For many of us, our happiest memories of the holiday time are intertwined with the sensory experience of eating. We think about the smell of a family recipe in the oven; we relish the thought of a treat we only indulge in during a special time of year. For those of us who have any tendency towards dysfunctional patterns in our eating, the holidays are also a time when those behaviors are likely to emerge. Eating mindfully, or with awareness of our feelings of hunger and fullness, is a key way to avoid unhealthy or unhelpful eating patterns during the holiday season.
Consider this: A recent study found that people who are already overweight gained more than five pounds in the time between Thanksgiving and Martin Luther King Jr. Day. And although not everyone gains weight during the holidays, a study in the New England Journal of Medicine found that the pounds gained in these months are unlikely to be lost.
Part of this can surely be explained by the presence of high-calorie foods that are a part of many holiday traditions. But, as another recent scientific study shows, it is unlikely that just one day of overeating is responsible for any weight gain of note. Much more probable, it seems, is that it is the prolonged stressors and disruption of daily routines that accounts for weight gain and other unhealthy holiday habits.
This makes sense given what else we know about holiday times: it is a time of year filled with both celebration and stress. Psychiatric emergency room visits are notoriously high, reports of medical illness related to alcohol abuse spike, and reports of travel-related stress peak. And given what we now know about emotional eating—that is, the tendency to eat when not hungry due to stress or distress—this seems like a much more plausible explanation for holiday weight gain.
What to do? Luckily, a series of widely-accepted guidelines have been developed for how to eat mindfully during the holidays and otherwise. By being aware of our feelings of fullness and hunger, we can prevent eating and weight gain associated with stress and take care of our selves and bodies throughout the holiday season.
Check out the following tips for how to eat mindfully all year long:
- Be aware. Am I hungry right now? Check in with your body to see if you’re actually craving food or if “emotional hunger” is fueling your desire to eat.
- Love your body a different way. Engaging in another soothing, body-based activity is the best way to curb emotional hunger. Consider giving yourself a gentle foot rub, doing some calm stretching, or lying with a cool compress gently on your face.
- Eat and only eat. Our society may program us to multi-task, but the best way to eat mindfully is to stop what you’re doing and give your food 100% of your attention. When you eat, just eat!
- Take sensory bites. One of the greatest benefits of mindful eating is that it helps us really enjoy our food! Instead of gobbling down whatever is in front of you, slow down the pace of your eating and savor each bite. Try to experience food using each of your five senses, being aware of the flavor, sight, texture, smell, and sounds the food makes as you chew it.
- Mind your mind. Harsh self-talk about food and body image often disavows us from the process of eating. When you notice yourself being critical of your body or food choices, find ways to talk to yourself that are kinder and more reality-based.
Without a doubt, the holiday season is a time when our least healthy eating patterns have a tendency to creep out. But don’t fear—a little awareness goes a long way! By following these tips for mindful eating, and by simply approaching the holiday season with awareness that we are more likely to be triggered around whatever our issues may be, we become more likely to embody the age-old saying that “with awareness comes choices.” Choose wellness during the holidays this year!
This blog is Chapter Four of our recent e-book, “Surviving the Holidaze.” If you like a free copy of this e-book, please click here.
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