Five ways to stop yourself from overeating this holiday season by Judy Robinson

What images do you see in your mind when you think about Thanksgiving? For most people, Thanksgiving brings back vivid memories of food. You say Thanksgiving and people will describe in great detail about the type of turkey they ate or the candied yams that their mothers make. The same goes for Christmas as people spend this time with their families and a large chunk of that time involves eating all the special holiday food.

For most people, the holidays are all about binging on food. People reconcile with their family and friends and think that now is a good time to throw their diet or fitness routine out the window. While this may just seem like a harmless problem that might result in you gaining a few extra pounds over the holidays, the truth is that countless people end up in hospitals during the holidays due to illnesses related to overeating.

If you want to avoid a similar fate, here are five ways through which you can stop yourself from overeating during the holidays.

1-Taste a little bit of everything

With so many amazing options on the table, it’s no wonder that people eat more than they usually do as they want to taste everything. One easy way to avoid this is by allowing yourself to taste a little bit of everything in small portions. If you see multiple things on the table that you like, instead of eating your fill of every one of those dishes, you need to eat a little bit of everything. Completely depriving yourself of all your favorite dishes will do nothing but increase your craving for said food. These kinds of deprivations often lead to late night binges in the kitchen. So instead of deprivation, you should think about moderation.

2-Keep yourself hydrated at all times

This may sound surprising but keeping yourself hydrated at all events where you can feel a possible binge coming may help you keep your intake of calories in check. Drinking the right amount of water will help you feel a little full and stop you from eating more than you can handle. Another important thing to keep in mind is that drinking alcohol on an empty stomach is a terrible idea because not only does it lower your inhibitions and make it more likely for you to overindulge but it also means that you’ll get drunk super-fast. You should also avoid drinking high-calorie drinks as they will also contribute to your holiday weight gain.

3-Wear fitted clothes to remind yourself about fitness

Imagine that you are reaching for the fourth helping of cranberry sauce and suddenly you feel a tightening around the waist as your tailored dress cannot handle the expanding bulge of your stomach. If you replace the tailored fitted dress with something of the elastic variety instead of putting down the fourth helping, you might have carried on. Fitted clothes remind you how far you have come in getting to your ideal fitness. They remind you that your hourglass figure will soon give way to lumps and bumps if you keep hitting that plate of fudge.

Work in some exercising between your holiday plans (tweet this)

4-Keep up with your exercise routine during the holidays

While the holidays are generally a time to relax and take a reprise from the gym, that doesn’t mean that you can forego fitness entirely. While no one’s asking you to go and bench-press immediately after consuming turkey, it might be a good idea to work in some exercising between your holiday plans. You can keep it simple by going for a jog whenever you have the time or cycle through all your favorite spots in your hometown. The important thing is that you need to give your body a chance to burn all the extra calories that you have just put in your body.

5-Supplement your plate with fruits and vegetables

One good way to make sure that you are not just putting extra calories in your body is to ensure that while you’re feasting on turkey, you are also eating fruits and vegetables. So whenever you find yourself reaching for extra meat, remind yourself to also put some brussel sprouts on your plate. That way not only is your body getting calories but it is also getting the extra nutrients that it needs in order to function in a proper manner. With fruits and vegetables, you are getting your dose of fiber and nutrients and a very minuscule amount of calories.

The key to maintaining your fitness while also enjoying yourself is finding the right balance in what you eat. You don’t have to starve yourself or stop yourself from eating all the delicious food put in front of you but you also don’t have to overindulge yourself to the point where you start feeling sick.