Dreaded Holiday Meal
What are your thoughts about the holiday meal? Do you dread the holidays because you know you will eat something you shouldn’t? Have you just given up on all health goals when the holiday celebrations start?
Here’s the thing, generally holiday meals include stuffing yourself or depriving yourself. The holidays in one time when you can definitely take a middle option. That option is to eat what you want and love in moderation.
Eat What You Love During the Holidays In Moderation
Use Similar Size or Slightly Smaller Plate
Think of your plate like you would on any normal day. This also means using the same size or slightly smaller plate. This helps your mind feel like you are getting the same amount of food you have been getting every other day.
If you choose a smaller plate, it is better if it is just slightly smaller. It is an awesome mind trick to use a smaller plate so you think you are getting a full plate but if the plate is significantly smaller your brain will see it as an appetizer plate.
And what do we do with appetizers – get more and then ask where’s dinner. (This fill up a smaller plate trick can be used in everyday life but can backfire with your holiday thoughts.)
Don’t Graze, Plate Your Meal
That is also a helpful trick is to get a plate and put a meal on it instead of walking by and grabbing snacks while you wait for your holiday meal.
Grabbing some baby carrots is generally not a problem. But that leads to the other snacks and then you don’t get the things you want for your meal because you are full.
When you sit down with your plate, you may eat beyond full because that’s the food you wanted or just because you are in a different environment and not paying attention to your hunger cues.
I’m not saying don’t eat the fresh raw veggies, just add them to your plate as part of the meal.
Plan to Eat What you Love for Your Holiday Meal
The next thing you can do is create a plan for what you want and love to eat during the holidays.
I love my Grandma’s mashed potatoes. I also know that there is a stick of butter and half a container of cream cheese and a cup of sour cream in them. None of those things are bad things just things that add to the scoop of potatoes.
I also love my Grandma’s desserts. Cherry delight or pumpkin tort or magic bars. Any or all of those probably with some decorated sugar cookies are present at our holiday meal.
I don’t know about your holiday but as a kid, it was get it before it’s gone mentality. But you don’t have to eat it before it’s gone.
Instead, plan for what you want to have on that day and plan for it to be pretty close to a typical meal size for you.
If you generally don’t have any dessert or have one treat a day then plan to have that one treat.
Bring a To-Go Container
But what about all the other yummies? You can plan to have something else the next day and just put it in a container to take it home for the next day.
This helps to decrease or remove your feelings of being deprived. It can work similarly for sugary or alcoholic drinks. Plan the one you want that day and save one for the next.
Another option with the desserts and drinks is to have both items you want but only half the typical serving you would have.
Check if you are Satisfied Half Way Through
Most importantly, even if you are a save the best for laster like I am. Have a bite of your favorites in the middle of the meal.
I’m a save the best for laster. I know what you do. You rush through the meal part to get to the dessert or drink. You want the fun flavor in your mouth at the end. That is all good.
Taking a bite in the middle of the fun flavor helps you re-evaluate if you are still hungry. You may have overfilled your plate. That switch of taste in the middle of your meal can be used to ask yourself if you are still hungry.
If you are hungry continue with your meal and check again with a quarter of food left.
If not then stop eating.
Ok, maybe take one more bite of that favorite dessert.
Then toss your plate or if you have been taught to clean your plate, take the leftovers home with you for lunch tomorrow.
(Remember that leftovers are already there and you cannot help starving children by finishing your plate. When you eat more after you are no longer hungry, you are hurting yourself. For Most people there is an abundance of food so it is no longer necessary to eat everything on your plate.)
What is Eating in Moderation?
There seem to be many ways to define moderation and it is person-dependent.
You may think one dessert a week is moderation and another person may say it’s one a day. It’s not only choosing the healthy stuff and restricting what you eat.
Not for the holidays. Today I’m showing that it’s planning to have a satisfying meal, stopping when you are no longer hungry, taking some home. In this way, you can be satisfied, try a bite of everything you want and love, and not be stuffed and in pain or feel deprived.
