{"id":940,"date":"2011-11-25T08:00:47","date_gmt":"2011-11-25T13:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/doinglifetogether\/?p=940"},"modified":"2012-03-03T11:42:46","modified_gmt":"2012-03-03T16:42:46","slug":"tips-to-avoid-holiday-overeating","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2011\/11\/tips-to-avoid-holiday-overeating.html","title":{"rendered":"Tips to Avoid Holiday Overeating"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>From Thanksgiving to New Year\u2019s Day, food abounds&#8211;delightful treats, tempting sweets, beautifully arranged food baskets, and the always-welcomed gourmet chocolates that are to die for. It\u2019s enough to send even the most controlled eater into an eating frenzy!<\/p>\n<p>But of course this sumptuous time of year comes with a price\u2014those extra pounds that we all dread and fear. The big question is, \u201cCan I get through the holiday eating season without putting on the 5-10 pounds everyone talks about?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Forget the dream of a white Christmas, I\u2019m hoping for a <em>light<\/em> Christmas!<\/p>\n<p>Good news (beside the birth of Christ)! Most people don\u2019t gain all that extra weight. Researchers at the National Institutes of Health conducted a study that found most people tend to gain about 1.05 pounds during the holiday eating season. Now don\u2019t start diving into the fruitcake just yet because there is more to this wonderful story.<\/p>\n<p>Even though the gain is less than imagined, the weight is harder to lose. In part this is because we are less active during this time of year. Over time, that extra pound here and there contributes to a steady weight gain. And, if you are someone who is overweight (half of Americans), the weight gain is usually worse than the predicted pound.<\/p>\n<p>So what does all this suggest? Pace yourself! You simply can\u2019t give in to all the goodies that pass your office desk. Take a piece of the delicious stuff and move on. Stay active with exercise during this time and try these pound saving tips!<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Don\u2019t go hungry to party events<\/strong>. Drink a glass of water or eat a small piece of fruit before you go. A ravenous appetite makes it hard to resist the seductive presentation of holiday foods.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Find the vegetable tray and stay close to it.<\/strong> If you feel the urge to nibble, hang out next to the low cal options and nibble away!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Bring a low cal food item to an event<\/strong>. If you bring something you like that is low cal, you know there will be something healthy to choose from among all the items.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Focus on the people at the event and not the food<\/strong>. Try to mingle and involve yourself in conversation versus isolating yourself at the food tables.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Try not to eat because you feel uncomfortable or anxious<\/strong>. Food events are social events and people eat to decrease anxiety. Prepare a strategy ahead of time, \u201cIf I begin to feel anxious or uncomfortable, I will\u2026\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>If you overdo it, don\u2019t get crazy<\/strong>. Just regroup after the event and cut back at the next few meals. Too many people say, \u201cOh I really blew it so I might as well continue to eat.\u201d That\u2019s the wrong approach. Instead say, \u201cOK I blew it but I can get back in control and cut back on the next few meals.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Read more: <a href=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/doinglifetogether\/2011\/11\/do-you-know-the-difference-between-physical-hunger-and-emotional-craving.html\">Do You Know the Difference Between Physical Hunger and Emotional Eating? <\/a><\/p>\n<p>For more help with mindless and emotional eating, click on the tab on the right More Books by Dr. Linda and order your copy of <em>Press Pause Before You Eat<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/258\/2011\/11\/Press-Pause-medium.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-1011\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/258\/2011\/11\/Press-Pause-medium.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"98\" height=\"146\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>From Thanksgiving to New Year\u2019s Day, food abounds&#8211;delightful treats, tempting sweets, beautifully arranged food baskets, and the always-welcomed gourmet chocolates that are to die for. It\u2019s enough to send even the most controlled eater into an eating frenzy! But of course this sumptuous time of year comes with a price\u2014those extra pounds that we all&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":419,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[918],"tags":[633,351,636,634,433,635,631,638,32,632,637,82,27],"class_list":["post-940","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-relationship-to-food","tag-avoid-holiday-weight-gain","tag-eating","tag-eating-tips","tag-extra-pounds","tag-food","tag-gain-weight","tag-holiday-eating","tag-holiday-parties","tag-lose-weight","tag-overeating","tag-overeating-tips","tag-weight","tag-weight-gain"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Tips to Avoid Holiday Overeating<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2011\/11\/tips-to-avoid-holiday-overeating.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tips to Avoid Holiday Overeating\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"From Thanksgiving to New Year\u2019s Day, food abounds&#8211;delightful treats, tempting sweets, beautifully arranged food baskets, and the always-welcomed gourmet chocolates that are to die for. It\u2019s enough to send even the most controlled eater into an eating frenzy! But of course this sumptuous time of year comes with a price\u2014those extra pounds that we all&hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2011\/11\/tips-to-avoid-holiday-overeating.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Doing Life Together\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/drlindamintle\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-11-25T13:00:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2012-03-03T16:42:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/doinglifetogether\/files\/2011\/11\/Press-Pause-medium.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Linda Mintle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@drlindamintle\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Tips to Avoid Holiday Overeating","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2011\/11\/tips-to-avoid-holiday-overeating.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Tips to Avoid Holiday Overeating","og_description":"From Thanksgiving to New Year\u2019s Day, food abounds&#8211;delightful treats, tempting sweets, beautifully arranged food baskets, and the always-welcomed gourmet chocolates that are to die for. 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Dr. Linda\u2019s fun personality and expertise comes through whether she\u2019s helping her audience stress less or make peace with their thighs! Dr. Linda has her Ph.D. in Urban Health and Clinical Psychology and is a national expert on mental health. She has specialized in the treatment of eating disorders, anxiety, depression and pain management. With 30 years of clinical experience working with couples, families and individuals, she brings her common-sense approach to people who want to live in positive mental health. Dr. Linda is also a bestselling author with 21 book titles to her credit, a radio host of the Dr. Linda Mintle show, professor, national speaker, winner of the Mom\u2019s Choice Award, a national news consultant, featured writer for Beliefnet and hosts her own website. Her academic appointments keep her abreast of current research in her areas of expertise. Her media experience includes seven years as the resident expert for ABC Family\u2019s Living the Life television show and regular appearances on network television and radio. It is often said that being with Dr. Linda is like having coffee with a friend. She makes the complicated issues of relationships and mental health easy to understand and applicable to everyday living. The ease she has with people, coupled with her clinical training and experience makes her a sought-after speaker on college campuses, conferences and special events. Whether she is doing a TV skit with Tim Conway or discussing teen violence with Queen Latifa, Dr. Linda will entertain, educate and integrate faith and mental health in everyday living. 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