Shut The Food Flood Gates To Holiday Eating
October 24, 2013For many weight loss surgery patients, October marks the time that the holidays begin. There are the cute little candy bars that are aplenty, then followed by Thanksgiving, and then the grand finale of December holiday eating. The three month long eating spree is followed by the rationalization and promise of turning over a new way and getting back on track.
With this month that bags and bags of miniature versions of our favorite candy bars line multiple rows in our grocery stores, the gates are open. We follow our healthy lifestyle and habits all year yet when this time of year rolls around the gates are open to a three-month long holiday celebration.
If any of this sounds familiar, you are not alone. While we wouldn’t buy the regular sized version of our favorite candy bar normally, the smaller sizes seem harmless. The problem is that one little candy bar rarely stops at just that one. “It was so small that I can eat another one” (and another one, and another one...). They can also trigger us to let our normal guard down and “enjoy” the holidays before January 1.
Don't Over-Indulge In Holiday Eating
Before you know it, the gate to holiday eating is wide open making it acceptable to indulge because it is the holidays. In this instance, for many weight loss surgery patients, holidays are defined from mid-October (preparation for Halloween), November (Thanksgiving) and December (holidays, goodies, and preparation of food gifts for the holidays).
This isn’t to say that you can’t indulge in the holidays. After all, they do come around once a year. However, know your food triggers, your behavior pattern, acknowledge stressful situations and people you will be around that cause cravings.
Holidays are marked by family and friends. For some of us, this is problematic. We get together with people that we’d prefer not to out of obligation or tradition. For some of us, we eat our way through the get-together to curb the anxiety accompanying to make the emotions of being in the situation more manageable. Holiday goodies and treats, special foods in combination with being around people we’d rather not be are a set up for holiday stress eating.
What is a weight loss surgery patient to do? Many times awareness is most important. Acknowledge that you’d prefer not to be around the people that you will be around. Make the most of the situation. Acknowledge that there will be special foods that you’ve turned to in the past to help you curb the anxiety and uncomfortable emotions. Stay aware that this combination of certain and the special foods can cause unhealthy choices. The next day, you won’t be around the problematic people but the food choices you made in that situation will stay with you — either resulting in extra calories and weight or staying in control and focused on your goals.
One of the best ways to selectively open and shut the gates to holiday eating is to be aware and stay aware. If you don’t click out from mid-October to December 31stand mindlessly eat, you will stay aware, in control and select the food choices and quantities you truly want. You’ll also be aware and acknowledge the office parties and get-togethers that you’d rather not be part of but know it is best for you to attend. In these situations, you’ll have strategies in place to now allow certain people, foods and situations to take control of you. You will stay in control, focused on your goals and the responsibility of your choices.
Think ahead right now to Halloween and develop strategies ahead of time. Are certain trick-or-treat candies a trigger for you? If so, don’t buy those. Purchase candy to give to trick-or-treaters that doesn’t interest you and you don’t like. This will prevent any cravings that call you to get into the bag of candy. You could also hand out non-food items such as coins or small inexpensive toys.
For Thanksgiving, again, become creative to think ahead to develop strategies that work for you. Host the Thanksgiving meal at your home so you can prepare foods in a healthier version. You could go out to a nice restaurant to celebrate the holiday and avoid the mounds of leftovers to carry over into days or weeks. For Thanksgiving away from home, volunteer to create certain dishes that you enjoy that are healthy and fit into your own nutritional program. You can count on those foods among other choices available.
For the remaining holidays, use the same strategies that you did for Thanksgiving. If you enjoy preparing gifts of food for co-workers, neighbors and friends, you still can. Prepare gifts that aren’t particularly your favorites. Don’t allow extras of your gifts to stay with you. Whatever you cook —give away as gifts.
All of this aside, don’t overly restrict yourself. As an exercise on restriction, take a deep breath and hold it. Hold it....don’t let it out....keeping holding it, etc. At some point, you let out the air in a big exhale burst. The same applies with restriction. If you restrict yourself, at some point you’ll naturally let go and the big exhale burst will translate into binging or excessively grazing. Be selective in the food choices you make. Become aware that a choice or two won’t trigger a three month opening of the flood gate (food gate) that you’ll be wearing into the New Year.
The focus of the holidays is on family, friends, and celebrating your own personal reason for the season. Start a tradition after big holiday meals to take walks with your family and friends. It isn’t mandatory that you stuff yourself and lay around all day waiting for that stuffed feeling to dissipate for seconds.
Move out of the behaviors and patterns of the past and create new traditions for your definition of the holidays. Rather than “Happy Holidays” you can create “Healthy Holidays” for yourself!
 | ABOUT THE AUTHOR Cathy Wilson, PCC, BCC, had RNY surgery in 2001 and lost 147 pounds. Cathy is a regular contributor to the OH Blog and authored the "Mind Matters" column in ObesityHelp Magazine. Cathy is a licensed pilot and loves flying. She is a member of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) and the Obesity Action Coalition (OAC).Read more articles by Cathy! |
