Eating Mindfully For Thanksgiving

With Thanksgiving around the corner, I wanted to share some actionable tips to support you in not overeating on Thanksgiving while still enjoying the Holiday. I’m going to line up a few ideas, shout out to my friend Arozo Shahabzada for organizing these insights.

Tip #1 - Don’t linger by the snack table. It’s so easy to mindlessly keep having one bite at a time when you’re hovering over the food. If you want to eat, make yourself a plate and then move away from the table.

Tip #2 - Drink 8 ounces of water before you get started. By getting something in your stomach first, you’ll find that you have less of a craving to keep eating.

Tip #3 - Keep your eating schedule regular and have breakfast. Many people skip the first meal to “make room” for a bigger meal later in the day. Doing that can cause more harm than good and may leave you prone to overindulging.

Tip #4 - Give yourself 8 minutes before going back for seconds. Instead of instantly reloading your plate with more good stuff, let it settle for a few minutes. This gives your body time to catch up and update your perceived hunger level.  Even if you do choose to get seconds, what you put on your plate, and the amount of it, will be radically different than if you didn’t take a pause.

And Tip #5 - Decide your dessert in advance. There are often a lot of different sweets to sample, when you set an intention for how much dessert you ideally want o enjoy, it’ll keep you from stuffing yourself full. Especially when it comes to rich foods like dessert, it’s important to practice moderation.

This information is great but it’s using it that what will actually help you be proud of the choices you make on Thanksgiving. So pick one or two of these tips and really commit to practicing them, helping you to eat more mindfully.

And if you're reading this not around the Holiday... Then these are good practices for any setting where you might be tempted to mindlessly overeat.