Tag Archive for: strategies

Woman suffering from stress grimacing in pain

5 Strategies to Deal with Top Holiday Stressors

The holidays are such a nice time of year but the stress that comes along with it, well, THAT I can do without. Maybe being around all your relatives and the crowds feels overwhelming. Perhaps finding the right gifts for people is anxiety producing. Maybe, just maybe, you get even tense knowing that this time of year is “supposed” to be joyous, yet all you feel is anxiety.

 

Top Holiday Stressors

The first step to truly enjoying your holiday season is identifying your stressors. The two top stressors for many people are money and family!

 

Money Stress:

It may come as no surprise that one of the top stress-inducers identified during the holiday season is worry over money. Since the beginning of November, you have been constantly bombarded with deals, steals and the newest gadgets. You might feel pressure to work overtime to be able to afford all the presents on your family’s wish list. However, it’s important that you take a step back and remind yourself what this time of the year is really about – togetherness. While your loved ones and friends do appreciate your thoughtful gifts, it’s really the thought that counts. Show them you love and appreciate them in other ways, they will cherish that for a lifetime.

 

Family Stress:

Another stressor may be constantly being around your extended family. This time of year, it seems that there are no shortage of family gatherings. Your weekends are probably jam-packed with holiday parties, leaving you very little time to do what you enjoy doing. While this time of year is all about being with family, you cannot forget to take care of yourself as well. Carve out time every day to do something that makes you feel fulfilled and that meets your needs of being taken care of.

 

5 Strategies to Manage Top Stressors Without Food

Unfortunately, some people may turn to food to help deal with these holiday stressors. Do you?

 

If so, please know that while food can be one way you decide to manage uncomfortable emotions, it becomes a problem when food is your only go-to coping mechanism.

 

1) Move Your Body:

Choose a movement that you enjoy doing and find time to do it at least three times a week. Regular movement has been shown to reduce stress levels. If you fall short on time and you cannot make it to that spin or kickboxing class, try going for a walk around your neighborhood or do a yoga video at home.

 

2) Connect and Talk:

Talk to a family member or friend that you trust. If you are feeling overwhelmed, a good venting session can make you feel better. Just talking through your feelings can provide relief.

 

3) Sleep it Off:

Aim to get at least 8 hours of sleep a night. You are probably running on empty more frequently this month than you do the rest of the year. Sleep is important for your health, try to go to bed an hour earlier and avoid hitting snooze in the morning. Interrupting your sleep with multiple alarms can interfere with your body’s natural wake mechanisms, leaving you feeling exhausted throughout the day.

 

4) Breathe through It:

When you feel a stressful moment coming on, excuse yourself and take a few minutes to relax and breathe. Search the internet or download an app to your phone that will guide you through stress-reducing breathing techniques. Meditation is also a useful relaxation technique that you can do anywhere!

 

5) Journal Your Thoughts:

Pull out a pen and paper and start to write. Don’t edit. Just let your thoughts come out of your head onto the paper. Let it flow! You will feel an almost immediate relief.

 

Grab these FREE 20 Emotional Eating Journaling Prompts to help you get started!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If even after engaging in a stress-reducing exercise or talking with a friend, you still feel that you want the soothing power of food, that’s okay! Put your desired food choice on a plate and sit down to eat it. Stay fully aware and conscious as you are eating. Savor each bite, stay mindful and present with the food, and your feelings. Once you’ve finished, take a deep breath and move on. The key here is to not move out of your body when you are eating so this doesn’t become a full-on binge.

 

Let me know below which of these strategies will be your go-to!

5 Tips to Eat Slower

In today’s fast paced society, it’s only natural that we rush around trying to get everything done before the day is over. You rush to work, school, and everywhere else you must go. You probably even rush through lunch to get back to your busy day at work.

 

While moving fast may be a necessity for your work and overall lifestyle, eating fast is not the best for your health and body and can quickly lead to bypassing your comfortable fullness signals.

 

Think back to your last meal… did you inhale it or take the time to enjoy every bite?   How long do you think it took you to finish your meal? If it’s less than 20 minutes, then keep reading.

 

If you feel like you’re the only person who does this, you’re not! Most people devour their meals in about 5 -7 minutes flat. They put a forkful of food in their mouths and, before they even swallow, the next forkful is ready to go. Do you find yourself doing this too?

 

Downside of Eating Fast

When you eat fast, it becomes difficult to savor your meals.  You’re not able to truly listen to your body and engage in mindful eating. Slowing down as you eat will allow you to really taste every bite and get the most satisfaction out of the meal as possible.

 

Eating quickly also prevents you from eating until you are comfortably satisfied because you don’t pay attention to your inner fullness signals. Instead, you’ll eat until the food is gone.

 

It takes your brain 20 minutes to realize that your stomach is full, so if you clean your plate in record time, you likely miss that fullness cue, leading you to reach for more food. By the time the fullness signals kicks in, you are now uncomfortably full, having eaten more than your body physically needed. You are likely also experiencing bloat, heartburn and other uncomfortable GI symptoms (in addition to the emotional side effects of guilt and shame).

 

5 Tips to Help You Slow Down Your Eating:

1. Allocate a certain amount of time to sit down and eat your meal. Allow your body to guide when you begin your meal, but when you do sit down to your meal, make sure you have enough time to sit, eat slowly and savor. This doesn’t only apply to dinner, it applies to breakfast and lunch too!

 

2. Put your fork and knife down between bites. You might be thinking “who does this”? Unfortunately, not too many people, unless you are among the growing number of people who are learning to eat mindfully. This means completely putting the fork down on your plate until you’re done chewing what’s in your mouth. Then pick up the fork and take your next bite. This allows you to focus on the deliciousness of the food in your mouth rather than focusing on the next bite.

 

3. Eat without distractions (meaning no T.V. or phone). We all know how difficult this one can be. I suggest making your kitchen/dining room an electronic-free zone! If your phone is in another room, then you are not tempted to look at it when you hear that notification. Make sure the kids know too that mealtime is not tech time.

 

4. Use your non-dominant hand to hold the fork. This is a simple way to help you slow down. Since your non-dominant hand is usually weaker, you’ll have to pick up smaller forkfuls and really concentrate to keep food from spilling over.

 

5. Eat with someone else. Ask a family member or friend to help you reach your goal of slowing down at meals! You can engage in meaningful conversations between bites and, before you know it, you’ll realize you are engaging in many of the tips stated above.

 

Challenge yourself

Set the timer on your phone and see how long it normally takes you to finish a meal. It might be 5 minutes and you might think that stretching it out to 20 is impossible. It’s not! Continue to use the tips above every time you sit to eat to help lengthen your meal minute-by-minute. Before long, you will be eating slower and using your inner fullness signals to guide you when to stop. And, you’ll enjoy your meal a whole lot better.

 

If you’d like to explore how I can help you on your intuitive eating journey, just reach out to me at www.TalkWithBonnie.com .

 

3 Powerful Strategies to Decrease Food Related Stress

Food is supposed to be enjoyed; yet so people tell me that food is stressful. They report that all aspects of food, whether its deciding what to eat, shopping and preparing food for meals, or even the thought of going out to eat, all leads to stress.

Do you feel the same way?

Does thinking about what you should cook, going to the grocery store and preparing food lead to unwanted stress?

If you have had a difficult relationship with food for some time now, then I’m sure you experience these feelings.

If you do feel the same – how do you manage the stress?  I know you probably want food to be a non-issue in your life, but may think how can it be?

I’m here to tell you it CAN be a non-issue! You CAN develop a healthy, loving relationship with food that can lead to less stress when preparing and shopping for meals…and eating it.

Here are 3 strategies that you can put into place immediately to help you minimize the stress around food:

Strategy #1: Set up your environment for success.

While I’m all about teaching you how to be intuitive in your eating, I am also very practical. It is important to be mindful of your eating and one way to do that is to reduce your external eating cues. That means put all food away after you’ve eaten and don’t leave food on the counters or table. If food is left out, it can very easily lead to mindless munching which then leads to feelings of guilt and frustration for eating when you aren’t hungry.

Strategy #2: Seek assistance from your family members.

Food shopping and meal prep doesn’t have to just be your responsibility. Get everyone involved in the menu planning. Even better, assign everyone a night to prepare the dinner. This way the whole family is involved, the kids will more likely eat what they help to prepare, and you get quality family time too. This will lead to less stress on you to feel like you have to do everything.

Strategy #3: Start to use meditation and visualization.

Meditation can be a powerful tool to help keep your mind clear and stress-free. You can use meditation as a way to visualize yourself being stress-free around food and, by visualizing that, you can start to believe it will happen too.

These strategies are a good place to get started and you can use them as a way to figure out what works best for you.

Want more resources?

Self-Paced Online Program – Stress Less Eat Less™ – see the crazy low-priced deal HERE!

Complimentary Discovery Session – let’s chat to see how I can help you. Go to www.TalkWithBonnie.com and schedule a time.

 

How Do You Handle Food-Related Stress?

Food is supposed to be enjoyed. Yet, when speaking with so many clients, and potential clients, they tell me that food is stressful. All aspects of food, whether its deciding what to eat, shopping and preparing food for meals, or even the thought of going out to eat food.

 

Stress, stress, stress!

 

Do you feel the same way?

 

If you have had a difficult relationship with food for some time now, then you can probably relate.

 

I know you probably want food to be a non-issue in your life. And you know what? It can be.

 

Let’s first start with 3 strategies that you can put into place immediately to help you minimize the stress around food.

 

Strategy #1: Set up your environment for success.

While I’m all about teaching you how to be intuitive in your eating (of course…I teach intuitive eating!), I am also very practical. It is important to be mindful of your eating and one way to do that is to reduce your external eating cues. That means put all food away after you’ve eaten and don’t leave food on the counters or table. If food is left out, it can very easily lead to mindless munching which then leads to feelings of guilt and frustration for eating when you weren’t hungry.

 

Strategy #2: Seek assistance from your family members.

Food shopping and meal prep doesn’t have to just be your responsibility. Get everyone involved in the menu planning. Even better, assign everyone a night to prepare the dinner. This way the whole family is involved, the kids will more likely eat what they help to prepare, and you get quality family time too.

 

Strategy #3. Start to use meditation and visualization. Meditation can be a powerful tool to help keep your mind clear and stress-free. You can use meditation as a way to visualize yourself being stress-free around food and, by visualizing that, you can start to believe it will happen too.

 

These strategies are a good place to get started and you can use them as a way to figure out what works best for you.

 

But I have more!

 

Come join my 3-Day Challenge – Managing Food-Related Stress.

 

It starts TODAY, August 30th and runs through Friday September 1 and is happening in my Private Facebook Group.

 

Download your free e-Book “How to Manage Food-Related Stress” (which we are using throughout the challenge) as a tool to teach you ways to manage your stress around food.

 

Head over to our Private Facebook Group to see what Day One of the challenge entails!

 

See you there!

 

Powerful Strategies to Conquer Overeating – The Final 3!

Have you been following my series Powerful Strategies to Conquer Overeating on The Diet Free Zone Show?

Last month I shared with you the first 3 strategies to conquer overeating and today I will share the final 3. But before I do, let me remind you what the first 3 strategies are.

Strategy #1: Be patient!

Forget about quick fixes. It can take 3-6 months to replace bad habits with healthy ones. You want these new habits to last a lifetime, don’t you? Then what’s your rush. Give yourself plenty of time to change, and don’t focus on perfection. If you set an impossible deadline for yourself, you will become discouraged and throw in the towel. Patience is a virtue!

 

Strategy #2: Talk to yourself!

Positive self-talk is crucial to deal with those inner voices that discourage you from making change. Remind yourself why you want to change, for example “I’ll feel better if I lose weight’. Speak out loud to yourself so you hear your positive voice, rather than just “speaking in your head”.

 

Strategy #3: Make new friends!

Do you have friends that sabotage your efforts? Or, are the friends you hang out with always interested in going out to eat? If so, find people who will support your efforts, and who are interested in going for a hike on a Sunday rather than a movie. Take a good look at who you hang out with and their influence on your eating and exercise habits. And, if needed, make a change!

 

Now, on to the next 3 strategies to conquer overeating.

 

The videos for these strategies can be found by clicking each of the images below:
Strategy #4: Forget About Willpower

Powerful strategy 4

 

 

 

 

 

Strategy #5: Set up a Positive Home Environment

Powerful strategy 5

 

 

 

 

 

Strategy #6: Cheer Yourself On

Powerful strategy 6

 

 

 

 

 

After watching the entire series, let me know which strategies are working for you!