Do you often find yourself overeating during the holidays? If so, you are not alone and we can help. Keep reading to learn how to stop overeating during the holidays.
The holidays come around every year and with them comes an influx of emotions. Some are exciting and nostalgic, while others are more overwhelming and stressful. Because of this, navigating food and nutrition during this time can be especially difficult.
This year, by implementing just a few tips and tricks from a registered dietitian, you can set yourself up for success and avoid overeating this holiday season.
Overeating during the holidays
So why does it happen? Actually, there are several reasons. Holidays generally call for celebration, and celebration usually means socializing. And what do we often find in social gatherings? Food!
In addition, there are usually nostalgic traditions that the holidays also bring, which are often built around food. Maybe it’s a certain grocery store’s seasonal baking mix or your grandmother’s holiday cookies. Either way, it’s safe to say that vacations and food go hand in hand.
The overeating of things comes into play here when we mix these two factors with scarcity and indifference. So let’s talk about how to prevent scarcity and recklessness from taking over so you can stop overeating during the holidays.
5 Tips to Stop Overeating During the Holidays
Start by implementing the following 5 tips this holiday season to prevent overeating.
Enjoy your holiday favorites carefully
No matter where you are during the holiday season, there will always be scrumptious holiday treats and dishes around. Whether it’s the stale sugar cookies in the workroom or the mediocre bread pudding your aunt insists on making every year. However, at the same time, there will always be those delicious, incredible treats and dishes that you can’t wait to eat.
The first key to navigating the holidays and preventing overeating is to mindfully enjoy the holiday foods that actually enjoy. Look for the foods you look forward to every year and leave the rest behind.
No need to pick up that stale cookie you know you don’t want or feel pressured by your aunt to have some of that bread pudding. Stick to what you like and leave the rest behind. This is one of the best ways to stop overeating during the holidays.
Don’t let scarcity rule
Now that we know we’re only going to eat the foods we really want, we need to talk about the scarcity mindset. A scarcity mindset is one that tells us we need to eat as much as we can right now because we’re not going to have access to it again for a long time.
The result? You feel overly full and likely stressed or overwhelmed as a result. Reget settles in and you can’t believe you ended up eating again during the holidays.
First of all, we’ve all been there. It’s human and it’s normal! But I’ll give you a quick tip to prevent this from happening again this year. When you’re enjoying those holiday sweet treats and savory dishes, remind yourself that they’ll be back. Holidays come every year and you can enjoy them every year. Plus, you can always make them outside of the holiday season if you really love them! Get this recipe from your friend or family member, or learn how to make something similar from the grocery store.
The more you can call out and prepare yourself for the scarcity mindset, the more in control you will be around food. This way, you can stop overeating during the holidays.
Find a balance between food and enjoyment
Due to the increase in social gatherings around the holidays, it’s easy to lean pretty far on the indulgent side of things this time of year. It is often completely unintentional! Before we know it, the holiday season is over and we realize how much we overeat and enjoy these indulgence based foods.
To stop overeating during the holidays, drive with awareness and intention. To do this, you can use Nutrition Stripped’s Balance Spectrum. There are two halves of the spectrum, one representing nourishment while the other represents enjoyment. In the middle, we have a balance between the two.
Use this visual to check in with yourself. Are you spending too much time on the half spectrum of enjoyment? If so, how can you pull yourself back to the center of the spectrum, or a bit on the power half of the spectrum? Prioritize the balance between the two from the start, rather than prioritizing one or the other.
Never leave Go to a party on an empty stomach
This goes for all social gatherings throughout the year, honestly. How many times have you said to yourself, “I’m not eating all day because I really want to enjoy this dinner.”
If this is a frequent feeling for you, then I’m willing to bet you’re familiar with the overly full, uncomfortable, anxiety-inducing feeling you get after the meal you had or the social gathering you attended.
Fasting leads to excessive hunger, which leads to overeating. To stop overeating during the holidays this year, try to make sure you are well nourished before the gathering or meal. Go about your day as you would any other day! That way, you’ll still be hungry and have fun, but you won’t feel so hungry that you’re forced to overeat.
Take some time to manage stress
The holidays are busy, stressful, and frankly a little chaotic. Don’t get me wrong, I am absolutely in love with the holidays! But that certainly doesn’t negate the fact that it can be a bit much. Often, overeating is simply a result of unconsciousness, because we’re just trying to get through the holiday season with our sanity intact.
Try to implement some active stress management. Jot down your thoughts, meditate with some headphones, or do a quick yoga flow. Stress management manages stress eating, which in turn reduces overeating.
The Takeaway
Bring in mindfulness, enjoy your favorites, throw in some stress management, and nourish yourself like you always do and you’ll break the cycle of holiday overeating! As always, take these tips slowly. Try one at a time, see how it goes, make it your own, and move on to the next.
Don’t forget to let us know how it goes by tagging us on social media!
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original publication date: 12/9/22
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