{"id":4340,"date":"2017-12-09T06:00:38","date_gmt":"2017-12-09T14:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.youwealthrevolution.com\/blog\/?p=4340"},"modified":"2017-12-07T07:28:19","modified_gmt":"2017-12-07T15:28:19","slug":"stop-binge-eating-holiday-new-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.youwealthrevolution.com\/blog\/stop-binge-eating-holiday-new-year\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Stop Binge Eating Through The Holiday And The New Year"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some never experience the roller coaster that is\u00a0holiday overeating<\/strong>, however, most of us know it all too well.<\/p>\n

The truth is that we overindulge because there\u2019s a payoff.\u00a0 The brain releases the feel-good neurochemical dopamine when we eat foods high in fat and sugar. Stress, anxiety and depressed mood during the holidays makes us more prone to reward-seeking behaviors which in this case means bingeing on food.<\/p>\n

We have an association between \u201cfeel-good foods\u201d and the holidays that has been so strongly reinforced in our minds that many of us are averse to the idea of cutting them out altogether during the season.<\/p>\n

Many look forward to celebrating the holidays with a stocked pantry full of \u201cthe permissible treats because it\u2019s the holidays.\u201d\u00a0 I\u2019m speaking to those of you who buy tree-shaped cookies, fudge, extra tamales, holiday cakes, bags and bags of chips, soda, and brownies because your friends, or your friends\u2019 kids, or your relatives are coming over.<\/p>\n

You may eat to celebrate because the association between feel-good food and the holidays is cemented in your brain. You may also be eating your way through stress, guilt, disappointment, loneliness and sadness. You give so much to others that you feel depleted so you reward yourself with seconds and thirds until you feel added guilt\u2026and the cycle continues.<\/p>\n

So, how can you make it through without getting into the holiday binges?<\/p>\n

Shift your Identity\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013 Identity is strongly linked to behavior. Start now by identifying yourself as a fit person who eats mindfully. Say to yourself, \u201cI am a person who takes time to think about what I am putting into my body,\u201d \u201cI am a person who eats treats but does not go overboard,\u201d \u201cI am a person that eats to live and not the other way around.\u201d<\/p>\n

Engage in Behaviors that are Non-Compatible to Binge Eating \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>Walk, run, or strength train the day of the holiday party or the morning of the actual holiday. Overeating after exercising is a non-compatible behavior. Binge eating is not compatible with exercising, meaning if you exercise in the morning you will be more likely to engage in compatible behaviors such as picking up a carrot or cherry tomato rather than a greasy dumpling or cookie.<\/p>\n

Record<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Either count calories, keep a food journal, or both. Keeping a food journal from December through January will help you see the reality rather than the illusion of what is going into your body. Both food journaling and writing goals down are proven by research to be effective for altering behavior.<\/p>\n

Avoid labeling Food and Yourself as \u201cBad\u201d \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>All informed dietitians will tell you should avoid labeling foods as good or bad. All foods provide some source of energy. Labeling foods as bad can have the effect of you feeling badly for eating it, thus, spiraling you into a binge. The research shows that the more you label a food or yourself as \u201cbad\u201d, the more likely you are to overeat.\u00a0 Banning foods can cause you to overeat them later on. If you\u2019re really craving something, give yourself permission to have a small amount.<\/p>\n

Delay and Distract\u2013Delay<\/em>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0<\/strong>Sometimes people get so focused on\u00a0what<\/em>\u00a0they want to eat that they don\u2019t stop and ask themselves\u00a0why<\/em>\u00a0they want to eat. If you use food as a coping mechanism, you may be out of touch with the cues that signal hunger or fullness, so it\u2019s critical to bring your awareness back to your body. Slow yourself down. Don\u2019t head straight for the food. Start with a glass of water, seltzer, or tea and make a conscious decision to slow down.\u00a0Distract<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 The holidays are for catching up with friends and family. Distract yourself by talking to your loved ones, lending a hand to the host, playing a game, or taking in the beauty of the decorations. One of my favorite distraction techniques during the holidays is to keep a warm mug of tea on hand at all times.<\/p>\n

Reframe your intentions.\u00a0<\/strong>You could choose to go through the holidays focusing on the guilt for not buying enough gifts,\u00a0or the guilt of buying too many, or on the stress because you feel you need to please everyone and so on and so on.\u00a0 You could also choose to get through the holidays with a new intention.\u00a0You can make the choice to focus on celebrating, being positive and truly in the moment, and giving attention to your favorite holiday traditions.<\/p>\n

Be Empowered.\u00a0<\/strong>You don\u2019t have to be a victim of the energy-sucking stress or sadness of the holidays. Feeling empowered helps you control your emotions and eating behaviors.\u00a0 Keep your home a sanctuary of health and wellness by stocking up on winter produce such as pomegranates, dates, plums, mandarin oranges, and sweet potatoes.\u00a0 Avoid conforming to the traditional overeating that your loved ones engage in because you are on your own path. Think of the holidays as practice for the New Year so that you have an edge up on fitness with a cleaner and more energized mind and body when the New Year begins.<\/p>\n

Happy healthy intentions to you this holiday season!<\/strong><\/p>\n

About The Author:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kim Chronister, PsyD is a therapist, wellness expert, and published author. She specializes in substance abuse, fitness motivation, relationships, weight loss, and eating disorders. Her passion for health psychology is evidenced in her contributions to Women\u2019s Health Magazine, Livestrong, NPR, and Yahoo News and numerous other media outlets. She is the author of \u201cThe Psychology Behind Fitness Motivation” and the bestselling book “FitMentality.”<\/p>\n

If you enjoyed this article, you may also be interested in:\u00a0https:\/\/www.youwealthrevolution.com\/blog\/stop-eating-white-bread\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Some never experience the roller coaster that is\u00a0holiday overeating, however, most of us know it all too well. The truth is that we overindulge because there\u2019s a payoff.\u00a0 The brain releases the feel-good neurochemical dopamine when we eat foods high in fat and sugar. Stress, anxiety and depressed mood during the holidays makes us more…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":4341,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sfsi_plus_gutenberg_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_show_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_type":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_alignemt":"","sfsi_plus_gutenburg_max_per_row":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4340","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-healthandvitality"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.youwealthrevolution.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4340","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.youwealthrevolution.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.youwealthrevolution.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youwealthrevolution.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youwealthrevolution.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4340"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.youwealthrevolution.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4340\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4343,"href":"https:\/\/www.youwealthrevolution.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4340\/revisions\/4343"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youwealthrevolution.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4341"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.youwealthrevolution.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4340"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youwealthrevolution.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4340"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youwealthrevolution.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4340"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}