This is the time of year when there is more permission than ever to stuff ourselves silly. There are parties that bring all kinds of culinary delights, neighbors toting plates of cookies and good cheer, and Grandma who made that traditional dessert from the old country. One bite at a time, we take in extra calories without much thought, until the carols die down and the tree becomes a fire hazard. Most Americans step on the scale and see that seven extra pounds are being added to the New Year.
The great news is that the dieting doldrums are not destiny. If the season is approached with realistic goals and a plan of action, there is no reason you can’t enjoying reasonable portions of a variety of holiday delights. To do this, we first need to know what we are dealing with:
- Food will be everywhere, often made up of ingredients hardest to resist- sugar, salt and fat. It will also be limitless-, with the ability to pile on as much as our inner child can handle.
- Because food is presented as a gift of love, you may feel guilty if you don’t eat what you are given. There is no reason why you have to eat the food in the moment. As long as emphasis is made on the effort and love behind the gift, you can look forward to something special when you are hungry and have made allowances in your calorie intake for a dessert.
- There is a belief that “special occasions” mean freedom from portion control. In this case, a special occasion might mean six weeks of uncontrolled eating!
- People don’t want to be confronted with their craving driven eating. Therefore, you will be encouraged to eat how they want you to so they avoid guilt. Body cues and healthy habits are easy to ignore when everyone else is over-indulging.
- You will be around people who are most likely to trigger you. Emotional eating is often driven by distressing emotions we are trying to soothe.
Looking over this list, the idea of reasonable eating may seem absolutely unreasonable! But do not despair- we can put the odds more in our favor! Start by altering the environment- limit access. Talk
to friends away from the finger food so you have to walk across the room to get any morsels. Once dinner is served, keep food in one location and off the main table so easy grazing is not possible. If a second helping is desired, it requires a commitment. Instead of simply reaching over and grabbing the serving platter, the consumer must travel. An added bonus is that this makes it much easier to count the number of servings taken. Even better is to remove the option of a second trip. This simple internal boundary will help you manage what is on your plate the first time, promote greater control over portion sizes, and avoid the mind’s tendency to linger over more ways to get stuffed. If the buffet style is not an option and the food is close by, keep platters around you that are less seductive like green vegetables or the gravy boat.
Then address factors that help override normal body cues:
- Wear tighter clothes with buttons and belts
- Sit next to people who share healthy eating habits
- Use your salad plate as your entrée plate
- Eat only when you are fully aware of what you are putting in your mouth. Regularly check-in to see how full you feel
- Commit to how much food makes sense
- Slow down. It takes twenty minutes for the message “full” to get from the stomach to the brain. The lag time allows for a lot of unnecessary calories.
- Watch out for taking “tastes” when it comes to super sweet or fatty foods and alcohol. It is theorized that one bite leads the sensitized brain to a binge, terminated only when sufficient
serotonin activity is reached (which can be thousands of calories later). - Have one serving of a given category (meat, starch, vegetable, dessert) rather than a sample of everything. Choose one item and if any feelings of deprivation rise up, remember there will be opportunities to eat the other options at future meals.
- It is more important to take care of yourself than be polite! If they aren’t responsible for what goes on your hips, they have no say over what gets on the lips.
With these strategies, it is more than possible to enjoy the holiday without feeling deprived, but also without engorgement and unwanted weight gain. With food needs in balance, there will be more room for all the other joys the holiday has to offer. Here’s wishing you happiness, meaning and beauty this holiday season and throughout the coming year!