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This holiday weight loss guide will help keep your weight in control. Use food psychology to stop weight gain over the holiday season, naturally and easily.
Food psychology research shows that there are ways to avoid seasonal weight gain – and even lose weight over the holidays! This “holiday weight loss guide” will help you start the new year feeling and looking great.
Be Aware of Emotional Eating
If you know all the diet tips and guidelines – and yet you still overeat – then you need to figure out your reasons for overeating. For instance, do you eat more at holiday parties because you’re anxious? Do you succumb to seasonal weight gain because you’re depressed? The sooner you become aware of your emotional or psychological reasons for overeating, the quicker you’ll stop gaining and start losing weight.
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Use Psychology to Overcome Food Cravings
If you find yourself craving sugar or carbohydrates over the holiday season, find ways to channel your energy without eating. For example, you could organize social activities that take you away from the table. If you frequently succumb to food cravings, do things that take your mind off eating. Learn what it means to be a mindful eater – because mindless eating leads to uncontrollable weight gain.
Learn How Food Psychology Works
Dr. Brian Wansink is a food psychologist and author of “Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think” (Bantam, 2006). His research shows that holiday weight gain can be stopped not by dieting, but by doing things such as eating off smaller plates (because small plates make food look bigger) and eating two vegetables with every meal (because the more variety you have, the more you’ll eat). Holiday weight loss help involves being strategic about how you eat and where you eat – not just what you eat.
Talk to a Psychologist, Dietitian, or Naturopathic Doctor
Some food cravings and weight loss issues are beyond our control, such as when we have health conditions that cause weight gain. If you think “armchair” food psychology won’t help with weight loss, then talk to a professional. If your sugar or food cravings are due to an unhealthy lifestyle or lack of information, talk to a dietitian or naturopathic doctor. And if you’re struggling with an eating disorder or mindless emotional eating, contact a psychologist or counselor.
For instance, psychological acupuncture has been shown to reduce food cravings for up to six months in people who are overweight or obese. Psychological acupuncture combines gentle tapping on pressure points while focusing on particular emotions and thoughts. Since food cravings play a big role in food consumption and weight gain, then overcoming cravings can help with weight loss.
Related Reading on Food Psychology (Holiday Weight Loss)
For holiday weight loss help that goes beyond the holiday season, learn more about how food psychology affects your food cravings, weight gain, and weight loss efforts.