Overdoing It During the Holidays

For a big part of my adult life, I viewed the time between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day as a 6-week feast fest, and I used it as an excuse to stay stuffed to the rafters with food and booze.

My cocktail glass would rarely go empty; my plate would be piled high with multiple helpings of meat, carbs, and sweets.

To say I overindulged would be an understatement.

Perhaps you know how it feels during the holidays to wake up multiple mornings thinking, “Ugh, I can’t believe I went back for thirds!”

“How many desserts did I eat?!”

“How many glasses of mulled wine did I knock back?”

When it comes to the holidays, we can all overindulge in food and drink even when we know the consequences await us.

There is an obligation to have a good time that society puts on us. Add that to the physical and mental stress of the holidays and family dynamics, and it’s no wonder we eat and drink more than we would like to.

But it doesn’t have to be this way.

We can use the tools of awareness and curiosity along with a few actionable steps to choose a new way and not feel like twenty pounds of potatoes in a five-pound bag.

Awareness of the triggers that cause us to gorge ourselves is a great starting point. Maybe it’s your uncle’s political rantings or the hours of travel over the river and through the woods or the moment you smell the burning turkey in the oven.

That little bit of awareness can create a gap between our feelings and our habitual reaction to them. This is an occasion to allow space for curiosity to explore those feelings and reactions.

This time of year is an excellent opportunity to get curious about what the holidays would look like without filling ourselves up with food and alcohol. How can we be more present? What new traditions can we introduce?

So, what practical actions can we take to sidestep the bottomless gullet of overindulgence during the holidays?

Put on paper what you put in your pie hole.

This isn’t about counting calories or self-shaming. You don’t even have to consume less. It’s about the power of mindfulness. Simply recording food and beverage intake will significantly affect your awareness and resulting actions.

If keeping a notebook on you seems like too much, snap a photo of your plate or glass every time you go for a refill.

Get out and about.

Take a thirty-minute walk each day. Do some light stretching or gentle yoga—play flag football with the nieces and nephews.

This changes your feeling state and has the added benefit of putting you in a different location, getting you outside, and allowing you to clear your head.

Hydrate

Drink plenty of water, especially before mealtime.

It seems obvious, but if you can drink a gallon a day, you will feel fuller. Plus, if you are drinking a glass of water, it means you aren’t drinking a glass of beer.

We can choose not to overindulge during the holidays.

We can choose to be aware rather than asleep. We can choose to be curious rather than closed off. We can choose to experience family gatherings from a new perspective and show up as a new version of ourselves.

I wish you all good tidings and Happy Holidays!