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The season of indulgence started at Thanksgiving and depending on what you’ve got planned, it can last right up until New Year’s Day! This time of the year can be VERY challenging to keep ahold of self-control when it comes to eating and drinking. While I think it’s important to enjoy your favorite dishes, it’s also important to aim for balance. I’m sure we have all over-eaten at one time or another and it’s not great after the fact, right? You feel sluggish, bloated, uncomfortable and unhealthy – not fun. But it’s also really not fun to deprive yourself. Read on for some tips to enjoy all your favorites while also keeping your body happy!

  • Drink a lot (I mean a LOT) of water. Start your day with a big glass of it and aim to have a glass anytime you eat anything throughout the day. Keeping a water bottle handy helps me to remember!
  • Try to abstain from grazing. I know this one is hard with so many good snacks around, but keep in mind that your body needs atleast 4 hours to digest food between meals so when you snack, you are overloading your system. If you do want a snack, try to be mindful about it grabbing a small portion and eating it in one sitting rather than a constant graze.
  • Load up on veggies. When you are serving up, try to fill up your plate with veggie dishes and take slightly smaller portions than you normally would of other foods. You can always go back for more but odds are you will be stuffed after that first round anyway!
  • Go small first. When it comes to dessert, by all means try everything! But take a very small portion of dessert first. Again, you can go back for a little more but try waiting atleast 15 minutes after the first portion – you might find that you are satisfied.
  • Try half pours or wine or beer. Again, I know how easy it is to keep grabbing drinks throughout the day but keep your portions to 4-6 ounces and drink water in between!
  • Practice Mindful eating. We’ve talked about it on here before, but truly focusing on all the flavors, textures, smells, and even sounds of dinner will help you eat slower, eat less, and enjoy it more. Mindful eating goes hand in hand with gratitude too – spend some time while eating to think about where your food came from and how much work went into each step before it got to your plate.
  • Lastly, just enjoy yourself! There is absolutely no benefit to feeling guilty about what you’ve eaten. Try to follow these tips but even if you do over eat, don’t beat yourself up. Go on a walk, drink some warm lemon water, and focus on being present with your friends and family – that’s the whole point after all!

Written by GUADS Staff Member Kate.