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​​How do I stop bingeing over Christmas?

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The Brain and Food Connection Around the Festive Season

As an Aussie one of the best Christmas’s I’ve ever experienced was in Ireland. Nothing beats a cold Christmas especially with the touristy hope of snow! I remember walking through Dublin stores just mesmerised by how excited the Irish got into Christmas. They had a Christmas radio and everyone counted to the days till Christmas morning, young and old.
 
I’d never seen so much joy and cheer on everyone’s faces, it was really was hard to imagine that anyone couldn’t possibly be unhappy during Christmas time cause the energy in the air was infectious.
 
I think what makes Christmas so special is bringing families and friends together and eating a meal that everyone has been waiting for all year long to have. Even if the food was burnt, you’d eat it anyway because it just felt good to be enamoured in everyone’s festive spirit!
 
Perhaps you have happy memories of Christmas time and often for most people, it’s associated with comfort food am I right? Those feeling of happiness and sugar-laden food creates a strong anchor, it’s why we reach for those comfort foods when we’re feeling sad to help bring us back to a happy place.
 
So here’s the thing though, regardless if you’re spending Christmas in Ireland or Australia, this time of year can also be a time of indulgence and also a source of fear and angst about putting on some extra kilos. What I’m going to share with you isn’t exclusive to Christmas, we struggle with this all year long and usually, this is powered by the overwhelming force of stress.

How Stress Affects How We Eat

I’ve seen my clients go either two ways, it’s either an “all or nothing” attitude, so they completely deprive themselves of the joy of eating or go hell for leather and eat the house out. Both extremes put stress on your body and are detrimental to your hormone health. So if Christmas is the season of giving, how about giving yourself some grace and compassion and instead of being an “all or nothing” kinda gal, be an “all and something” kinda gal.

A Shift in Attitude Towards Food Can Help Reduce The Impact of Binge Eating

So what does that mean? An “all and nothing” kinda gal will either swing from one extreme to the other. It’s either I don’t eat any carbs throughout Christmas or I’m gorging on everything in sight. The issue with this way of thinking is that it leaves you feeling with no sense of self-control and only leads to developing a negative relationship with food. Both scenarios don’t do any justice to our blood sugar levels or hormone health.
 
Instead, be an “all and something” kinda gal who’ll choose to enjoy that piece of cake or two, have a few extra glasses of wine and a second helping at the table with no regret or fear. She knows she’ll make sure she’ll crowd out her plate with nutrient-dense food first then fill up on the fun stuff last. She’ll do something kind to her body by drinking a glass of water between alcoholic drinks and taking her supplements before bed to help her recovery faster the next day, whilst waking up remembering all the great day she had the day before.
 
So I challenge you this Christmas, to be an “all and something” kinda gal.

Products to Help You Survive the Festive Season

To help you enjoy Christmas and recover, check out the Festive Season Survival Kit which includes:

GO Acai Pomegranate: These amazing sachets not only give you a super-boost of clean energy, it also supports normal alertness, focus and cognitive function, so you can achieve all you set out to do. Perfect to give your day a bit of a kick-start!

Liver Health: Give your liver’s natural ability to regenerate itself an extra boost. How cool is that? Liver Health combines the goodness of milk thistle, vitamins and plant antioxidants to help maintain healthy liver function and support the natural detoxification process of the liver.

Repairing Hair Mask: Save even the most frazzled of frizzed out hair! This deep moisturising mask with its opulent blend of natural crambe seed oil, hydrolyzed plant proteins, and rich murumuru butter is an emergency repair treatment to deliver penetrating moisture. Use it whenever your hair suffers from overstyling, exposure, or just needs some TLC. (we’re talking to you hair straighteners)

Activate: It’s that time of year where we maybe indulge a bit more than usual, Activate is here to help! This monthly 3-day detox ignites your digestive energy, naturally cleanses, and helps eliminate waste.

CellProof Eye Cream: Tis’ the season for late nights and your eyes might start looking a bit darker and puffy. Our Cellproof Eye Cream helps even your skin tone with green tea to visibly lift and firm the skin under your eyes.

Carb Reducer: It’s the holidays, carbs don’t count right? Wrong. That’s why we have Carb Reducer. It helps reduce the conversion of starchy foods into sugars in your system – delaying digestion and the absorption of carbs.

Balance Drops: Cravings, snacking, overindulging? Enter Balance Drops. This little goodie is formulated to help reduce snacking between meals and reduce cravings for those carb-rich foods that seem to tempt us a bit more in the holiday season.

 
With a saving of $35.60, free silk eye mask and up to 15% off when you checkout using Smartship, you want to grab yourself a Festive Season Survival Kit whilst stock lasts.

5 Tips to Adopt Into The New Year

  1. Avoid rocking up to an event hungry or skipping meals, you’re blood sugar levels will be low and other than it makes for a cranky party-pooper you’ll wear down your willpower too early in the day. I find making a snack that’s high in protein such as a smoothie with pea protein or trail nut mix can curb the edge a little.
  2. Chew your food properly, I’m talking about chewing each mouthful at least 20 x times. Most times we rush when we eat, how you eat is just as important as what you eat.
  3. Enjoy your food! Chewing our food more helps but being mindful about what we are eating and noticing things the textures, the complexity or simplicity of flavours, the smell all plays a part in not only digestion but just the sheer enjoyment!
  4. Use the crowding out method as a natural way to portion control. What this means is filling up your plate with the nutrient-dense food that you know is going to fuel and support your body and leaving less room for the fun foods. That way it’s not saying no or limiting your intake of the fun stuff because your body will be already deep satisfied with the good stuff.
  5. It’s hard to talk and eat at the same time! So focus on quality time spend with your friends and family and allow food to be the companion and not the main event.

If you have any great tips and suggestions, I’d love to hear them in the comments box below.

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