Holiday eating
CrazyMermaid1
Posts: 339 Member
How does everyone handle all the special food associated with the holidays?
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I’m trying something new this season. It worked for me on Thanksgiving, so I’m going to try it on Christmas and New Years as well.
Since restricting myself from something is the surest way I know to trigger my binging behaviors, the first thing I do is give myself permission to enjoy my holiday favorites, but with a few conditions.
Firstly, all the food I eat must be on a plate, and I must be in the company family and friends (preferably sitting instead of standing) to eat that food; no sneaking off into the kitchen alone to stuff whoopie pies and buckeyes into my face and acting like it never happened.
Secondly, I must honestly record my intake during holiday meals, even if it’s just photographing my plates and drinks.
Thirdly, I must eat slowly, savor everything I eat, and choose to eat only the things I really enjoy, not just eating a portion of something that I’m meh about just because it’s there.
And finally, leave the leftover goodies for someone else!!! If I’ve learned anything about myself at all, it’s that I’ll binge the hell out of those leftovers the *kitten* instant I’m home alone!1 -
MessyApron wrote: »I’m trying something new this season. It worked for me on Thanksgiving, so I’m going to try it on Christmas and New Years as well.
Since restricting myself from something is the surest way I know to trigger my binging behaviors, the first thing I do is give myself permission to enjoy my holiday favorites, but with a few conditions.
Firstly, all the food I eat must be on a plate, and I must be in the company family and friends (preferably sitting instead of standing) to eat that food; no sneaking off into the kitchen alone to stuff whoopie pies and buckeyes into my face and acting like it never happened.
Secondly, I must honestly record my intake during holiday meals, even if it’s just photographing my plates and drinks.
Thirdly, I must eat slowly, savor everything I eat, and choose to eat only the things I really enjoy, not just eating a portion of something that I’m meh about just because it’s there.
And finally, leave the leftover goodies for someone else!!! If I’ve learned anything about myself at all, it’s that I’ll binge the hell out of those leftovers the *kitten* instant I’m home alone!
Recording my intake helps me too. There’s just something about it that gets me in a mindful mode.
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RelCanonical wrote: »Recording my intake helps me too. There’s just something about it that gets me in a mindful mode.
Definitely. And there’s something about *not* recording that lets me Jedi mind trick myself into thinking those calories somehow didn’t count, especially if the food was eaten in secret.
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Honestly, I'm dreading it.
I have no helpful hints for anyone because I'm weak when it comes to certain foods. Ideally, I'd love to leave them off the list this year. But there'd be some angry family members to deal with. 
Monday I baked a batch of cookies but they didn't come out that great so what happens? I must've had no less than 10 of them. I mean they didn't look good but sure tasted fine.:/ I didn't log anything that day. But yesterday, got right back to it. I feel a day here or there isn't a deal breaker. It's the mindset of not getting back to it that ruins it for me.
I know there will be a few more days like that before the New Year arrives. But NY resolutions will bring more changes, more determination.2 -
I have a couple of "tactics", they don't always work for me, but if they work at least occasionally, hey it's improvement on never.
- I'm trying to stop associating the festive period with inevitable greed and gluttony. I am now trying to actively think of it more as the season of goodwill and charity. I no longer have an advent calendar, something that I would do yearly up until about 4 years go, I now give away 24 items to charity.
- I no longer have traditional Christmas Dinner, I get a couple of pizzas from the supermarket on the run up to Christmas and share them with friends, some of them bring over snacks, they are sent home with any that is leftover. I tend to have 4-5 pieces of pizza, a little salad and some crisps (chips for you US folk) and some homemade veggie dips. It's the most nutritional meal ever but there's plenty of veg and protein. It also means there's none of the stress, and stress is a huge binge trigger for me.
- I take food gifts into work and leave it in the canteen, so it's not at home for me to delve into in the evening which is my most likely time to binge.
- I no longer bake - the temptation is too much. My friends are probably a little disappointed as I have been known to make unreal brownies, but they understand because they know what I am trying to.
- I have a number of party events - my work one, my rugby social, my rowing club and my friends. Where possible I try to eat brunch on the day rather than breakfast and lunch and I'm a bit more conscious of the alcohol intake, not so much because of the calories on the day, but more for my lack of impulse control the day or two afterwards.
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I’ve gotten pretty good at just avoiding the foods I shouldn’t eat. I say “shouldn’t eat” because certain foods actually make me physically sick so avoiding them has become easier this year. I’ve noticed a huge connection between carb intake and my mental health as well as grains and my digestive health. I like to make dishes that I can enjoy and bring to a party. The host is usually grateful and I get for sure foods I can eat and maybe even other people can enjoy to. I like to try and do other activities besides eating and drinking, so maybe take a walk, view the neighborhood light displays, play games with the family or even just helping clean up the party keeps me busy and away from the food. It’s not much fun to binge on veggies and protein anyways. Lol1
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I've noticed that too about feeling sick eating certain foods now. I'm real sensitive to oils, love fries and had vegetarian pizza last night and felt awful. I only feel stuffed after dessert which is my weakness along with munching too much on appetizers. I usually try to eat the same amount others are eating but am not always successful. Definitely no advice from me, I probably should stick to not eating appetizers and sugar. Dinner is easier for me. I'm taking a salad I love so I'll have something healthy to eat and usually skip the more fattening sides as they're not worth the calories to me.0
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For Thanksgiving, we go to the buffet at Whole Foods which allows both of us to pick what we want and there are no second helpings or leftovers. Plus it's weighed by the pound so I tend to make better selections to get more value, ha. For Christmas I make prime steak or roast and we buy desserts big enough to feed 2 people and that's it.
I don't see my family during the holidays and being around food is a primary reason. I look pretty fit and work very hard at it. They are all overweight and gave up on trying not to be. Whenever they see me eating junk food or dessert they applaud it as if I was starving and needed to come home to be nourished. But really, it's incredibly harmful to my body and psyche.
I've told them repeatedly that I have serious issues being around so much food (and was overweight as a teenager) but since it is not reflected on my body they think I am just being vain and I feel guilty, which makes it worse. If anyone has advice on how they've dealt with their families during this period please share! I realize it is a deeper issue than just food, but it always is.1
