Eating mindfully during the holiday season takes effort and planning. The holidays are one of the most common times that mindless eating and overeating tend to occur. It’s easy to fall prey to the mind trap of convincing ourselves that it’s ok to go off of our eating plans just for the holidays.
If you’re on an eating plan for health reasons or for weight loss, you’re likely aware of the physical and emotional agony that follows an episode of straying too far from your plan. And if you’re not on an eating plan, the physical consequences of overeating are at best highly unpleasant.
Those who are on an eating plan know that one slip from the plan simply leads to more excuses and more slips, and before we know it, the scales reflect a significant weight increase and/or our bodies experience a negative consequence. The tendency at that point is to either engage in denial and wonder what happened, judge ourselves mercilessly for the transgression, or feel hopeless about ever being able to stick to a plan.
Because the temptations are typically more numerous during the holidays, it’s more important than ever to plan ahead, stay in touch with your body’s needs, eat mindfully, and exercise extreme self-care. Approach this holiday season with a plan for meal preparation and for eating mindfully during your holiday meals by considering implementing the following tips:
- Plan ahead. If you’re doing the cooking, plan to cook healthy choices. If someone else is cooking, inquire about the menu, and offer to bring some options that are on your eating plan. If you’re on a special diet, adhere to your plan, whether you’re eating gluten free, for weight loss, for diabetes management, for heart health, or any other health reasons. This is a time that you most need to stick to your plan. There are typically so many unhealthy choices at holiday meals that once you veer slightly from your plan, it’s easy to go far off of the plan unless you approach the holiday mindfully.
- Manage your stress well. Holidays can be stressful for many people. Make certain to get adequate sleep, exercise, and water intake. Be aware of anxious or negative thinking, and when you catch yourself having anxious or negative thoughts, take a deep breath and make a mental note of what you are feeling. Scan your body and notice where you feel the emotion in your body. Keep breathing, and see if the experience changes in any way. Don’t allow yourself to indulge in negative or worried thinking. It doesn’t solve anything, and it typically only makes you feel worse. If you need a break from the intensity of the holiday gathering, take a walk outside.
- Honor your food. Take a moment before you eat and encourage everyone present to honor the food. Express gratitude for the farmers who grew and harvested the food, and thank the people who prepared the meal.
- Keep the dinner conversation positive. Avoid talking about work, politics, current events, or other stressful topics.
- Stay in tune with your body. Check in with yourself before you begin eating and notice, on a scale of one to ten, how hungry you are. Choose modest portions of food for your plate.
- Eat Mindfully. Notice the smells, sounds, colors, tastes, and textures of the food. Take small bites, chew your food slowly, and savor the tastes and textures. Take breaks while you’re eating to take a deep breath, notice how full you feel, and relax your body. When you feel comfortably satiated, stop eating; don’t wait until you feel too full to stop eating.
- Plan ahead and make healthy deserts. Avoid eating foods that start the cycle of craving for you, either foods that you’re allergic or sensitive to or foods that are high in sugar content. Include options such as fruit or fruit salad.
- Be kind and gentle with yourself. If you catch yourself going off of your plan, instead of telling yourself it’s ok to go off the plan for the entire holiday weekend or instead of berating yourself, show yourself kindness and compassion, and agree to get right back to your eating plan.
Warm wishes for eating mindfully during this holiday season!