone broth as the base, which is what makes the difference between a thin, hungry soup and one that holds you for hours. I keep the full Bone Broth collection stocked in my kitchen so I can grab whatever flavor fits the recipe without the eight-hour simmer. Many customers report the same shift when they start broth-loading. Results may vary.
Winter Weightloss Soup: My Sunday Batch-Cook Workhorse
This one is the workhorse of the rotation. Winter Weightloss Soup stacks chicken, cruciferous vegetables, and a hearty chicken broth base into a bowl that eats like a full meal. I make a double batch on Sunday and portion it out for lunches through Wednesday. The combination of lean protein and fibrous vegetables keeps blood sugar steady, which for me is the number one lever on whether I reach for a second helping later in the day.
A note on the base. I always use Bone Broth Classic Chicken rather than standard chicken stock. The difference in protein and amino acid content is meaningful, and research suggests broth-based soups may support satiety more effectively than vegetable-only broths. When I am short on time, I just heat up two cups of the broth, add leftover rotisserie chicken and a handful of baby spinach, and call it dinner.
Southwest Chicken Soup: Bold Flavor That Keeps Portions Honest
When I get bored of the same flavor profile, I rotate to Southwest Chicken Soup. The cumin, chili, and lime wake everything up, and the shredded chicken plus black beans combination hits the protein and fiber targets I want in a weight-loss-week meal. Many of my patients tell me they drop their calorie intake almost by accident when they start adding bold spices to their rotation. Flavor keeps you from grazing an hour later.
I top this one with a small amount of diced avocado and fresh cilantro instead of cheese or sour cream. The avocado adds a satisfying creaminess that keeps you full without the dairy load, which for some women can trigger holiday bloat right when you least want it. If dairy does not bother you, a small sprinkle of grated cotija is fine. Keep portions honest.
Beyond Botox Soup: Collagen Plus Phytonutrients in One Bowl
This one is on the rotation for a slightly different reason. Beyond Botox Soup pairs the collagen-rich chicken bone broth base with a wide spread of colorful vegetables, so I am getting phytonutrients and the amino acids that may support skin and hair from a single bowl. Pre-holiday is exactly when I want to look as fresh as I feel, so I make sure this soup shows up at least twice a week.
The vegetables in this one are flexible. I use whatever is in the farmers market basket that week, which usually means a mix of carrots, celery, kale, and whatever squash I have on hand. The one non-negotiable is the bone broth base, because that is where the collagen comes from. If I know I will be short on broth that week, I add a scoop of Collagen Peptides Unflavored directly into the finished soup after it cools slightly. Stir until it dissolves. Done.
Hearty Beef Vegetable Soup: The Satiety Play
The chicken-only weeks start to feel one-note, and that is when Hearty Beef Vegetable Soup steps in. Beef is more satiating than chicken for most people, probably because of the iron and the fat profile, and a bowl of this one for dinner means I am not thinking about what else is in the pantry at ten o’clock at night. That matters in the pre-holiday stretch.
I build this with Bone Broth Classic Beef as the base instead of plain beef stock, which deepens the flavor and adds the collagen I want. Lean stew meat, carrots, celery, onion, a bay leaf, and whatever greens are wilting in the fridge. Thirty minutes on the stove and I have four meals. The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health has covered the role of protein-forward meals in appetite regulation in the broader nutrition source literature.
Mighty Greens Broth: My Afternoon Appetite Reset
The fifth slot in the rotation is reserved for something lighter. Mighty Greens Broth is the one I sip in a mug mid-afternoon or have as a first course before a larger dinner. It is essentially bone broth infused with leafy greens, garlic, and ginger, which makes it feel almost medicinal. On days when I know a big dinner is coming, I have a mug of this an hour beforehand. It takes the edge off my hunger so I do not arrive at the table ready to eat everything in sight.
This is the broth-loading pattern in miniature. Research suggests that starting a meal with a broth-based first course may support more modest portion sizes at the main course. The Bone Broth Classic Chicken and Bone Broth Classic Beef are my two defaults for this, and I rotate between them based on whichever soup I am building that week.
How I Build the Week Around These Soups
The structure that works for me is simple. Soup for lunch every weekday, soup for dinner three nights a week, and one or two of the mugs of greens broth as an afternoon snack when hunger hits. That still leaves breakfast and a couple of regular dinners for protein, vegetables, and whatever else I want. The goal is never to live on soup alone. It is to let soup carry the nutritional load so the other meals can be flexible when the holiday calendar fills up.
A few practical notes. Make a double batch of whichever soup you start the week with. Keep the full Bone Broth collection stocked so you are never short on the base. If you are already on the Bone Broth Diet framework, these five soups fit directly into the daily structure. For sustained daily collagen intake on top of the broth, Collagen Peptides Unflavored stirs cleanly into any of these soups once they have cooled slightly. Results may vary, and none of this replaces medical guidance when you are managing specific health conditions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can soup really help you lose weight before the holidays?
Broth-based, protein-forward soups may support weight loss because they are high in volume, rich in nutrients, and satisfying for relatively few calories. Many customers report fewer cravings and smaller portion sizes when they shift the bulk of their eating toward soups in the weeks before a big calendar stretch. Results may vary, and sustainable results come from a broader framework, not soup alone.
How many of these soups should I eat per week to see results?
The pattern that works for most of my patients is five to seven bowls of soup per week spread across lunches and dinners, with other meals left flexible. The point is not to live on soup. It is to let soup carry the nutritional load so the rest of the week stays sustainable. For the full daily framework, the Bone Broth Diet covers portion guidance and the broader daily structure.
Can I use store-bought stock instead of bone broth in these recipes?
You can, but the results are not the same. Bone Broth Classic Chicken and Bone Broth Classic Beef deliver meaningful protein and amino acids that standard stock does not, which is what makes these soups satisfying rather than thin. If you want the full benefit of this rotation, start with real bone broth as the base.
Will these soups work for someone with food sensitivities?
All five of these soups are naturally gluten-free and grain-free when prepared as written. If you have specific food sensitivities beyond that, swap the ingredients that do not work for you. The bone broth base is the one non-negotiable component. For specific medical conditions, coordinate with a healthcare provider rather than relying on dietary changes alone.
