How to Avoid Holiday Weight Gain Without Dieting – 3 Super Simple Eating Modifications

The holiday season brings friends, family, fun and FOOD. It is truly a season of abundance but your waistline doesn’t have to be a victim of this abundance, you can avoid the typical holiday weight gain without having to dedicate yourself to a diet plan. By incorporating these 3 amazingly ...The holiday season brings friends, family, fun and FOOD. It is truly a season of abundance but your waistline doesn’t have to be a victim of this abundance, you can avoid the typical holiday weight gain without having to dedicate yourself to a diet plan. By incorporating these 3 amazingly simple eating behavior modifications into your day you can breeze through the holiday, enjoying all the festivities, sampling all the goodies and keeping the scale from climbing upward. 1. Eat Mindfully It is easy to fall into a holiday eating trance and find yourself mindlessly shoveling food into your mouth without a conscious thought of what you are eating or how much. This year handle eating differently by eating with all five of your senses, before you put the bite of food in your mouth, look at it and also notice if it has an aroma then when you put it in your mouth, pay attention to the sound it makes as you chew it and feel the texture of the food as it passes over your tongue and finally note the taste. By eating with all five of your senses you will find that you enjoy your food more and it takes longer to eat, filling you up faster and saving you hundreds of calories. 2. Notice How Hungry Your Stomach Is Learn to rate your hunger on a scale of 0 to 10 with “0” meaning you are starving and “10” meaning you are stuffed, and then aim to stay in the middle of the scale. By staying in this mid or satisfied range you will find it easier to make better eating decisions. By learning how much food leaves you feeling satisfied you will find you naturally control your portion sizes and eat less as a result. 3. Use Stoppers Stoppers are any food, drink or activity that signals to you that your eating occasion has ended. Use a stopper any time you decide you have eaten enough food to satisfy your physical hunger. Samples of stoppers include a stick of sugar-free gum, hot tea, or brushing your teeth. For instance, when you have finished eating all that you intended, simply use your stopper to signify to yourself that you are now done eating. This allows you to move away from eating and gives your stomach time to signal your brain that you are indeed full. These 3 simple strategies can allow you to try all of the special foods of the holiday and enjoy all the season has to offer without dieting and without gaining weight. Enjoy your holiday season!