5 Ways to Overcome Overeating During the Holidays

It’s no secret that it’s easy to overindulge during the holiday season. Between the abundance of food offered and available along with a packed social calendar filled with parties and festivities, it can be easy to overeat. However, if you don’t stay mindful, it can develop into an unhealthy habit that results in weight gain and an increased risk of diseases such as heart disease and diabetes.

Oftentimes, the holiday season can bring on difficult emotions which leads you to eating emotionally. Breaking the cycle of emotional eating and overeating can be challenging, but I know you can do it.

Here are 5 Tips to Overcome Overeating During the Holidays

1. Practice Self Care. Rest, exercise, and stress management are essential components of a healthy life, and when ignored, it’s easy to turn to foods high in sugar and fat as a way to manage your energy and emotions. The fact is, stress increases cortisol, a hormone that increases appetite levels. Therefore, being stressed can lead to increased hunger, overeating, and, ultimately, weight gain. By making a conscious effort to practice self-care by reducing stress, you can help prevent overeating.

Holiday Tip: Maintain a regular sleep and exercise schedule and find a buddy to keep you accountable during this busy season. Manage stress by listening to music, gardening, practicing yoga, meditation, exercise, and breathing techniques.

2. Minimize Distractions. From scrolling through your Facebook feed during lunch or eating popcorn while watching your favorite TV show, being distracted during mealtime can cause you to overeat. Distracted eating can also cause you to eat more food later in the day because you do not realize or remember what you consumed at the prior meal.

Holiday Tip: Make an intention to unplug from phones, computers, and other reading materials (aka magazines), so you can tune into your body and the food you are eating.

3. Understand Your Triggers. Empower yourself for success by understanding what foods or situations might increase your risk to overeat or binge. Simply understanding your struggles can help prevent or at least reduce the frequency of overeating episodes.

Holiday Tip: Remove temptation from your fridge, pantry, or office stash. Share your goals with someone close to you and make a conscious effort not to bring leftover foods home that are tempting.

4. Use a food and mood diary to help identify patterns and triggers around overeating. Record what you ate, who you were with, how you felt before you ate, how you felt during the meal, and how you felt after. Over time you can reflect and see what food or situations might trigger a binge episode.

Holiday Tip: Practice identifying the emotion before eating your feelings. Were you hungry? Anxious? Angry? Lonely? Tired? Bored? Embarrassed? While it can be uncomfortable to sit through and feel your feelings, it can also be powerful to realize the emotions will pass. Food is only a temporary fix to your feelings.

5. Eat on a Regular Schedule. Avoid the temptation to save up your calories by not eating all day so you can indulge in dinner or party foods. Waiting to eat until you are starving only leads to overeating! Eating well-balanced meals and snacks regularly help stabilize blood sugars and hunger levels, ultimately empowering you to not overeat later in the day.

Holiday Tip: Aim to fuel and nourish your body regularly by incorporating plant-based fats, lean protein, and high fiber foods at meals and snacks.

If you struggle with overeating, the holiday season can be particularly challenging. While the tips listed above are an excellent place to start, they are just the beginning.

Contact me to schedule a consultation, and we can work on specific strategies for you, empowering you for a healthy and happy holiday and beyond!

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