Stress Less Over Eating During The Holidays

Trying to lose weight during the holidays can be very stressful and difficult at best! Christmas and Winter Holidays are the season of over-eating, over-indulging and generalized gluttony! And we have that built-in excuse to over-eat: It's the holiday!

However, there's a payback in the form of weight gain, discomfort and disappointment with yourself for over eating, yet again. Why do you have to eat PAST your comfort level? Sure the food is good, but is it BETTER when you eat copious amounts of it? Is too much better than enough?

Is "over-doing" a pattern in your life, and if so, how is it working for you? Perhaps seeing over-eating as a metaphor of your life can help you change your behavior to make it fit more with the way you choose to be. What is making your decision to over eat? Are you craving those "comfort foods" that you eat during the holidays? Is it an emotion of sadness (what the heck, I look terrible anyway), non-assertiveness (I "can't say no" to the host!), guilt (I always do this, I have no control). Yes, the holidays can be times that are stressful in many ways.

Why wait until the damage is done? Do you want your New Year's Resolution to be, yet again: this year, I will eat better, and take better care of myself. Each year that you over do it, makes it harder on your body the following year.

Awareness is the first step in correcting a behavior. Even if you are PRE-pared with an understanding that over-eating will result in negative feelings of guilt, tight clothes, and more stress, it's STILL going to be hard to resist. It's hard to say "no" and to push away the food, the drinks and desserts. But there are some great ways to assist you in this pursuit.

Prepare your eating plan before an event. Have a decision about what you want to eat. (My suggestion would be to fill your dish to capacity with greens and turkey!). Visualize how happy you will be when you eat what you've decided (and how great you will feel the next day because you didn't get a hangover!). Use EFT (Meridian Tapping) to TAP BEFORE sitting down at the table, or going to a party. You can start right now to tap about your concerns about the upcoming festivities.

Use my other suggested brain fooling devices to slow down, pay attention to the taste of your food, and ENJOY it! The best diet is one you don't even know you're on! Yes, be thankful for your taste buds and the wonderful delicious food, being at a place with people you care about. Be grateful for your life in general and whatever your particular blessings are. Make sure to take a walk after your meal with your friends and enjoy the beauty of the season! It's good for your emotional heart, and your physical body at the same time.

Being grateful from the heart, is a wonderful way to manage stressful feelings that exist away from the dinner table. Yes, there is much suffering in the world, but you can truly be grateful for your present situation, no matter what it is. Choose to be happy now. Be in the moment during the holiday and enjoy your life.