5 Ways To Be Mindfully Eat Between Thanksgiving and New Years

To have the healthiest holiday season it’s ALL about the planning. It’s too easy to over-indulge and I wanted to give you a few simple tips for remaining mindful of your eating habits to help you stay healthy and feeling your best.

Tip 1 – Listen To Your Body

If you‘ve followed me for any time, you know this is my number one rule! Your body has the ability to tell you everything that you need to know to understand how it is feeling at any given time. This means working to figure out what it needs and what it doesn’t need.

By paying close attention to it, you can ensure that it gets the right kind of nutrition to keep you in top shape and feeling well. Listen to your body when it tells you that it needs food, and when you hear it calling, don’t just reach for the nearest snack. This is where planning comes in big time. When you have healthy foods and snacks in the house so when you are hungry you have healthy options at your fingertips. Plus you let go of that potential crashing when relying on sugar and caffeine.

It’s just as important to listen to your body when it tells you that it is full. At the very moment when you know your body has had enough to eat, stop eating and don’t over-indulge. If you continue to eat even when your stomach is full, you will become bloated, lethargic and your body will struggle trying to digest all the extra food. Being mindful of your body will make sure that your body works for you instead of against you.

Tip 2 – Mindful Eating

Take your time to eat mindfully at every meal that you have. When you pay attention to the food that you eat, while you are eating it actually allows you to understand what the body needs and what it doesn’t.

When you slow down to eat it allows your body to function at its very best when it comes to digesting and absorbing food. Slowing down your eating will release more serotonin (this is the feel good drug our body produces).

It takes about twenty minutes from when you start eating for your brain to release that chemical telling your body to stop eating. Slowing down will help you hear that signal.

Tip 3 – Smaller Is Better

Start with smaller portions. Remember, if you are still hungry after eating the smaller meal, you can always go back and get a second serving, but if you pile the food up right from the start, you will be more tempted to eat the whole plate of food, even if you already feel full, simply because it is sitting right in front of you.

My husband makes fun of my but I can’t sit with food in front of me at home or at a restaurant it has to get out of my reach. I take my plate off the table, move it out of reach and the best one I’ve heard is that you put pepper all over the plate so you aren’t tempted to eat it.

Tip 4 – Five Small Meals Instead Three Big Meals

More and more people are beginning to experience the benefits of eating four – five small main meals throughout the day as opposed to five large ones.

Eating smaller meals lets your body to digest and absorb food more effectively and more efficiently.

I’m a fan of smaller meals because large meals can place stress on the internal organs and cause bloating.

Plus after eating big meals, do you feel energized or do you want to take a big ole nap!

Tip 5 – Effective Planning To Avoid Binge Eating

Plan your diet this holiday season. Take a look at your schedule and map good routine. It’s okay that your routine may be scaled back the key here is to not stop because of the holidays. Take the time now to start figureingout a healthy and balanced approach to your diet,

The easiest way to do this is to sit down and plan your week ahead, figuring out a holistic diet and while giving yourself wiggle room in your plan to have some treats. Life would suck without Italian cookies =) Having some fun foods and drink will help you from overindulging.

Follow these simple guidelines as best as you can and be sure to stay safe, have fun, and enjoy the time with friends and family. Happy Holidays!

Looking for a few more ways to enjoy the holidays without counting calories” Grab my 21 Ways To Crush Your Holiday Goals Without Counting Calories.