Are you someone who believes that the festive season is your opportunity to overindulge and overeat consequence?
Many busy women see overeating as inevitable during the holiday season and say things like: “Losing weight is on hold until I get back from holidays,” or “I know I’ll probably gain a few kilos during the holidays”.
If you throw caution to the wind every Christmas and spend the first three months of the following year trying to get back on track you may want to reconsider your approach.
Our Thoughts Drive our Actions
What you believe causes you to have certain thoughts, and therefore, to act a certain way. So, if you believe that overeating is inevitable and gaining weight is unavoidable during the holiday season than that is the result you will see and by acting on this belief.
In this article I am not going to tell you what to eat and how to plan but rather how to use Empowering Questions to a put you in the driver’s seat of your life.
When you ask better questions, you get better answers and see better results in your life.
This holiday season, change your thinking. You’ve got this.
Change Your Mindset
People are capable of changing their mindset by changing their thinking and limiting beliefs.
And the best place to start is by making some intentional decisions ahead of time.
This puts you in control rather than reacting to, all the unexpected things and events that happen when you are exposed to tempting foods during your holidays.
Begin With Self-Awareness
Did you know that we have an incredible capacity to reflect on our own self –our thoughts, emotions and habits.
It’s exactly this self-awareness that gives us the ability to adapt to our environment so effectively.
One of the most useful tools we have while reflecting is the power to ask ourselves questions.
WHY Ask Yourself Empowering Questions
It may seem that we already know the answers to our own questions – so what is the point in asking them?
The majority of our thinking happens unconsciously. But by asking questions we bring our internal thought processes into the spotlight.
The truth is that questions give you the POWER to use your capability, skills and knowledge to make intentional decisions and also
- Take you out of the role of victim and put you in the driver’s seat of your life.
- Motivates you and gives you the ability to look for more than one way to achieve a task or a goal.
Empowering Questions to help you enjoy the holiday cheer and feel light & energised all of next year.
Part #1 – How You Want To Feel
Let’s kick off with identifying How you want to feel.
You want to identify this feeling for the holidays and post the holidays.
Ask yourself these questions and reflect on your answers:
1A. How do you want to feel during your holidays?
- You may want to feel in control, energized, calm and rested during your holidays
1B. How do you want to feel after your holidays?
- You may want to feel proud that you ate healthy during the holidays and you can make a great start to 2021
Part #2 – How Will You Eat?
2A. If feeling this way is your goal how will you eat?
- You may choose to eat in a way that contributes to you feeling light and energized.
- For example, “I am eating to fuel my body and mind so that I have the energy to enjoy all holiday activities with my family “
Or
- You may want to avoid mindless eating and feel bloated and weighed down…
2B. What choices do you want to make with food so that you can feel the way you want to feel?
- You may want to include the things you absolutely DO want to indulge in.
2C. Are there any policies you want to set in advance?
- For example – like no mindless chip eating or a two drink maximum?
Part #3 – Commit To Your Plan
This part is very important, this is your action plan to help you turn your intentions into actions.
Ask yourself these questions and reflect on your answers:
- What will help you stay committed to your plan?
- What will help you stay in touch with your plan to support your holidays with a healthy way of eating?
For example:
- You may choose to take a daily walk
- Or set a reminder on your phone to drink more water
- Or buy fresh fruit to consume daily
- Or journal daily reminding yourself why this is important to you
Part #4 – Consistent Healthy Eating
Wouldn’t it be great to turn this way of eating into a consistent healthy eating habit?
Ask yourself these questions and reflect on your answers:
- What can you do to extend your healthy eating from holidays into the first week of being back at home or at work?
- How can you bring this way of eating into your daily life?
Once you have reflected , its time to create a plan to make this happen.
Here are a few things to consider:
- What went well with your eating?
- What could you do differently?
- What are the lessons?
- How can you use these lessons to improve going forward?
The Food and Mood Connection
Eating healthy during the festive season has more than one advantage.
Let me spill the beans here – your food choices influence your mood, mental alertness, memory, and emotional wellbeing.
If you consider the days you are in a good mood, chances are that you ate a healthy combination of macro- nutrients that suit your body type.
Then consider the days you may have indulged in something sugary and had a blood sugar crash and felt agitated and craving more sugar.
Remember to go back and relate this to how you ultimately want to feel…
Eating is an everyday thing. It’s sensual and should be savoured. With thought, it can be delicious.
And lastly…. I believe that life’s too short to feel like we need to take a holiday from the way we eat.
You can change that – and you don’t have to wait till you get back from holidays to get started.
Today is not just another day , it’s a new opportunity, another chance and a new beginning.
Now I have a question for you:
· What’s your biggest challenge with healthy eating over the Holidays?
I would love to hear your feedback, thoughts and any questions you have on this post.
Please write a comment below.
Do you want to eat well consistently?
