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Ahhh…. The holiday season is upon us. Time to relax, kick back, and enjoy ourselves. Only for many of us, the holidays represent more of a time to freak out, eat too much, and feel guilty, which makes the holidays not so enjoyable.
So what is the key to indulging a little this holiday season without getting carried away?
1) Honor your fullness and hunger – you know how you feel like you have to stuff yourself because this is the only time of year Mrs. Smith makes her pumpkin muffins? Well, you don’t. You can take an extra pumpkin muffin and eat it tomorrow, freeze it for Spring when you’re craving one, or ask Mrs. Smith to make a batch for you some other time that’s not the holidays. The key is to get rid of the ‘Last Supper’ phenomenon (eating everything in sight for fear you'll never be able to have it again - or, at least, not for a very long time) that often accompanies holiday dining.
2) The three bite rule – If you’re the type that can’t say no to trying everything in the buffet line, try the three bite rule. Try three bites of everything (that you like – one bite will likely tell you if you don’t like something and you can stop there), then see how full you are. Anything you liked a lot, go back for another three bites, and then re-assess hunger and satiety.
3) Don’t go overboard – you don’t have to go to every single holiday party; really, you don’t. Pick one a week – for your own sanity. Fewer holiday parties often mean less stress as well as less olfactory temptation, and for many of us, less temptation = less overeating.
4) De-stress – this time of joy has become a stress mess for many overachievers. And more stress = more cortisol = bigger waistlines. If you’re the type who thinks you have to be Martha Stewart or else your holiday party will fail, listen up:
- Ask for help – the last two years I’ve done Thanksgiving potluck style. Yes, that meant I didn’t have control over how the mashed potatoes turned out, but it took a lot of the stress off my plate and my friends enjoyed bringing and sharing their favorite holiday dishes with everyone else.
- Go for the minimalist approach – you know what happens when you make enough for 50 and only 10 show, right? You have leftovers for weeks that eventually go bad and you have to toss half of it out anyway. And you get really sick of turkey – or whatever you made. Here’s a new approach: if you expect 10, cook for 10. Not 50, 20, or even 12. There will still be plenty to go around even if 12 show and you’ll save a few dollars in the process and waste a lot less.
- Presentation is not everything. – Yes, you can decorate your platter with fresh flowers and add decorative swirls of chocolate on your dessert plate, but here’s the thing: no one cares what it looks like as long as it tastes good. The hours you spent prepping the ‘perfect presentation’ may get appreciate for 5 seconds and then it will be ignored, eaten, or destroyed. Thus, it’s not worth your time. Trust me on this one. Time with loved ones is more important than time away from loved ones to prep the perfect plate.
- Prioritize – what’s really important to you? If having a Martha Stewart worthy tree is something you truly enjoy doing and value, then by all means, decorate that tree! But if you’re only decorating the tree because you feel like you ‘should,’ then skip it. If you feel you simply must have a tree, but don’t want to go to the trouble of decorating one, get one of those little pre-decorated table trees that are a foot or so tall. All the Christmas spirit minus the Christmas hassle.
I hope you find yourself less of a stress mess and are able to enjoy your holiday season a little more this year. Yes, it only comes once a year, but that doesn’t mean it has to be picture perfect. Always remember: there’s no such thing as perfect, and thankfully, this only comes once a year!
Happy Holidays!
