Whether it is Thanksgiving, Christmas dinner, or another big Holiday, I know women in my community feel anxious.

Around holiday time, we are being bombarded by the media all around us with tips and tricks on how to stick to our goals and resist temptation, and “stay on the wagon“. (I’ll just strike that because what I teach is that there is NO wagon to fall of off.)

After working with thousands of women around the world helping them overcome emotional eating and reach food freedom, I can confidently say that these next 7 tips will allow you to not only avoid food guilt but will also keep your holidays joyful.

1. DITCH THE “LAST SUPPER” MENTALITY

Ohhh the delicious comfort foods that you love so much… And you don’t allow to have them any other day of the year but on this specific holiday, you have this mindset of: “Oh, it’s just ONE day of the year”, and then I’ll be good again.

Let me tell you, if you’ll go to dinner with this mindset, you will most certainly overeat.

Have you ever heard my chocolate example?

No?

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THE CHOCOLATE EXAMPLE

Okay, imagine that ALL the chocolate of this world (and everything made out of cacao in general) would disappear from this planet tomorrow. There would never again be a chance to have that food again. But you *love* chocolate. Now, tell me: What would you eat >> today << when there is still chocolate available?

But of course, chocolate.

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So, what if you make all these foods that are there to enjoy over the holidays, available all year round? Try it out, you’ll see what a shift it will make.

When we allow all the foods at all times, they lose their power they have over you. – Remember that.

I know, I know… just the thought of that can make you cringe because you might have so many fears connected to this – but trust me, when you learn how to re-connect with your body’s wisdom, and reprogram your subconscious mind of that of a normal, naturally slim person… you can do that! 

2. ALLOW YOURSELF TO EAT ALL THE FOODS (and connect that to #3)

It’s important that you understand that you CAN allow yourself to eat all the foods AND stay healthy. Just look at your naturally slim friends around who who have it easy with food. They don’t have any restrictions yet they stay slim and healthy. How is that possible?

It’s because they AREN’T trying to control their bodies or control their food intake. But instead, they are listening to their bodies and following their guidance.

This is so crucial to understand.

I know I wanted to control my food intake for the longest time. I relied on calorie counting apps, portion control, I restricted and controlled – and it always backfired. It was as if I was in a war with my body!

My body said: “Hey, I need some more food” – and I said: “No, the app says it’s enough.”

My body said: “Alrighty, that was enough” – and I said: “Nooo! I want more!”

If you do it too, let me ask you one thing:

Do you also try to control how many times you breathe in and out during the day? How many times your body wants to pee? Do you ever say: “No, no, that was enough peeing for today, body…”

Nah? Yeah, I don’t think so either. 🙂

So why do we try so hard to control the very thing we shouldn’t be controling?

This is the exact thing that is keeping you stuck. Stop controling. Start listening.

Combine this with point #3.

3. EAT WITH AS MUCH PLEASURE AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN.

Yep! I said pleasure! Because food is made in a way that we enjoy it. (God/The Universe is smart! This is our survival mechanism in action.)

What I want you to do when you are in social situations (and always, really) is that you eat as sloooowly as possible. And that you focus on the pleasure in your mouth. The great thing is that the slower you’ll eat, the more you’ll enjoy it. (And your pleasure tank will fill up!)

Put your fork down in between bites. Talk to the people at the table. Do what holidays are all about – communicate with your loved ones and focus on feeling joy and gratitude.

4. KNOW THY TRIGGERS

Okay, yes – I told you in the previous point that holidays are all about focusing on joy, and gratitude for our loved ones.

But what if your loved ones are also the ones that you get triggered by? Well, that is when emotional eating may come up.

(Thankfully, you’re at the right place – cause I’m an expert at helping women overcome that.)

I recommend you print out the 5-minute ritual that you can get for free in the Emotional Eating SOS Toolkit HERE >>

And if you feel like you want to overeat for some reason, excuse yourself, go to the bathroom, take the sacred pause for yourself, and answer the questions in the 5-minute ritual.

It’s so important to get in tune with that part of you who wants to eat at that moment. And then to take your power back, and remember that YOU are in control of your thoughts.

5. UNDERSTAND THE THOUGHTS > EMOTIONS > ACTIONS PRINCIPLE

If for some reason or another at any point you do start to feel guilt, this will only create more of the guilt IF you won’t shift your thoughts quickly.

Why your thoughts?

Let me explain. Your thoughts are the ones that create your emotions. And your emotions guide your actions.

THOUGHTS >> EMOTIONS >> ACTIONS

When we feel negative emotions, our actions aren’t really that supportive. Either we try to numb those emotions with more food (not a supportive action) or we suppress them in other ways… OR we shift our thoughts and our emotions shift as a consequence.

So the solution to this is that if you are feeling a negative emotion, that means that you first have to identify the thought behind it. Because you first had to have a negative thought about a certain situation that created that emotion! So it’s going to be really important to identify the thoughts, hear what the inner saboteur is saying, and then shift those around.

Also, when this is related to other people, remember this: You can’t control other people. But you can control your reactions to them. So yes, people might say things that are upsetting. But it’s on YOU to be in control of your reactions – and it starts with your thoughts.

6. KNOW THAT YOU HAVE THE POWER OVER YOUR MIND

You are incredibly powerful, baby! And I want you to know that no matter what happens, you always, ALWAYS, are choosing the way you respond. You are never a victim in this particular situation because it is you who is creating the thoughts, and choosing the reactions.

The thing is, only you have control over your mind. Only you can change your thoughts.

And as much as you want to control your body, don’t do it. Control your mind instead 🙂 Because if you control your mind, you control everything, as you learned in the previous point.

7. STOP FOCUSING ON HOW YOU ‘DON’T WANT TO GAIN WEIGHT’

One big fear that so many people have over the holidays is the fear of gaining weight. It happens more than any other time of the year. But because people are so focused on how they DON’T want to gain weight, they become even more obsessed with food.

Because what you focus on, expands!

When you think about food and weight gain over and over again, you are signaling your reticular activation system that THIS is important to you. So it starts showing you more and more of that. Your brain starts to think about food more and more!

This combination creates an internal struggle. At the same time, you don’t want to eat all the foods and you do want to eat all the food! So you start to restrict a bit, so you can “save up” your calories for all the goodies coming up. But you are feeling deprived when you do it, then when all the delicious food comes that you were restricting yourself out of, you overeat and just think: “Oh, I’ll restrict again tomorrow” and you get into this crazy, crazy cycle and you mess up your brain and your body.

Instead, remind yourself that anytime you truly listen to your body, you will lose weight or stay at your ideal weight with is.

It’s not about which food you eat, it’s about really listening to your hunger and fullness signals. Instead of having this fear, remind yourself of the truth and follow tip #3 at it will be a win-win situation.

Bonus tip:

Stop obsessing about food, and start obsessing about other things, like the people, animals, places, activities you love and care about!

Now I’d love to hear from you.

What specifically about the holidays are you struggling with the most when it comes to food and body? Which of the seven tips do you most need to implement?

Leave a comment below and let me know. Share as many details as possible in your reply because there might be someone else that will need to hear your exact story to have a breakthrough. We’re all in this together. 

Thank you so very much for reading, and sharing.

You’ve got this, my friend. And if you ever need extra support, I’m here for you.

With all my love,

XO

Tiasha