Handling Holiday Food Temptations

If you’re nervously heading into the holiday season, wanting to “be good” and not lose control but doubting your willpower will hold out, here are five ways to change how you approach holiday eating so you stop the struggle for good:

1. Eat normally before and after holiday events. And if you're going somewhere you know there probably won't be anything healthy at all, eat something healthy before you go.

I know this is totally different from what we're used to doing. We usually “save up” for big dinners or parties, but this is like going to the grocery store famished vs. just after you had a good meal. Every single thing just doesn't look so tempting when you're not starving. You don’t get out of control and grab everything you can get your hands on.

Also, when you’re saving calories (or hitting the cardio the next morning to burn them off), it perpetuates extremes-eating instead of an ongoing lifestyle of eating in moderation, like a normal person.

Your results - which include a healthy & easy relationship with food, not just the number on the scale - come from what you do the vast majority of the time, not just what you do periodically. So eating normally (with an emphasis on healthy food) day to day even during the holidays helps create good habits that give you those lasting results.

2. Don’t make anything off limits or try to overly restrict. Think ahead about what holiday treats you genuinely and most enjoy. Then make a general plan for how much and how often eating that would help you feel empowered, great in your skin, and super happy with yourself in January.

Instead of eating every sweet and fattening thing you can get your hands on because "it's the holidays and it’s no use / I'm just gonna enjoy this and start over in the New Year (again)," OR trying to be so “good” during the events that you end up going home and bingeing on the cookie stash after everyone goes to bed, think about what you genuinely love.

Maybe you love pumpkin pie but not apple. And you don’t really care about vanilla ice cream or whipped cream on top. But in the past you've eaten all the pies and toppings just because it's there and it's the holidays, or once you feel like you’re “cheating” you go off the rails. This year, plan to eat and thoroughly enjoy the pumpkin pie and move on. Nothing else needed. No guilt either.

Or maybe stuffing is your favorite thing about Thanksgiving dinner but you really don't love the dinner rolls. In the past you’ve eaten the rolls because you're carried away in all the holiday energy or thinking "I already blew it" so you just eat everything. Maybe this year you acknowledge that you don't really care about dinner rolls and you're going to thoroughly enjoy stuffing but you don't need to eat rolls too.

Even though our sweet, diet-ridden minds feel like that won't make “enough” difference, it will cut back on lots and lots of calories when you repeat this over and over. ESPECIALLY when it prevents post-restriction bingeing. Most importantly, it helps you eat like a normal person does, who surveys buffets and serving bowls and every day run-ins with holiday goodies at the coffee shop or break room, intentionally chooses whether they want to eat it, and stops when comfortably full.

3. Eat nutrient-dense (i.e. proteins, veggies, most natural) foods first, when possible, and stay hydrated. Not to mask hunger but to help your hunger and cravings and eat in proportion.

This is also like being satiated when you go grocery shopping. Protein and fresher foods stabilize your blood sugar, decrease your cravings, help you feel full sooner and your fullness last longer so you’re not hungry again so fast. Also stay hydrated just to be kind to your body. Focus on nourishing yourself not gaslighting your body’s energy and nutrient needs. All of this helps you stop feeling so out of control with food.

4. Try to eat slowly, enjoy every bite, and focus on gratitude and your loved ones.

This is surprisingly helpful. Instead of trying to sort of shove the carbs, fat and sugar in as fast as you can because it feels “bad” or you’re so famished and out of control: take the food in with your five senses, put your fork down between bites and actually savor & appreciate the flavors, breathe, look around and be grateful for the food [and the people you’re with, if you genuinely feel that way]. This will help your brain register satisfaction and fullness, cut overeating, and help you feel more empowered.

5. If / when you “slip up,” it’s fine!! There is no perfect eating, you’re not a robot, and it doesn’t mean anything. Focus on more nutrient-dense, normal eating right away, not after the holidays.

Please. Do not succumb to the “I already blew it so I’ll just wait til January” mindset again. That’s a habit that doesn’t serve you, and it will just continue again all through the year every time you think you blew it. You’ll keep starting over Monday or after the next special occasion or after summer, etc., etc., etc.

Stopping this cycle is one of the most powerful habits you can change - through the holiday season or any time

Which tip seems most doable for you? Let me know in the comments.

To your freedom!

♥ Debbie

p.s. If this is a new approach to you and you’d like more help to lose weight in a low maintenance way that feels way calmer, empowered, and actually lasts, be sure to get my free guide: “7 Secrets to Break the On Again Off Again Weight Loss Cycle” or schedule a free call where we can chat about your challenges and goals and whether my program might be just what you need!