I hear this a lot: the holidays are really hard when it comes to my diet.
It stresses a lot of us out, to be quite honest. Not only can the holidays be stressful if you’re the one hosting, but many people struggle with sticking to their diet when it comes to the holidays.
But what if the holidays didn’t have to be hard? I’m speaking strictly to the eating side of things. I can make no guarantees that family members won’t drive you bonkers, or the turkey won’t turn out perfectly, or the weather won’t cooperate.
No, I’m speaking specifically about making eating easier over the holidays with these 10 simple tips.
10 Simple Tips to Stress-free Healthy Holiday Eating
1. Ditch your diet
This may sound counter-intuitive, but this first step is actually going to be the most freeing step towards eating healthy during the holidays.
It’s because your diet causes you so much freaking stress.
I remember when I was on Weight Watchers I would always stress before big holidays like Thanksgiving or Christmas. I would be super careful the week or two leading up to these holidays and try my best to stick to the plan.
When the holidays finally rolled around I would stress about the foods that were provided. Wondering if they fit into my points for the day, but not wanting to whip out my phone to calculate everything on my plate.
These past five years of intuitive eating, and ditching the diet, have lead me to much less stress around the holidays. Because I eat what I want, while listening to my body’s cravings, hunger and fullness cues.
2. Eat a nutritious breakfast during the holidays
You may have heard this before, but skipping breakfast before a big holiday meal is never a good idea for your health.
And to be honest, skipping meals to save points, calories or macros before any big meal is never a good idea.
Your body will tell you when it’s hungry, and also when it’s full. Skipping a meal throws off your entire internal rhythm. This causes you to overcompensate with more food than your body actually needs.
Eating a nutritious meal before Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner will put your body and mind in the right space to listen to it when those meals do come around and encourage healthy holiday eating.
3. Use a smaller plate
If you can help it, use a smaller plate during holiday festivities.
We eat with our eyes, and when our overly large plates are completely full, we feel the need to eat everything on them, even it we’re full.
Filling a smaller plate will trick your eyes and mind into thinking that you’ve taken exactly what you need. This will help you reach your perfect fullness level without feeling completely stuffed.
4. Take smaller than usual portions for healthy holiday eating
If you’re at a family member’s house and don’t have the option to use a smaller plate, simply take smaller portions.
Again, we eat with our eyes, and are likely to take much larger portions {unless you ate a nutritious breakfast and are feeling satisfied going into the holiday}.
Smaller portions will help you to feel satisfied, rather than overly stuffed. Keeping your healthy holiday eating in check.
6. Set down your fork
Setting down your fork between each bite can actually help you to recognize your fullness cues much faster.
With mindful eating, your fullness cue is one of the most important to listen to.
You want to feel satiated, not so stuffed you need to unbutton your pants.
5. Incorporate exercise
While exercise doesn’t exactly equate to eating, it’s still a huge part of living a healthy lifestyle and eating intuitively.
Exercise releases endorphins, helping you feel happier and healthier. If you want to feel healthier going into your holiday eating, think about incorporating short exercises during the holidays.
Something as simple as taking a ten minute walk before and after dinner can help you to feel more comfortable around the foods you’re eating.
7. Repeat positive affirmations
Positive affirmations are so crucial to your health, and healthy eating.
If you repeat things like “I trust my body to tell me what it needs. I feel good around food and will eat based on my cravings, hunger and fullness cues. I eat foods that bless my body and make me feel joyous,” you’ll find your mood around the holidays to be so much healthier.
These positive affirmations bring you to a stress-free feeling regarding healthy holiday eating.
8. Journal for stress
But, if you are still feeling stressed, even after your positive affirmations, journaling can help release a lot of those negative feelings you’re holding on to.
This exercise provides you with a step-by-step guide to journal to release anxious thoughts.
Stress and anxiety can be very detrimental to your health, and can cause you to stress eat or even binge during the holidays.
By journaling and releasing many of those stressful feelings, you’ll be able to enjoy healthy eating during the holidays.
9. Enjoy the company you’re with
The holidays are meant to be a time to reconnect with those you maybe haven’t seen for awhile. Or even to just enjoy some time with family you do see often.
No matter your holiday scene, eating isn’t the only thing you should be focused on.
When you enjoy the company you’re with, you’re more likely to also enjoy the food you’re having, and recognizing that it’s a blessing you’re eating and enjoying company.
10. Be kind to yourself
If you want to eat healthy during the holidays, your self-talk is very important.
Everything starts with the mind, and if you’re feeding your mind poor thoughts, you’re going to feed your body poorly too.
Focus on eating foods that make you feel good and bless your body. This is not only being kind to yourself, but is creating a healthy eating habit that doesn’t focus on your calories, macros or points.
Looking for even more tips on eating healthy and mindfully during the holidays?
If you don’t want to stress about the holidays and eating, then I want to welcome you into Eat for Life Collective.
This membership experience combines the “how” to eat intuitively with the mindset work necessary to help you dig deep into the thoughts and feelings that surround eating and dieting.
The two together are your powerhouse into ditching the diet, but still reaching your perfect healthy weight and lifestyle.
Join the membership experience today and we can work together, taking you all the way through the holidays.
