Ah, Thanksgiving…a day of togetherness and celebration, a day earmarked for expressing gratitude for our many blessings. Nowadays, this holiday has become synonymous with pigging out— a foodie free-for-all, which can make you gain weight, devastate  your moods, and plunge you into self-remorse. Indeed, we’re now smack in The Season of Sugar Overload, as I dub it. Fortunately for your health, it doesn’t have to be that way. Read on to discover 3 Easy Mindset Shifts To Stop Holiday Overeating.

1. Grow Bigger Eyes

You probably know the expression, “My eyes were bigger than my stomach?” This holiday is the perfect time for you to look at this old adage in a new, less literal way. Instead of using the maxim to explain away the mound of food on your plate, see this as a goal: You want to Grow Bigger Eyes to see a grander, better vision for yourself. In that split-second moment that you decide how much to serve yourself at a family-style meal or buffet or as you start to say “No more, please” to your host, envision how you’d like to look and feel next week, next month, next year.

2. Focus on The Food

It’s easy to get distracted when you’re surrounded by chatter, laughter, and plates of food being passed in front of you. In fact, studies on eating behavior show that the more chaotic an environment, the more food a person tends to eat. Instead of allowing yourself to get waylaid by what’s happening around you, make sure to take some time to focus on the food in front of you. Look at it. Smell it. Taste it. Chew it. Swallow it. Put your fork for down. Chat with your dinner partners. Then turn your attention to your food again, treating it with the respect such a special meal deserves.

3. Think abundantly.

Thanksgiving is a holiday of abundance. It’s a time when we give thanks for all the good in our lives—including the good food in front of us. But many of us approach the holiday meal with a mindset of scarcity. Your thinking—often subconscious—may go something like this: “Because Thanksgiving dinner comes only once a year, after today, it will be gone. Therefore I need to eat as much of these holiday foods as possible while I have the chance!” Not abundant thinking, is it? Instead, eat until right before you’re comfortably sated. Then tell yourself that you have more than enough of these yummy dishes to enjoy tomorrow. Your waistline will thank you.

Photo by Lesley Weidenbener

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