Don’t. Yep, don’t. Telling yourself you’re on a diet will just set you up for failure binges and you’ll actually eat more than if you threw dieting out the window for a month. No “diets”. Just be smart.
If you’re counting calories regularly or you know you’re about to be in an environment where you simply must try everything, then skip another meal or two that day or the next one and don’t count, guilt, or calculate. Just trust that it’s close enough.
If you do a particular diet like low-carb, intermittent fasting, or gluten-free as part of your daily lifestyle, stick to it as much as you can during holidays and remember the general rule of 90%/10%. If you stick with your diet 90% of the time in a week, the other 10% won’t really matter. To make it even simpler, 2.5 meals a week can be anything you want, so plan those when you know you’ll have a more difficult time adhering to your usual eating habits.
And my Number 1 Holiday Diet Rule is: GRATITUDE. Don’t punish yourself over food or with food. The meals and treats we share this time of year are meant to enhance our good times with loved ones and friends. Slow down and savor every bite for the gift that it is, enjoy the ritual of a shared meal, drink, or potluck and concentrate on making memories that will long outlive any extra weight you may gain.
Cheers,
Bill & Billy Jr.
