How to avoid over-eating this Christmas.

Week 50

At the Garnier Christmas Dinner, there was no food noise or worries about what or how much I ate.

Here’s the thing, it doesn’t matter what or how much you eat over Christmas, but if you’re anything like me, it’s not about the calorie value and inevitable digestive distress but the feeling of losing control that means party season and all the deliciously bite-size, indulgent foods can be a little challenging.

For me, as a recovering binge eater, it’s less about ‘a moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips’ and more ‘a moment on the lips, at least 24-48 hours chastising myself for not being able to stop’.

It has been five years since I faced my issues with food head-on meaning this is my fifth Christmas where the wheels haven’t come off.

Something I came to understand about myself in my recovery is that I am fundamentally greedy. One Quality Street will never be enough. A regular-sized bag of Cadbury’s Buttons won’t touch the sides. I will make a pyramid of profiteroles that ‘serves 8’ my own personal Everest.

There is a switch within me that doesn’t click to ‘full’ or ‘satisfied’ or whatever it is and my capacity to go far and beyond is simultaneously sickening and impressive.

Understanding this - although not my favourite thing I’ve learned about myself - has been invaluable in being able to stop those over-eating behaviours and rather than enjoy food less, I enjoy it more than I ever have.

I tell you all this because last week was a calendar of Christmas dinners and festive cocktails and next week will be much the same with the addition of my birthday shenanigans thrown in the mix. Plus, I’ve been receiving a lot of messages from followers on Instagram and from podcast listeners asking for tips on how to navigate food this Christmas.

I can relate because in years gone by, I’ve felt myself feeling sluggish and bloated as December has rolled on, but in these last five years, I’ve felt, well, fine because of these small but hugely significant changes.

1. For me, Christmas is Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. On those three days, it’s not that all bets are off, but I’m not worrying about quantity, calories or anything else for that matter.

   In years gone by, my ideal Christmas would have been scarfing ‘picky bits’ from breakfast until bedtime but that’s not what tastes or feels good in the long term, especially as I know my digestive system performs far more efficiently with at least four-hour breaks between meals.

   I might still have champagne for breakfast and my Christmas Lunch will have all the trimmings and at least a pint of gravy but I no longer graze on every Christmas food on offer once December 1st rolls around.

2. I went to two Christmas dinners last week and enjoyed them both immensely but in order for me to not over-indulge, I have to look at my weeks rather than my meals or my days. By this, I mean that if I know I’m eating two large and very rich meals during the week, I’ll keep things simple on either side of those meals. Not just because I don’t want to over-indulge but because I want to enjoy them and for them to feel ‘special’, simplicity around them works best.

   I’ve spoken previously about how I like to eat at least 100g of protein a day and how volume eating works for me, so in these instances eating huge salads (some of which I’ve prepared and filmed for Instagram) the lunchtime before and the lunchtime after a big evening meal, keeps some balance.

3. I think about how food makes me feel. I mentioned the profiterole pyramid above but this is something that actually happened. When I was a kid, my parents had a party and our lovely neighbour brought round a pyramid of profiteroles. While everyone was mingling in the living room, I saw this mountain of deliciousness in the kitchen and popped one in my mouth. You know the scene, one that could be eased out of the base without its absence being obvious. Over the course of the evening, I think I popped 90% of those delicious light and creamy puffy pastry balls into my mouth, each mouthful tasting more heavenly than the last. In the moment, it was bliss. That’s the trick with food though, it always is. For years, I’d seek the ‘high’ of that delicious mouthful but never made the connection between that and the dissatisfaction I felt about how I looked and how I felt. Denial much?

   I used to think ‘food freedom’ was being able to eat whatever you wanted, whenever you wanted but now I believe it’s more about knowing what you love and find delicious and understanding the quantities in which you can enjoy them.

   

   Tiramisu might be my favourite dessert and this one at The River Café was one of the best I’ve had, but I stopped at half because it couldn’t get any more delicious and I was already full.

4. I train a little bit harder in December. This isn’t about punishing myself for eating rich foods or exercising away over indulgences, this is simply to maintain a pace and enter the new year as I left the old one rather than entering January from a cold start.

   I aim to train at least three times a week and I also aim to get at least 10,000 steps in daily. Recently, I’ve switched up my exercise and I’m trying to fit in an extra workout where I can and it’s for a few reasons.

   Firstly, December is a hugely disruptive month. Whether it’s parties, dinners, seeing friends, having visitors, being a visitor or just general rushing about, it can feel as though there are fewer hours in the day and when everything is a little up in the air with my schedule, the first thing that goes is sleep. However, if I’m exercising, both strength training at home and getting out in the fresh air for at least 30 minutes, then I feel I give myself a much better chance at better sleep.

   Secondly, this disruption can take me so far away from my usual routine and schedule that when January comes around, I feel discombobulated and can take the first half of the month to get back into some sort of routine. By maintaining my training, all those transitions feel a lot smoother.

   Thirdly, I am someone for whom the combination of richer foods, alcohol and a disrupted schedule can play havoc with how I feel. I hate feeling slowed down and taking 30 minutes to get my heart rate up and challenge myself physically, gives me some mental clarity as well as all the known physical benefits so I never feel as though I’m veering too far away from my ‘normal’.

5. I swerve alcohol 75% of the time. I used to think drinking meant I was having a good time and I used to think other people drinking meant they were having a good time. So, when everyone was drinking I’d think ‘Yay! FUN!’

   I have crossed the threshold that many women of my age cross in their late forties and now one sip of wine can give me a headache or two glasses of wine can put me in bed for a whole day.

   Over time, regular drinking has just proven itself to not be worth it and I also know that I weather the festive season with far greater ease if I’m not also navigating hangovers, dodgy tummies and beer fear.

   With that said, there’s always space for a crisp, chilled glass of pink champagne and a cocktail but much like paying attention to how food makes me feel, I do the same with booze and the second it feels funky, I stop.

The strange thing about all of these changes is they don’t feel like big leaps. I think I used to approach Christmas thinking I should have a mince pie because I don’t get them at any other time of year or that I should eat a cheese board because those are few and far between over the preceding 11 months. There was an element of ‘should’ or ‘why not?’ while never connecting with the important stuff like whether I enjoyed it and whether I was hungry. Once I started to pay attention to that, I could not only stop bingeing/over-eating, but I could finally enjoy what Christmas food has to offer.

If you have any helpful hints for how to avoid over-indulging this festive season, please do share in the comments.