How To Avoid Overeating During The Holidays

Welcome back to another episode of the Diabetes Digital Podcast.

The holiday season is here.

Welcome to the Diabetes Digital Podcast.

I’m Wendy.

And I’m Jess, and we’re best friends, registered dietitians and diabetes educators.

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Now let’s get into today’s episode.

Jess, what are your plans for the holidays?

Oh, that’s a good question.

We have not made plans yet.

Last year we hosted but that was way too much work.

0:49

So.

This year, probably go to my sister’s house.

Usually one of us hosts.

Yeah.

So it’s always nice to be around family and have some of those favorite meals.

My family, my sister in particular, makes a really good sweet potato pie.

1:05

I started a viral sweet potato, a purple sweet potato pie recipe that is on our Instagram page on Food Heaven if you want to check that out.

It’s like our most popular recipe ever.

So I’ll probably make one of those.

And yeah, just enjoy all the eating and Mariah Carey’s playlist.

1:25

Oh my God yes, I love Mariah Carey holiday music.

Yeah, it’s like the best.

Are you guys still gonna be in Mexico or what are you guys gonna be doing?

No, we’re gonna be in Dominican Republic, so we’re planning on spend the holidays with my family and my husband’s family is gonna be flying over actually to Dr. Oh my God, the parents are meeting.

1:50

Yeah, they’re gonna meet and so usually for Christmas Eve and Dr. we have big family dinners and we make like traditional Dominican foods and cultural is like a big like a big root vegetable Stew.

2:08

So yeah, probably going to be a lot of eating during that time.

And then for New Year’s, we’re probably going to go to like an all inclusive so we don’t have to worry about food, which is nice fun.

Yeah.

We don’t have to cook or anything, so just trying to relax.

So yeah, I’m really looking forward to it.

2:25

But today we’re going to be talking about overeating during the holidays because I mean, that’s something that I am guilty of every holiday season.

And I know a lot of people are because there’s just so much good food around and it’s very easy to go overboard and get super excited.

2:43

And the next thing you know, you’re feeling super uncomfortable.

So we want to talk about ways to eat mindfully during the holidays.

We’re going to go over helpful strategies that won’t leave you feeling uncomfortably full.

And also just like mindful eating techniques that you can practice throughout the holiday season, how to balance indulgence with moderation, tips for navigating holiday gatherings, because that can be really stressful too, just like with the family dynamics and, you know, everyone having an opinion or a comment about you and what you’re doing with your lives.

3:16

So just some things that might be helpful during the season for that as well.

Just why do you think people tend to overeat during the holidays?

Yeah, that’s a great question.

And I also just want to add to that, the holidays can feel especially stressful for people with diabetes or even pre diabetes, because I think there is such an abundance of sweets and these comfort foods and they tend to be like more carb heavy.

3:44

And so I think that that can stress people out, especially if you’re someone who’s newly diagnosed and you’re not sure how to navigate the holidays.

And I do agree with you that most people, and I used to be like this too.

I will say that I, I’m one of those like people who literally does not overeat during the holidays at all because I do follow the same things that I follow like the rest of the year in terms of like just my approach to eating.

4:09

And we’ll talk about that.

But I will say, yeah, that people, there’s so many different foods, they get overwhelmed and we have a lot of our favorite carbs and comfort foods.

So it’s a way to really indulge.

And especially if you’re feeling like you’re restricting your food through the rest of the week or the year, I can see how holidays can make it feel like, OK, well, this is a holiday, so I’m going to go overboard and stuff myself.

4:35

So that’s one thing.

I also think that there’s just a lot of cultural and societal pressure.

And I’ll just speak for myself.

Like my husband is first generation, his parents are from Eritrea.

And I do think with a lot of people from different cultures, there is like this idea that food is love in a way.

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And so whenever I go to my in laws, and I mean, it’s amazing because I love Eritrean food and eat the open food is my favorite type of food, but it’s the same time, like I feel I ate so much.

Like I’m uncomfortable, you know?

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And they’re like, you didn’t eat anything.

And I’m like, it’s just the yeah.

So I just feel like there’s a lot of pressures because it can be seen as like if you don’t eat certain things or a certain amount, it’s like disrespectful in a way.

Also there’s the social pressure, right?

5:31

It’s like holidays are centered around food.

And sometimes you may not really be hungry, but it’s like, you see other people, well, we’re getting seconds, we’re getting thirds.

It’s kind of hard to say no to when food is part of that celebration and refusing to eat food can be in play.

5:48

And then of course, there is emotional eating too, because the holidays aren’t necessarily a good time for a lot of people.

Like, there’s so many people who have lost someone or maybe you’re going through a breakup during the holidays.

Or maybe it’s just like being around family can create some more stress, more anxiety.

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And a lot of people find that food is one of their coping mechanisms, like for anxiety or even loneliness, nostalgia, sometimes even joy.

So while we’re not saying emotional eating is a bad thing, and, you know, it’s normal for the holidays to bring up more emotional eating for you, if you are somebody who is managing your blood glucose levels and you’re finding that it’s really hard to stay in range during the holidays, then you might want to implement some of the tips and tricks that we’re going to talk about.

6:39

But yeah, we don’t think that eating emotionally is a bad thing.

But it’s like, if that is your only coping mechanism, that’s where we might say, OK, let’s incorporate some more tools.

Yeah, those are such good points, especially with the emotional eating.

And also, I think just like the timing of the holidays can get really weird because it disrupts like how we typically eat where you might find yourself skipping meals because you know, you’re going to have like a larger meal later on or you’re like grazing throughout the day, which is something that I have definitely done where I’m like, oh, let me just have a little bit here, a little bit there so that I have enough room for that holiday meal.

7:19

And so when you do those things, it makes it hard to identify like, am I hungry?

Am I full?

Like I’m not really sure what’s going on.

And then there is the holiday mindset that you have mentioned earlier where it’s like, well, you know, it’s the holidays.

It’s like the all or nothing mentality where you’re like, whatever.

7:37

Like it’s the end of the year.

There’s a reset right around the corner.

Yeah, in January.

And that’s something that I see a lot of people doing as well, which listen, no shade.

Like there’s absolutely I, I get that rationale because also like the holidays is only a few months out of the year.

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So it’s not like a huge deal, but that is something that you know, would would be good to just speak into awareness like, OK, do I find myself doing this every single year And then I don’t feel so good after the fact.

And then I will also mention alcohol because if you are an alcohol drinker, you know, obviously during the holidays, a lot of families have a lot of alcohol around and that can lower inhibitions.

8:22

Yeah, it can make you hungrier too, or like you’re not really paying attention to mindful eating because you’re just having a good time.

So that can make it also easy to overeat if if you’re under the influence of alcohol. 100% yeah, those are all really great points.

8:41

And again, not trying to demonize like overeating, I also too want to no something somebody said years ago, which like parts of it I like, but parts of it I don’t.

But just see this idea of like holidays being like months of kind of eating past the point of fullness versus like a meal or two.

9:00

I also think that’s a difference, right?

It’s like, OK, this is Thanksgiving dinner.

I’m going overboard like for this meal.

But then I think for some people it turns into like, well, screw it for like 2 months, I’m going to like eat and make myself feel sick and, and, and eat because it’s there.

9:17

And I think that’s kind of where we, we might wanna, you know, use some tools and incorporate some mindfulness into our holiday routine because yeah, it’s, it’s not sometimes it’s not just like that one meal.

9:32

It’s like the parties and the this and the Co.

Workers.

It’s like the whole.

Season.

It’s the whole season, yeah.

And then I feel like it just makes people feel like really, I don’t know, like Wendy said, it’s like the all or nothing thing.

And then you get to the new year and then it’s like, OK, now it’s nothing.

And so I think if we incorporate just more balance in general and just use the tools that we use every day, it will make things just so much smoother.

9:58

I think because I will speak from personal experience too.

I used to be the person who was like, I’m sick, but that was also like my baseline.

Has that been the case for you, Wendy, where it’s like growing up, I feel because I, and I’m maybe you too.

I think so because I’ve, your parents have said to me like eat more like it’s very much like finish your plate type of culture.

10:19

And so for me, I always ate to the point of feeling sick, thinking that was like normal eating.

And it wasn’t until, like, I started really learning more about like, nutrition and mindfulness and like, and due to eating that I’m like, oh, like, this is being stuffed.

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And like, if you feel sick and just uncomfortable in your body, like that’s like you’ve eaten too much.

And that wasn’t something that was like, I grew up with.

What How was your experience with that?

Same.

Yeah, it’s definitely something that I’ve had to put into practice, even when eating out or going to any gathering really.

10:54

And I’m like, Oh my God, I get overwhelmed.

Like there’s so many good food options.

And yeah, I mean, at this point in life, I know my body enough to know that like, yeah, it’s just like, am I enjoying feeling this way?

I feel like it.

It just takes away from the whole experience.

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And it’s a lot more fulfilling for me to just have, you know, the, the right portion that that leaves me feeling like, satisfied and happy and maybe even wanting a little bit more than going overboard and then being like, Oh my God, I can’t eat until like, you know, not even breakfast the following day, but probably like lunch or dinner because I’m so uncomfortable.

11:35

And it carries on the following day.

So yeah.

Yeah, it just doesn’t feel good.

Yeah.

And of course, it can have impacts on blood glucose, which if you’re someone who is on insulin, like, you can, you know, take your meds and you can cover that.

11:52

But at the same time, yeah, it’s just like, overall, like, so let’s talk about strategies.

One of my favorites is just mindfulness.

And I know everybody talks about this and it’s like yadda, yadda, yadda, mindfulness.

Like we’re over it in some ways.

12:08

But like, honestly, it’s works and by mindfulness, it can be something as simple as just like not being on the phone while you’re eating.

We did a whole presentation on mindfulness because even we were like, what else can we say?

And, and so in doing that presentation, we did a lot of research and there was so many studies that showed how mindfulness was like not only just beneficial for like your mental health, like in the context of eating, but also physical health as well, digestion.

12:40

There is real evidence to show that like when you put the phone down and you’re actually chewing your food, and especially if you’re someone who deals with like a lot of GI issues after meals, like being mindful can really truly help.

So some things I like to think about is like just maybe taking smaller bites, like we all have been there where you’re just kind of inhaling the food, eating it really quickly.

13:01

You’re not fully chewing, you’re not pausing between bites, even if you started there, right?

And just like made the meal last a little bit longer, that can really help.

And also being aware of what you’re eating, it’s going to make you less likely to overeat.

13:18

I’ve seen studies on this as well.

When people are kind of paying more attention, spending more time on the meal, they don’t eat past the point of fullness as much.

I also want to add in there that whole thing about like when you’re not really sure, waiting 10 minutes, it really works.

13:37

And I’ve been like reincorporating that like in the last few months, especially when I go out to eat because that’s where I feel like you’re more likely to overeat.

It’s like, OK, I don’t know at this minute, like, yeah, sure.

Could I get seconds?

Absolutely.

But sometimes it takes your stomach a little bit of time, like 10/15/20 minutes to signal to your brain or like vice versa that you are actually full.

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And so just waiting can work wonders.

And then you’re like, oh, thank God because now I still have room for dessert.

So that’s number one.

And I already mentioned like minimizing distractions, TV’s, turning the TV’s off if you can.

If you still need some kind of distraction, maybe try listening to a podcast and see if that still helps you stay in touch with what you’re eating.

14:22

Or just like use it as a time, if you do live with other people to just have a conversation, check in because again, that not only makes the meal more enjoyable, it helps with digestion, all those things.

There’s so many different tools, but I think just starting here, if you’re not someone who does this and and checking in with like how you’re feeling can be really helpful.

14:42

One other thing that I like to do because I can be a little scientific is like thinking about my stomach in terms of a number of fullness.

So for example, especially when I’m out to eat, and I mentioned this on the podcast before, but I’ll say I’ll think like, OK, I want dessert.

14:59

I know that for me going, if there’s like 100% and that’s like being way over full overstuffed.

Like for me, 70 to 80 feels great.

Like 80 feels like, OK, this is going to last me.

But like throughout the meal I tried to think, where am I?

OK, I’m at 65 and I’ll try, I’ll be like I’m at 66.7 and then I’ll like think what else do I want?

15:20

Like if I know I want dessert, I know I want this drink or whatever, then maybe I need to stop at 70.

So I have that 10% for that.

So if you kind of like make it a game, I find that really helpful too.

Yeah, that’s a great strategy.

And I don’t recommend skipping meals.

I mean, I believe you’ve already touched on this, but when you start skipping meals in anticipation for that main meal, I think you’re just going to set yourself up for a disaster because you’re going to be so uncomfortable later on.

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You’re going to be starving.

And also like when you approach meals from a place of starvation, you’re just, they’re just not as enjoyable because at that point, like your stomach’s cramping up, you’re just like scarfing food down.

So if you don’t want to have like full meals during the day, I would say have something lighter.

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Like maybe instead of having a heavier breakfast, go with like fruit and nuts or like a yogurt parfait or something like that, or have like a protein salad for lunch.

Just something so that by the time dinner time comes around, it’s not like you’ve gone hours and hours without eating any food.

16:27

And what I will also say is that with these buffet style holiday gatherings, which is a lot of holiday gatherings go for what you enjoy because I find that a lot of people, they just take a little bit of everything, even stuff that they don’t typically enjoy because they’re like, well, it’s there and I want to taste it or I don’t want it to go to waste.

16:48

Like I should, you know, have a little bit of everything, even foods that typically like you don’t really like, you know, and this actually happened to me the other day.

I was at a house warming and they were serving chocolate chip cookies, which I’ll be honest, like I’m not super into sweets, but I, I’m not like crazy about chocolate chip cookies, but I was like, yeah, whatever, let me just have one because they’re offering it to me.

17:12

And I mean, cherry on top is that the cookie was super dry.

And I was like, I took one bite and I was like, I’m not eating this cookie.

That’s funny.

And I’m like, I should have never picked up this damn cookie.

So keep that in mind.

Like if you’re like, oh, you know what, like brownies aren’t really my thing.

17:28

Like I’m going to go for this dessert instead.

Just like go for like a few things.

I remember that you can always take food home.

Like bring your Tupperware, ask for, you know, like a paper plate so you can pack some food up and then you have food for the week.

17:44

You know, just always remember that it’s, it’s actually nice because you don’t have to cook during the holiday season if you’re just taking a bunch of stuff home to last you a few days.

So that’s something that I do as well.

Also, if you’re someone who does like a lot of foods, like I feel I’m like that, you can still do a sample platter of everything.

18:06

You don’t have to have a full portion of every single thing if that’s going to make you feel sick.

So I do love desserts and I typically will try all of them, but it doesn’t have to be a big portion.

You can still get a sense of it.

Like especially something rich like cheesecake or you know, brownies, you don’t eat a lot.

18:23

So that’s one thing.

Just do your sample platter and then whenever I eat and I’m feeling like, oh gosh, like a little bit indigestion, I always try to take a walk after because it just helps get things moving.

18:39

It’s also amazing for blood sugar regulation.

So use that as a tool too.

Like maybe don’t, I know we get into that food coma mode, but just do like a quick 10-15 minute walk around the block and I, I can almost guarantee like that’s going to make you feel better than if you didn’t do it.

18:56

Yeah, and stay hydrated, especially if you have pre diabetes, diabetes because dehydration can increase your blood glucose.

Try to drink water throughout the day.

When we’re dehydrated, we tend to also mistake thirst for hunger.

So, you know, find way is whether it’s like seltzer or tea or, you know, whatever favorite ways you enjoy staying hydrated, make sure that you do that.

19:19

And remember that no food is good or bad.

If you do overeat, it’s only a few days out of the year, unless of course, you make the holiday time into the whole season.

It’s lasting like 3 months.

Yeah, it’s just a few meals during the year.

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It’s really not a big deal that negative self talk is not really helpful.

And at the end of the day, the holidays are time to enjoy food, to be around people that you love, to remove guilt from, you know, like dining experiences.

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So yeah, if you do overeat, it’s that one meal is not going to define who you are or your health.

And what matters is that you’re spending time with the people that you love and like, you’re eating good food.

So with that being said, happy holidays.

We hope you enjoyed this episode.

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We hope you eat.

A good meal and turn on that Mariah Carey, yes.

OK, sorry Mariah Carey is my karaoke.

She’s my karaoke queen.

20:25

So I always will sing her songs and butcher them.

Yes everyone thank you so much.

And also send us some pictures on Instagram DMS.

What are you enjoying for the holidays?

What is your holiday vibe?

What’s the decor?

We’re at Diabetes Digital, we’d love to see it, and until then, we’ll catch you next time.

20:41

Bye.

Thanks for joining us for today’s episode.

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21:04

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We’ll catch you later.

Bye.