5 Tips to Avoid Stress Eating for the Holidays

Why are the holidays so stressful? Well, that's a longer answer than we have time for here, but some of the things that stress us out are:

First of all, if we've been trying to eat healthy, maybe on some sort plan, you're trying to change the food you're eating, you know, healthy food, whatever. And suddenly you're going to be confronted with a lot of sugary foods and desserts and things that you don't normally have around. So there's a big possibility for temptation.

Secondly, there's a lot of stress around getting ready for the holiday. Right? You've got to clean the house. You've got to do the grocery shopping. And right now, I mean, I know what it's like. I went grocery shopping two days before Thanksgiving, the place was mobbed! So there's stress around getting the food and, and getting the house clean and getting ready for company.

Next, you need to decorate your house. And that always entails some interesting things: getting things down from storage, sorting things out, untangling lights, trying to get the house looking great as best you can.

Finally, there's a pandemic going on and there's a lot of uncertainty about how are we going to manage this holiday? Are we going to be able to be with our family and friends? Are we going to not be able to be with our family and friends?

And the other thing is, is that sometimes holidays don't necessarily bring out the best in people. Sometimes there's there's discussions around politics and religion and all kinds of things that tend to make the holidays even more stressful.

So what can we do? What can you do?

#1 - Know your stressors/triggers

The first thing is, know your stressors, know what triggers you. Most people know what that is, especially if you've been trying to watch what you're eating, you know that anything sugary is most likely going to be a trigger or a stressor.

Knowing that, you need to come up with a plan about how you're going to handle that. How are you going to handle that exposure?

One way is to allow yourself a little bit of sugary things before the big day. And what I mean by that is when we hold ourselves to such strict eating behaviors, we're very restrictive. We can tend to deprive ourselves and and make it worse. Like make us want to binge.

#2 -Exercise

Next, think about when you're starting to feel anxious. Like you are looking at the table and you're like, 'Oh my God, once I start, I won't be able to stop.' It's a good time to maybe go outside for a walk. Here in Arizona, it's a beautiful time to go for a walk. Maybe some places in the Midwest it wouldn't be, but if you can just get away from the situation, go for a walk, talk to a friend, talk to a family member, do something away from the food that can start to bring down your stress a little bit.

#3 - Reach out for help

Next, you can reach out for help. You can talk to a friend or family member, maybe you have a support group that you have available to you. That would be a great opportunity to talk to them.

#4 - Mindful breathing

Next practice some mindfulness. So what does that mean? You can't just go meditate for 20 minutes, in the middle of a Thanksgiving dinner or Christmas dinner. But what you can do is you can take some deep breaths, just slow deep breaths - two or three. And what that does is it, it takes you out of the past, out of the future, out of the what-if's and brings you right into the present moment.

You can make a decision at that point what to do. Maybe you have somebody else put three things on a small plate for you. Maybe you choose yourself, but something that allows you to be able to participate in this holiday dinner and not feel deprived and not feel out of control.

#5 - Eat slowly and pay attention to what you are eating

Another thing is when you're eating, whether it's the meal or the dessert, or a snack, try to be very mindful during your eating. So what do I mean by that?

Take a bite, put your fork down, chew slowly, paying attention to the food in your mouth. Pay attention to the fact that you're chewing it up. That you're not swallowing big chunks of food. Pay attention to how it tastes, how it smells. Have conversation around the table, a pleasant conversation, and then take the next bite and the next bite.

It might take you 15 or 20 minutes to actually get through your meal. And you might be surprised by how fast people actually eat. When you eat really fast, you are not paying attention to what you're eating. You don't even feel like you've eaten. Your food isn't well chewed. That's going to end up being kind of an indigestion at the end of the meal. And also you, your body needs about 15 to 20 minutes to get the signal from your stomach to your head that says I'm full.

When you eat very fast - in like a five minute timeframe, you still feel hungry. So then you tend to eat more. And then once that 20 minutes is up, and now you're feeling full, you're feeling overstuffed.

The last thing we want is for you to be in a position where you feel so bad about yourself that you're constantly kind of kicking yourself in your mind. I shouldn't have done this. I shouldn't have done that. And it goes down to I'm a bad person or whatever. We don't want that.

So these are just some ideas to help you get through this holiday and kind of keep your eating under control.

If you'd like more information and more support around stressful eating and managing your emotions through the holiday, please join me, along with Linda Frazee, for a two-part webinar called "Change It Up: Have Yourself a Meaningful Holiday Season (Even in 2020)!"

Click on the link below, and it'll take you to an information page that tells you what the webinar is about and you can sign up then.

I hope you have a really peaceful holiday and thank you so much for listening.

Take care.

Dr. Elaine

Again... If you want more information and support around stress eating and managing your emotions, join me, along with Linda Frazee, for this two part webinar:

Change It Up: Have Yourself a Meaningful Holiday Season (Even in 2020)!

This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace the medical advice of your doctor or healthcare provider. Please consult your healthcare provider for advice about a specific medical condition.