Holiday Eating: How to Enjoy Festive Foods Without Overindulging

During the holiday season, it can be very difficult to stick to a healthy eating plan. With Christmas cookies, turkey, ham, and a variety of other foods covering every area of the table, it can be easy to overdo it and end up feeling sluggish. By practicing a little mindfulness and making intentional choices, you can still enjoy the flavors of the holiday season. This blog isn’t about restriction; however, it is about finding a way to enjoy everything in moderation without putting a strain on the body.

How to Eat in Moderation

Eating in moderation is the practice of only consuming the amount of food your body requires to be healthy. Overeating or undereating is not healthy for the body. Overeating causes the stomach to expand beyond its normal size to adjust to the large food intake. This can feel uncomfortable because the stomach can begin pushing up against other organs. Eating too much food at one time can make it more strenuous on the stomach to break down foods. As the body tries to burn more calories, hot flashes and dizzy spells may occur. When a person doesn’t eat enough, there are also many consequences that include of fatigue, getting sick, hair loss, problems with skin, impaired growth, irregular body temperatures, and even declines in mental health. Having the right balance of carbs, fats, and proteins is needed to ensure normal and healthy functions.

What Causes Unhealthy Eating Habits?

Eating is a staple of human everyday life; it is necessary for our bodies to function. However, there are certain eating habits that can be unhealthy to the body. If these negative eating habits become severe, they can alter the way we act and feel, but can also create health problems, such as diabetes. Some of these eating habits include of:

·      Eating too close to bedtime- Eating close to bedtime can affect your natural sleep cycle by decreasing the amount of rest you get. This has been associated with unwanted weight gain, increased blood pressure and increased risk of heart disease. A healthy time to eat is roughly 2-3 hours before going to bed. If you have dinner and find yourself hungry, try a light snack like a fruit, vegetable, or protein.

·      Skipping meals- Missing meals can affect your mood as your blood sugar may start to drop. You may feel tired, have trouble concentrating, or feel dizzy and irritable. Additionally, it may make you more prone to overeat at your next meal or increase cravings for high fat and high sugar foods because you feel so hungry. A way to prevent this is meal planning

·      Eating too fast- Eating quickly makes it difficult to know when you are full. This can lead to overeating, indigestion, heart burn and unwanted weight gain. To prevent this, one could try using smaller utensils to take smaller bites, drink water between bites, and be aware of the pace at which they are eating.

·      Mindless eating- Mindless eating can lead to overeating and unwanted weight gain. It also can be a sign of stress or other emotional burden. To prevent this, people tend to try eating in one spot, such as the kitchen, keeping a journal of foods, and think about whether you are hungry or just eating for another reason.

·      Stress eating- Stress eating can result in overeating, specifically eating more processed foods with high levels of fat, sugar or salt. In the long run, stress eating can increase your risk for chronic diseases such as diabetes or heart diseases. If you are someone who tends to stress eat, try having healthy snacks with you rather than unhealthy snacks. There are also many other ways to deal with stress, such as working out or meditation.

Overeating, is it Really That Bad?

Overeating is when a person continues to eat past the point of fullness. If overeating becomes a habit, it can lead to weight gain and eating disorders. Emotional eating, stress, boredom, lack of self-control, and underlying mental health issues such as depression or anxiety can all contribute to overeating. Additionally, societal and cultural pressures to conform to certain body types and the availability of highly palatable foods can also play a role. However, there is a biological standpoint to overeating. When a person is extremely stressed, the body makes more cortisol, a hormone responsible for maintaining constant blood pressure and blood glucose levels. Increased cortisol can cause a fight-or-flight response that tells your body that it’s time to find food. It can make you crave foods high in sugar, fat or salt. Overeating, it isn’t necessarily a “bad thing” because an occasional splurge is normal, and we shouldn’t physically restrain ourselves from eating. However, getting stuck in the habit of overeating is where the problems can begin. This holiday season, take a slice of apple pie, enjoy that honey baked ham, and please eat one of those mouthwatering cookies, just be aware and listen to your body.

How to Listen to Your Body During the Holiday Season

When the whole family brings over a specialty dish to the party, of course we want to try every single one! However, the way we treat our bodies overall health is more important than making our tastebuds happy. Listening to our body is the key to enjoying not just the holiday season, but every day of our lives. Listing to your body is a very important step and can be quite simple! If you feel hungry, try to let the food settle, of you are still hungry, then it is ok to eat more! Typically, in this case, the food digests and the feeling of hunger goes away. If certain foods that have ingredients that hurt your stomach and make you feel sick, such as dairy, gluten, MSG, or salt, try to stay away from foods that will make you uncomfortable.

Note:

The Holiday Season is a time to enjoy with friends, family, and loved ones. It should not be focused on maintaining a perfect and healthy lifestyle. We are humans and can enjoy the food brought to the table. If you feel bad about overindulging this holiday season, don’t and know that you are not the only one. A study done by HealthDay News say that two-thirds of people say they overindulge in food during the holidays. This holiday season, listen to your body and do all in moderation, but enjoy this holiday season!

Citations:

Blackburn, Kellie Bramlet. “What Happens When You Overeat?” Feb. 2018 MD Anderson Cancer Center, https://www.mdanderson.org/publications/focused-on-health/What-happens-when-you-overeat.h23Z1592202.html

Kandola, Aaron. “9 Signs and Symptoms You’re Not Eating Enough.” Edited by Stacy Sampson, Medical News Today, MediLexicon International, 29 May 2019, https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322157#how-to-deal-with-undereating

“Overeating.” Cleveland Clinic, 1 May 2024, https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/24680-overeating

Hicklin, Tianna. “How Dietary Factors Influence Disease Risk.” National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 21 Mar. 2017, https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/how-dietary-factors-influence-disease-risk

Newsource, CNN. “More than Half of Americans Say ‘alone Time’ Is Essential to Their Mental Well-Being, Survey Finds.” KVIA, 5 Dec. 2024, https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2023-12-04/do-you-overindulge-during-the-holidays-poll-finds-youre-not-alone#:~:text=Two%2Dthirds%20of%20people%20say,State%20University's%20Wexner%20Medical%20Center.