How to stop overeating on holidays

Do you often find yourself overeating on holidays? If so, you’re not alone. We can help. Keep reading to learn how to stop overeating during the holidays.

The holiday season comes around every year, and with it comes a variety of emotions. Some are exciting and nostalgic, while others are more overwhelming and stressful. This can make managing diet and nutrition especially difficult during this time.

This year, you can avoid overeating this holiday season and set yourself up for success with just a few tips and tricks from a registered dietitian.

overeating on holiday

So why does it happen? There are actually quite a few reasons. Holidays generally call for celebration, and celebration usually refers to a social gathering. And what is often found at social gatherings? food!

Additionally, the holidays also usually bring about nostalgic traditions centered around food. Maybe it’s a seasonal baking mix from a particular grocery store or Grandma’s holiday cookies. In any case, it is no exaggeration to say that holidays and food are closely related.

When these two elements are combined with scarcity and thoughtlessness, the overeating side of things comes into play. So let’s discuss how to prevent feelings of inadequacy and indiscretion from taking over so you can stop overeating during the holidays.

5 Tips to Stop Overeating on Holidays

Try these five tips this holiday season to avoid overeating.

Enjoy your holiday favorites with care

No matter where you are during the holiday season, it’s always full of unappealing holiday treats and dishes. Whether it’s the stale sugar cookies in the break room at work or the mediocre bread pudding your aunt insists on making every year. But at the same time, there are always delicious and wonderful treats and dishes that you can’t wait to eat.

The first key to getting through the holidays and avoiding overeating is to carefully taste the holiday foods you actually enjoy. Find the foods you look forward to each year and leave the rest behind.

You don’t have to pick up a stale cookie you know you don’t want or feel pressured by your aunt to eat bread pudding. Stick to what you enjoy and leave the rest behind. This is one of the best ways to avoid overeating during the holidays.

Don’t let scarcity rule you

Now that we know that we only eat what we really want, we have to talk about scarcity thinking. The scarcity mindset tells us that we must eat as much as we can now because we won’t have it again for a long time.

What’s the result? This leaves you feeling overly full and, as a result, more likely to feel stressed and overwhelmed. Liggett is calming down and I can’t believe I overate again on vacation.

First of all, we’ve all been there. It’s human and it’s normal! But here are some quick tips to help prevent this from happening again this year. As you enjoy the sweet treats and savory foods of the holiday season, remember that they keep coming back. Holidays come every year so we can enjoy them every year. Plus, if you really like it, you can make it anytime outside of the holiday season. Get the recipe from a friend or family member, or learn how to make something similar offered at the grocery store.

The more you can call out and prepare for your scarcity mindset, the more control you will have when it comes to food. That way, you can avoid overeating during the holidays.

Find the balance between nutrition and enjoyment

Because of the increased social gatherings around the holidays, we tend to lean a lot more toward enjoying things this time of year. It’s often completely unintentional. Before we know it, the holiday season is over and we realize how much we overeat and indulge in pleasure-based foods.

To stop overeating during the holidays, act with mindfulness and intention. To do this, you can use Nutrition Stripped’s Balance Spectrum. There are two halves of the spectrum, one representing nutrition and the other representing enjoyment. In the middle, there is a balance between the two.

Use this visual to see for yourself. Are you spending too much time on half-enjoyment? If so, how can you get yourself back to the center of the spectrum, or just over the nourishing half of the spectrum? Rather than prioritizing one over the other, we prioritize a balance between the two from the beginning.

Never go out and go to a party hungry.

Honestly, this applies to any social gathering all year round. How many times have you said to yourself, “I haven’t eaten all day because I really want to enjoy this dinner?”

If this is a familiar feeling to you, you’re probably familiar with the full, uncomfortable, and stress-inducing feeling you experience after eating or attending a social gathering.

Fasting causes extreme hunger, which can lead to overeating. To avoid overeating during the holidays this year, make sure you’re well-nourished before gatherings and meals. Live your day like any other day. That way, you’ll still feel hungry, and you’ll still enjoy it, but you won’t feel so hungry that you’ll be forced to overeat.

Take time to manage stress

The holidays are busy, stressful, and honestly a little confusing. Don’t get me wrong, I love the holiday season! But that certainly doesn’t negate the fact that they can be a little too much. Often, overeating is simply the result of an indiscretion as we simply try to stay sane and get through the holiday season.

Try practicing active stress management. You can record your thoughts in a journal, put on headphones and meditate, or do some simple yoga. Managing stress will manage stress overeating and reduce overeating.

takeout

You can break the holiday binge eating cycle by adopting mindfulness, enjoying your favorite foods, incorporating a little stress management, and nourishing yourself as usual. As always, take these tips slowly. Try one thing at a time, see how it goes, make it your own, and move on to the next thing.

Don’t forget to tag us on social media and let us know your progress!

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The post How to Stop Overeating on Holidays first appeared on Nutrition Stripped.