5 Tips for Eating During the Holidays

It’s here! We’re nearing the holidays.

And for you, I know that may bring up even more stress around food.

You’re worried about overeating. You’re worried about falling off track.

This week on the Redefining Health Podcast I’m sharing with you 5 tips for how to go into the holidays feeling calm and in control around food.

I know what it’s like to go through the holidays and feel like you’re holding your breath, just trying to not overeat on all the goodies.

But for the last 10 years almost now, I’ve gone through the holidays and felt completely calm around food. I don’t overeat. I eat just enough to fully feel satisfied and enjoy all the fun foods. But they don’t control me. I stop when I’m full.

This is what’s possible for you, as well.

Here are my 5 tips to help you not overeat during the holidays:

1. Be onto your brain with “all or nothing” thinking around the holidays. What this looks like is going into the holidays with a mindset that says, “What the heck, I’m going to diet in January so I’m going to live it up and enjoy everything now”. In fact, just take going on a diet in January out of the picture. This will instantly allow you to get out of the “all or nothing” thinking if you’re finding yourself here.

2. Practice the thought, “I can trust myself around food”. Just think… if you’re going into an eating situation and you are thinking “I can’t trust myself around food”, of course you’re going to overeat. It’s like with our kids… if you tell your kid “you’re dumb”, they’re likely going to start believing that and not take any action to disprove you. We believe what we tell ourselves. So practice, even if it doesn’t feel true yet, the thought “I can trust myself around food”. It’ll start to become more of your reality.

3. Listen to your body with eating and exercise. Your body is always giving you cues about how to eat, when to eat, how to move, when to move. And a lot of people just stop listening at all during this time of year. They stop exercising. Stop noticing fullness cues. I love recommending doing regular body scans as you’re getting better at listening to your body. So give it a try!

4. Eat regularly. Don’t skip meals (anytime) but especially on holidays. Skipping a meal will set you up for overeating. Your hunger drive will go crazy and you’ll find it especially difficult to not feel crazy and out of control around food at the meal. So, if you’re having a big holiday meal like Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner, be sure to still have other food during the day. Maybe that’s a decent breakfast and a light lunch or snack plate.

5. Practice presence. Remember what the reason for the holiday is and what you’re celebrating. The food at this time of year is, yes, special and a lot of foods we only get at this time of year. But, let’s be clear, if you want to make yourself some Christmas cookies in July, you can. If you want to make a pumpkin pie in March, you can! When we’re so focused on food, it’s hard to be focused on the things that are really important during this time of year. Family, friends, celebrations, gratitude.

Now you have everything you need to set you up for feeling confident with eating going into the holidays.

And, if you want support as you go through the holidays with food and feel in control around food, book a free consult and we’ll explore how you can be done struggling with food for good.

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