The holiday season is about to begin and food often is a big part of the festivities. Because we have been known to over indulge, just thinking about all the eating that goes on between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day puts some of us in an uncomfortable position.
If you are trying to lose weight or maintain a healthy weight, you might be considering your options. While you’re considering your options you may be thinking you can eat whatever you want in moderation. Or skip meals to compensate for the BIG one. Either strategy could cause you to quickly overeat.
How we eat may be just as important as what we eat. If we wait until we are starving to eat, we may overeat. If we stuff ourselves with healthy food until we’re ready to burst, we can end up gaining weight.
Don’t let this happy and merry season get the best of you! You can enjoy eating without overeating. These tips can help. Before you eat ask yourself “Am I hungry?” or “Am I full?” You could also use a hunger scale like the one below to eat when you are hungry and stop when you are satisfied.
Learn to separate emotional hunger from physical hunger. Emotional hunger does not intensify over time. However, physical hunger does. Get in touch with your physical hunger cues and establish a structure that supports nutritional health. Tuning in to your body’s physical hunger cues is what mindful eating is about. For more details about mindful eating you can visit https://www.fitwoman.com/blog/weight-management-mindful-eating/.
Planning my meals ahead of time keeps me from over or under eating. I know all my soul food favorites will be served at my family gatherings. So I’m going to Pick 4 and 1. On my plate will be one (1) protein (fish) and three (3) carbs including stuffing, sweet potatoes and greens. I’ll also pick 1 serving of cake or cookies. I‘ll practice portion control so I won’t eat like there’s no tomorrow. I know that if I don’t get to eat something else I want for dinner like a slice of pie or rolls, I can eat it the next day.
Akoma Ntoaso Ministries 