Holiday Overeating: 5 Tips to Beat the Emotional Trap

How many extra pounds from holiday “cheer” -- in the form of eggnog, stuffing and gravy, and desserts  – do you think the average person carries? Five? Ten?  According to the New England Journal of Medicine, most people only gain about one pound from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day.

Still, one pound adds up, particularly if you’ve gained one every year for the last two decades.

According to this study, feeling more hungry and being less active were the two culprits behind most people’s tendency to gain weight during the holidays. In this respect, keeping your  regular exercise routine, or even sneaking in a few brisk laps around the mall parking lot, or on your lunch hour would go a long way toward keeping you trim this year.

There’s another major factor  this study didn’t take into account --  your emotions. If you’ve ever cried into a bowl of ice cream or taken comfort in a deep-dish pizza,  you know the sometimes too intimate relationship between your emotions and your eating habits.

People overeat to compensate from many feelings like stress, tension, anxiety, anger and depression,” says Hale Dwoskin, CEO and director of training at Sedona Training Associates.

During the holiday season, with all of its expectations of perfection, family obligations and extra stress, the time is ripe for a case of the blues. Estimates say that up to one-third of Americans experience the holiday blues. Feeling sad or stressed, combined with the overload of sweets and comfort foods available during the holidays, is a risky combination. Your body is already hard-wired to crave comfort foods during times of stress, and at holiday time,  many find their will power waning.

The emotional triggers that cause overeating around the holidays are very similar to the emotional triggers that cause overeating all year round,” says Dwoskin. “The only difference is the holidays tend to magnify your emotional response. Each person is a little different but the solution is the same for everyone.”

Your Ultimate Solution to Avoid Holiday Overeating

This year, you can still enjoy the sweet treats that the holiday season has to offer. Here’s how.

 

Become free from your emotions. Many of us are slaves to our emotions when it comes to eating, but with The Sedona Method, you can learn to release your emotions and become free.

“Let go of the emotional response with The Sedona Method,” Dwoskin says. “When you let go of the emotions that are driving you to overeat, it becomes much easier to eat intelligently and with balance -- and still really enjoy your food and eating experience.”

Expect to eat your usual  amounts. Let go of the feeling that you must indulge during the holidays. Open yourself to believing that your eating habits should be the same as the rest of the year.

Only eat it if YOU want to. Do not  eat something because dear old dad made it, or because your neighbor will be insulted if you don’t have seconds.. Let go of your desire to please others, and this will be a snap.

Overcome the “holiday food shortage” mentality. If you find yourself eating more than usual because of a certain item you can “only get today,” ask the host for the recipe. That way, you can make it anytime you want.

Don’t stand near the buffet. This is a deceptively simple trick because  to eat, you must consciously make the decision to walk over and do so. If you stand next to the food, however, you can mindlessly munch your way to a bigger Santa Claus suit.

For more information on the easy to learn and use Sedona Method, visit our web site at: http://www.sedona.com