Four tips to stop the holiday food guilt
Hello and happy holidays! It’s the most wonderful time of the year, but can also be the most stressful when it comes to food and eating.
This time of year can be very triggering when it comes to food. You might be worried about all the “unhealthy” food you’ll eat, or that you might over-eat.
If that’s you, then I have 4 tips to take the stress out of the holiday season, and help you enjoy it, with zero guilt.
Tip #1 Don’t save calories.
If you restrict food during the day, knowing that you’re heading to a party later, this can backfire and cause food obsession. You’ll likely be extremely hungry and just shovel down your food,, which leads to over-eating.
If you’re too hungry when you arrive at a party, it’s easier to over eat because it’s harder to listen to your body’s signals and cues.
And let’s face it, shovelling it down means you’re probably not even enjoying the food.
So, your best bet is to just eat normally during the day and avoid arriving at parties feeling overly hungry.
Tip #2 When you have FOMO.
Mince pies… Christmas cake…. Pie… There are certain foods that only come out during the holiday season and you might experience FOMO (or fear of missing out).
So what happens if you get food FOMO? You’re full and they bring out the mince pies! You just don’t want to miss out on this delicious food.
Here’s a few options to try
You could go ahead and eat a smaller portion. Occasionally eating past the point of fullness is OK (especially if you are savouring and enjoying it). It’s much better than feeling super restricted.
If you know the hosts well, you could ask for a “doggy bag”! You could say: oh my that pie looks incredible, I’d love some, but I’m too full to eat right now. Could I possibly take some home with me to eat tomorrow?
Or, you could ask for the recipe and make yourself some another time. Or, if it’s not home-made and instead the hosts bought the food, just ask where they got it.
Remember that if you have FOMO and you want to eat something because it looks good, a good questions to ask yourself is this:
Will it taste better when I’m a bit hungrier and more able to enjoy it?
If the answer is yes, then a doggy bag or recipe are a good bet. But perhaps having a little bit right now is what you need. And if so, go for it, guilt-free!
Tip #3 When you worry about “unhealthy” food.
You probably know that I’m not a big fan of labelling food, so using the label “unhealthy” can be very unhelpful. Your relationship with food and tuning into your body is actually more important than what you eat.
Even if the food you eat at this time of year isn’t as nourishing in terms of vitamins and minerals, let’s remember that it’s food for you in other ways. It might be nourishing your soul, or about connection, nostalgia or comfort. That’s fine! We eat for other reasons than just nutrients.
If you are eating less nutrient dense food over the holiday season, better to enjoy it and eat with satisfaction.
The stress of worrying about eating something “unhealthy” is worse than actually just eating the food itself. So eat it, savour it and enjoy it!
Tip #4 Timing your meals around events
My final tip is about practical hunger. Thinking about the timing of your meals can be a practical way to think about hunger and eating.
Maybe you have a meeting or an event at an awkward time, it would be practical to eat something beforehand, even if you’re not hungry, especially when you know you’re not going to have a chance later.
Imagine you have a work event between 7-9pm. You know that by the time you get home it’s going to be 10pm and perhaps you don’t like eating that late. But you also know that if you eat at 6pm you’re not going to be that hungry.
Practical hunger would mean eating something at 6pm to tide you over and then you won’t be ravenous by the time 10pm comes around.
I hope you find these tips helpful!
If you’re worried about holiday season and want to find out more, check out my (free) food freedom masterclass here - for more tips that you can use year-round.