Mindful Eating Tips for the Festive Season
We all love to indulge during this time of year, and with parties and get together's filling up our social calendars, eating mindfully can often take a backseat! Whether you want to stop overeating, are worried about gaining extra holiday weight, or are monitoring health conditions (such as cholesterol & diabetes), the festive season can make these goals seem impossible. While you may feel your only options during this period are to deprive yourself of these tasty treats, or to feel shame or guilt when you do indulge, we are here to support you with some mindful eating tips. To help you make it through the holiday period without having to worry about adding the latest fad diet to your list of New Year’s resolutions.
Practicing mindful eating can not only help you get through the festive season but can also benefit you all year round, helping to improve eating habits and keep you on track by focusing your attention to the present, enabling you to focus on the when, where and how you eat, practicing moderation, restraint and portion control.
While not all tips will work for everyone, we encourage you to pick and choose the ones that are achievable for yourself and see how they may help you.
Mindful Eating Tips:
1. Portion sizes. While we don’t want you spending all your time counting the calories of the foods you love, we do encourage you to be choosy about what you eat. Tips include: using smaller plate sizes to help with portion control and avoid eating foods straight from the container, bag or box.
2. Focus on the food. Avoid multitasking when eating and become more aware of what and how much you are eating. Tips include: Limiting distractions, especially technology! Turn off the TV, phone, tablet and computer, sit down at a table for your meals.
3. Differentiating physical and psychological hunger. Reflection is key to mindful eating. Understanding how you feel and how this affects your appetite can help you tell whether you are feeling physical hunger, or are you hungry because you are bored, sad, stressed? Tips include: asking yourself how you feel before you eat, recognizing your wants and needs, practice listening to your body’s signals and nourish your body accordingly.
4. Avoid an empty stomach. Most of us tend to starve ourselves when we know there is the promise of a delicious meal to “leave more room for”. We discourage arriving at a party hungry or shopping on an empty stomach to avoid binge eating on energy-dense nutrient-poor foods. Tips include: eating something small and nourishing before going out to prevent temptation and overeating.
5. Plan your buffet strategy. Knowing what food is available will allow you to assess your options and help you avoid piling items onto your plate or going back for a second helping. Tips include: Do a round the buffet table before filling your plate to allow you to plan what you want to eat, don’t ignore the healthy stuff! Start with the salads and aim to eat your favourite food last – that way it will feel more like a treat.
6. Assess whether you need seconds. Before you head back for seconds, take some time to assess your appetite. The stomach’s “full” signal takes around 20 minutes to register with your brain, during this time you may realize you are full, or only want a small portion for seconds. Tips include: Focus on eating slowly, focus on your number of chews (around 30), taking around a 20-minute break between meals, drinking water before eating again.
7. Don’t stand next to the buffet table. Staying away from the buffet table will stop you from mindlessly reaching for food, making it harder to overeat. Tips include: standing away from the buffet table, carry some mints to stop you mindlessly reaching for food, make the most of your social situation and catch up with friends and family focusing on talking rather than eating.
8. Watch what you drink. We all love to celebrate with a glass of wine, beer or a cocktail over the festive period, but understanding how many empty calories are in these drinks can help you be mindful of how much you drink. Tips include: Setting yourself a limit as to how many drinks you will have before getting to the party, in-between drinks having a glass of water, avoiding drinking alcohol on an empty stomach as it increases appetite.
9. Get active. Holiday get together's can be a great way to keep active, from making the rounds at a party to hitting the dance floor with friends! Tips include: Actively make your way around the party to catch up with people, hit the dance floor with friends, if at a sit-down meal suggest a brisk walk after dinner.
10. Sit down when you eat. Try to avoid eating on the go wherever possible and make a point to sit - you will be more likely to decrease portion sizes and slow your pace of eating. Tips include: eat mindfully and sit at a table without distractions, this will allow you to be more appreciative of what you are eating and allow you to keep track of what you have eaten.
11. Don’t feel the need to clean your plate. While many of us feel rude if we don’t finish everything on our plate, don’t overeat just to clean the plate! Tips include: asking to take leftovers home, reducing portion sizes to prevent food waste, sharing a plate with a partner or friend.
12. Remember what the season is about. Don’t forget to take time to remember what the season means to you – reconnecting with family and friends, not gifts, food or drink. Take the time to appreciate the company you find yourself in and find things in your life that you are grateful for. Tips include: practice gratitude, make a list of all the people you would like to catch up with during the festive season.
