{"id":1336,"date":"2017-12-06T06:13:16","date_gmt":"2017-12-06T14:13:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vitaliahealthcare.ca\/blog\/?p=1336"},"modified":"2020-03-04T11:48:01","modified_gmt":"2020-03-04T19:48:01","slug":"how-to-eat-what-you-want-and-achieve-balance-this-holiday-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vitaliahealthcare.ca\/blog\/how-to-eat-what-you-want-and-achieve-balance-this-holiday-season\/","title":{"rendered":"How to eat what you want and achieve balance this holiday season"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Natasha
Natasha Asselstine, R.H.N.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Oh the dreaded holiday dinner table\u2026 The juicy meats, the steaming rice, the heaped potatoes, the sugar cookies right next to the darling gingerbread men. Not to mention the mulled wine. The very foods that tempt us to trade in our long-term health goals for immediate satisfaction. And at this time of the year, they come in an army.<\/p>\n

So, what do we do?<\/p>\n

Some people with an admirable amount of discipline are able to maintain balance with ease, taking just enough to satisfy their sweet tooth. But for others, they either abstain from the treats altogether or fully indulge with the promise to \u201cget back on track\u201d in the new year.
\n\"\"
\nBut what if we didn\u2019t have to pick one extreme or the other? What if we could enjoy the feast without experiencing the guilt, grogginess or weight gain? The premise of mindful eating suggests that you can eat whatever you want as long as you\u2019re fully present and concentrating on the food alone. In a culture of multi- tasking and having way too much on our to-do lists, we instead find ourselves eating on the go, in front of a tv or computer, or skipping meals entirely. We eat too fast and therefore eat too much, as it takes about 20 minutes for our brains to learn that we are full. And by eating while distracted, we end up missing the sensory pleasures associated with eating, and will therefore eat more often because we\u2019re never fully satisfied with the experience.<\/p>\n

Instead, try sitting at the dining table for every meal \u2013 away from stresses and distractions. Fully absorb every aspect of the meal so you won\u2019t end up overeating or making poor dietary decisions because you\u2019re eating to a point of genuine satisfaction.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how to practice mindful eating:
\n\"food-christmas\"<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Avoid distractions. Do not eat in front of the tv, computer or while you\u2019re on the phone. It\u2019s best to eat in a quiet environment, and way from others if you can.<\/li>\n
  2. Take smaller portions. Eat whatever you want knowing that you can always have seconds or thirds, if you still want them.<\/li>\n
  3. Use all your senses to become fully present with the food you\u2019re about to enjoy. Look at your food, inhale its aroma, and feel every bite that enters your mouth.<\/li>\n
  4. Chew your food really well.<\/li>\n
  5. Listen to your body\u2019s responses to the food you\u2019ve eaten. Was it too sweet, too salty? Did it leave you feeling good or uncomfortable? Maybe you\u2019re actually satisfied after one serving of pie, or feel heartburn coming on and know that your body needs to take a break from eating. The quicker we learn to associate an unpleasant reaction from a specific food, the easier it will be to avoid it in the future. Plus, you\u2019ll start eating the foods that leave you feeling good \u2013 which are also likely going to be the foods that are supportive of your health goals.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    <\/p>\n

    “To practice mindful eating, simply enjoy every bite of food as if it\u2019s your last.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    <\/center><\/p>\n

    Mindful eating isn\u2019t just something to practice over the holidays. In fact, it may be a simple concept but it often takes quite a few trials (aka weeks) to fully master it. If this is something that resonates with you, I encourage you to practice it from now
    \nand find some ease with it before the holiday festivities begin. Just be prepared to be the last one sitting at the table.<\/p>\n

    \n\"contact<\/a> \"schedule<\/a>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Oh the dreaded holiday dinner table\u2026 The juicy meats, the steaming rice, the heaped potatoes, the sugar cookies right next to the darling gingerbread men. Not to mention the mulled … Continue reading How to eat what you want and achieve balance this holiday season<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":1346,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33,9,31,59,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1336","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-digestive-system","category-food","category-fussy-eating","category-holiday","category-specials"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vitaliahealthcare.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vitaliahealthcare.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vitaliahealthcare.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vitaliahealthcare.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vitaliahealthcare.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1336"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/vitaliahealthcare.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1336\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2210,"href":"https:\/\/vitaliahealthcare.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1336\/revisions\/2210"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vitaliahealthcare.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1346"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vitaliahealthcare.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vitaliahealthcare.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vitaliahealthcare.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}