Ah, the holidays… friends, family, free time, football, Christmas, neighbors, and parties. And with all those things comes the opportunity for a tiny bit of “indulging” to quickly become “overindulging” without your even knowing it.
You’ve promised yourself you won’t eat too much. You won’t be able to enjoy the extra cookie or pie. You think you have the willpower to avoid putting on any weight over the holidays.
After all, when you’re not at a party, it’s simple to say “no” to holiday excess. But how can you choose healthier options when a buffet of homemade holiday delights is in front of you?
Let’s examine how you can indulge in food while yet allowing your body to keep a healthy weight, especially during the holidays!
Your mind, body, and emotions are all involved when you are eating. But so many of our dietary decisions are essentially influenced by our sentiments and emotions. You may eat more than you should while you’re under stress or anxiety. While the holidays are beautiful, it’s normal to experience more tension or worry during this period of the year.
As a result, you are likely to overeat unhealthy meals since you are more likely to experience tension or worry. When you’re at a holiday party, this anxiousness may even have an unintentional impact on your eating habits. Also, when you are around people who are overeating and making bad choices, guess what? You tend to “go along” with the social norm (over overeating) that you are surrounded by.
So what can you do to enjoy yourself but not overdo it?
- Go ahead and plan on eating some indulgent foods. Avoid the guilt and shame spiral that will lead you to go from having a piece of pie to having a giant piece of pie and a tub of ice cream on top of it. Plan on having a little something that brings you a great deal of joy. Life is too short to not enjoy some of the good things!
- Be aware and be present. Don’t wait to see what others eat, thereby giving yourself permission to overindulge when they do. You decide what you will eat first, and let them follow your lead.
- Plan ahead. If you are doing the cooking, make sure you have lots of low-calorie density foods on hand that you can eat and share with others. Think grapes, vegetable trays, and other foods you love being around all the time. Plan the meals so you can stay with the foods you know work for you. If you are not planning the meals or going to another house for a gathering or party, ask ahead, and if need be, bring your own snacks or food to share.
- Do not arrive hungry. Skipping meals before a holiday party in an effort to save calories for the big party will only make you overeat. Eat a light meal or snack before arriving at the party. A snack or meal that is high in fiber and contains lean protein is ideal because it can help control your appetite and help you avoid overeating.
- Don’t drink your calories. If you are one who likes to imbibe, enjoy! But stay away from the eggnog and mixed drinks. Opt instead for sparkling water with a splash of wine, or a simple vodka on the rocks.
- Stay active. After each meal, try and get a walk-in, or play some active games with your friends and family.
- Food gifts. This goes along with planning ahead. Bring a dish that you know will be yummy, and healthy, and help you stay on track. You could make a gluten-free beef & sausage meatloaf that is just 409 calories in a very filling serving, or orange bran flax muffins that are just 200 calories. Be creative! There are a lot of great food gifts you could bring. Perhaps even bring some of our farm-fresh Golden Flaxseeds as a gift.
We invite you to try this tip out, and then come back here and let me know how it works for you!
I’m curious to know what changes YOU experience in your eating habits. Let go of the old holiday weight gain belief and let’s join together in creating a better uncommon belief this season.
