Tip 5: Stop eating when you’re no longer hungry.
Guess what? You really don’t have to eat until you’re full. You don’t have to ‘clean your plate.’
If you’re slowing down and being present while you eat, you will notice when your hunger is satisfied. Stop eating then. Push your plate away. Enjoy the conversation with your dinner mates. But just don’t eat any more. If you feel like you want to eat, but you know you’re not hungry, drink water.
This seems to be the most difficult for many of us, myself included. As kids a lot of us were taught we must eat everything on our plates. In our family we were also taught we had to try everything on the table. This creates some devastating habits.
So, here’s your permission slip: you CAN leave food on your plate, you CAN only eat the food you like.
No child in a third world country is going to suffer any more than they already are because we leave food on our plates.
So how do you gameplan this for those family holiday feasts?
Focus on slowing down and stopping when you’re no longer hungry. Limit or avoid alcohol. Eat your favorite foods first.
Tomorrow at our Thanksgiving meal, the first thing on my plate will be sweet potato casserole. It’s my holiday fave.
Here is a downloadable worksheet to help with your plan.
How are you taking control of your health over the holidays?
Colletts on the Move 