Tips to Stop Overeating This Holiday Season

Are you dreading the holiday? Is overeating and feeling sluggish and blah one of your typical holiday season feelings?

If you're like me, someone who struggles with weight, tries to eat a healthy diet, or perhaps you're also trying to maintain a weight loss that took a lot of work to get there, then the holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas and then New Years right after likely puts on a few pounds. Even if weight and diet aren't issues for you, overeating during the holidays can still take its toll, in the form of lethargy, heartburn, indigestion, bloated feeling, and a host of other issues.

While there's not a lot can be done to change the holidays or talk Aunt Ida out of making her famous pecan pie, there are some tips to stop overeating this Christmas and holiday season.

Stop Overeating This Holiday - Tip #1

Eat a high protein meal for breakfast before heading to the family or friend's houses. You will feel fuller and be less likely to overeat if you have something light and full of protein in the morning, say on Christmas Day, and then head to the relative's houses.

Stop Overeating This Holiday - Tip #2

This one is really so simple, I can't believe more people don't think of it. Chew gum! Food doesn't taste right and isn't as easy to eat if you have a piece of gum in your mouth. Whenever you feel that urge to eat, pop a piece of gum in your mouth and chew away, and it will help stop or at least slow down holiday overeating. This tip works especially well if you're the one who is preparing the meal. Chewing gum while cooking your holiday meal can help prevent snacking without thinking while cooking. If you can't chew gum, sugar free mints may work almost as well as gum..

Stop Overeating This Holiday - Tip #3

Serve raw vegetables for your snacks while waiting on your holiday meal. Holiday meals usually take all day to cook, and can be a big family affair. While the family plays games, chats, watches movies, or tunes into the Christmas Day games on television, instead of serving or munching on chips, dips, and heavy foods, eat raw veggies instead. If you are hosting this year's holiday meal, you can serve the vegetables, and if you are going to someone else's house, consider carrying a sandwich baggie with some fresh, crunchy raw vegetables.

Stop Overeating This Holiday - Tip #4

Drink plenty of cold or iced water between snacks and meals. Ice water causes your body to digest food differently, as well as making you feel fuller, thus eating less. Additionally, plenty of fresh water is good for you and your skin. Replace sodas and other high calorie drinks with ice water or tea.

Stop Overeating This Holiday - Tip #5

Indulge! Allow yourself to snack, even if you are on a diet. The more you try to avoid certain foods, the more you're going to crave them. The caveat though is to only take a small bite of each thing you want, instead of helping it on the snack plate. Fill in with the veggies from tip #3, and you'll likely find you will eat less and feel fuller, without depriving yourself of anything you really want to taste.

If you follow these simple tips, or at least, attempt to follow them, you may find you eat less and feel better this holiday season. The last tip for the holiday season I'll impart upon you is that if you stay busy and keep active, you're likely to eat less. So instead of sitting around snacking, try a pick up game of touch football in the yard, do some charades instead of a board game, or take your dog for a walk.

Happy Holidays to everyone!