Be prepared
Start your meal with protein first, then have a small portion of “what you desire”- Pie or Potatoes, Stuffing or Appetizers
Start your day off right
Start the day with a protein filled breakfast. Don’t skip meals planning for the big feast.
Gauge your fullness
Pay attention to how full you are getting.
| Light to Comfortable Fullness | Over-fullness |
| Feeling of satisfaction or relief like; Ah I’m not hungry anymore |
Realizing you didn’t need those last few bites |
| Peacefulness | Very full feeling; discomfort or pain in the stomach; feeling stuffed |
| No more stomach pang or twinges | Need to loosen clothing |
| Feeling like you don’t need any more food | Fatigue or sleepiness |
| Food starts to taste less good | Food is substantially less tasty |
Eat slowly
Engage in conversation with friends and family. Put the fork down.
Avoid clean plate syndrome
Stop when you’re comfortable. Remember to leave something on the plate.
Move
Play with the kids or go for a walk after dinner
Wait 30 minutes before having second helpings
Usually there are plenty of leftovers. You can always plan on having what you missed the day after the holiday but if you want to indulge … give it 30 minutes to allow your stomach to tell your brain “you’re full”
Don’t feel guilty
Holidays come around once a year. Enjoy! The only one that suffers if you overeat is you. Move on and go back to basics at the very next meal.