Surviving the Holidays With Minimal Nutrition Damage, Part 2 by Joan Kent, PhD

Surviving the Holidays With Minimal Nutrition Damage, Part 2
By Joan Kent, PhD

Because the holidays are stressful, we tend to use alcohol and the food that’s everywhere as coping strategies to deal with the stress. One problem with that is it often causes weight gain – in itself one of the top stresses of the season.

Part 1 explored 6 tips for getting through the holiday season with less holiday damage to your food plan. Here are 5 more tips.

• Post-Meal Survival

After any holiday dinner, take a walk immediately. Don’t wait – it might not happen. Recall past Thanksgivings, for example, and the post-meal coma. Think of the walk as a little bit of extra exercise that will also prevent second helpings you don’t need.

Recruit a friend – or several. “Let’s walk before we dive into those desserts,” might be just what your friends need to hear. If you walk with a group, you won’t seem anti-social and your walk may last longer than if you went alone.

The walk will also give you a chance to put some distance between the food and any food decisions you make when you return. Will you go back to the buffet table for more? Will you in fact have dessert? It will be easier to say “no” if you’ve given yourself a moving break.

When you return, stay on your feet. Help with clearing dishes, or stand and socialize.

• All-or-Nothing Survival

An all-or-nothing mindset will sabotage you. Get back on track immediately – at the very next meal. Don’t wait till the next day – and certainly not till the following Monday.

• Leftover Survival

Don’t keep leftovers at home. Give them away, if possible. Many people will appreciate taking home a little bit of food that they enjoyed at your celebration.

Throw away any troublesome “trigger” foods that encourage you to overeat.

A client in my weight-loss program had bought a large tub of dates to serve with a holiday meal. When the meal was over, she had most of the tub left – and ate quite a few leftover dates daily. Not only did it bring her weight loss to a stop, it even made her gain weight. When I suggested she get rid of the dates, she told me, “They’ll be gone in a few days.” No comment needed.

If the situation is reversed, don’t take leftovers home from a dinner. If you’re pushed to do so, say “thank you” and find a trashcan on your way home. Toss them and set yourself up to win.

• Dehydration Survival

Stay well hydrated all day long, no matter what happens the rest of the day. Dehydration will make you want more food, which is what we’re trying to prevent. Paradoxically, it may even make you want alcohol – even though alcohol will further dehydrate you.

If you feel you’ve been eating too many goodies, slow down and drink a glass of water. It’s a “pattern interrupt” and also a good way to put some space between any autopilot eating and decisions about what to do next.

• Logging as Survival

Log your food – all of it! If you splurge, write it down and keep logging.

Some of my clients tend to stop logging when they’ve gone off the grid, but that’s self-sabotage: “I’m not tracking, so I can eat anything.” It’s the all-or-nothing mindset again.

Log every “holiday eating” day, no matter what. You don’t have to show the log to anyone if you don’t want to, and you’ll eat less. Studies have shown over and over that logging and tracking our food changes the way we eat.

You might even want to keep a log for the entire season. How great would it feel to be ahead of the game on New Year’s Day?

If you’d like help with any holiday bingeing that you feel you may do – or to stop a binge that’s already begun – just go to www.LastResortNutrition.com , and grab your free copy of “3 Simple Steps to Stop a Binge Once It Starts.”