Anxiety at Christmas is common, anxiety around food at Christmas is common, so the first thing is to understand you aren’t alone in feeling this. You’re not weird or crazy for having these thoughts and feelings. This is a common human experience.

I once felt the same. I didn’t trust myself around hyper palatable food. When I gave myself permission to eat the genie would be let out the bottle and I would not be able to control myself. I would often eat until I was uncomfortably full, continue eating and binge drinking the next day and the next day. By the time new year came I put on 5 pounds and felt like absolute crap. I’d miserably get on the January detox juices, hammer the cardio and be very hungry with a very poor self image.

The way we consume food at Christmas and then restrict in January echoes the classic binge restrict cycle (see image), how crazy then, that the collective culture echoes an eating disorder in the holiday season. This isn’t a healthy way to approach food. Can we agree on that?

The first tenet of shifting behaviour is to recognise, truly recognise, that this behaviour is not serving you.

So what is healthy food behaviour?

This is very individual and depends upon your goals. A physique competitor for instance will have a very different approach than someone recovering from an eating disorder, but there are a few broad strokes that can be applied to most of us. Here’s a list of a few of these ideas that may really help you to switch your mindset around food at Christmas.

1. Don’t diet unless you have to, bring yourself to maintenance calories if you have been dieting (lots of calorie counters can do that and of course I do that for my clients).
   

2. Eat a high protein diet, aim for around 20g of lean protein with each main meal. Protein is highly satiating and will keep you feeling full and less likely to binge.
   

3. If you do have a tendency to binge on sweet foods don’t buy boxes of chocolates, have a few choice treats in the house and make a ritual of slowing down and enjoying them, instead of mindlessly eating in front of the TV.
   

4. Understand that Christmas Day is just a nice meal with loved ones, treat it as you would any special meal at any other time of the year.
   

5. If you have been tracking then continue tracking over Christmas but with more flexibility, track loosely, and definitely not at the Christmas table. I suggest this because suddenly coming out of structure can be very stressful for people especially when they have anxiety anyway, but equally if you feel confident, give yourself permission not to track for a day.
   

6. Put your fork down between bites.
   

7. Focus on the social connection: talk about the food, experience the textures in your mouth, experience the pleasure of food in relation to the people around you, enjoy conversation.
   

8. Before eating, stop and take a few deep breaths, consciously tell yourself to relax. Notice how hungry you are on a scale of 1-10, keep checking in throughout the meal and stop when you are full.
   

9. If you have mindful practices such as meditation, journaling or yoga then keep them up. Walking can be a wonderful mindful practice if you don’t have one yet. Just slow down and find a way to be present with yourself. Families can be stressful, Christmas can bring up trauma, keeping up practices that support you in a deeper way is important.
   

10. If your family or friends have a tendency to comment on your food behaviour kindly ask them not to, it’s ok to set a boundary. You don’t have to make them wrong, just state what you would like and own your feeling about it:
    
    ”I know you’re trying to be helpful but I would really like it if we didn’t talk about my food behaviour because I feel quite anxious having that conversation.”
    
    Appeal to their better angels. Most people do want to help and are trying to show love by feeding you. If they don’t cease after you have given a boundary put up a stronger one. You are worthy of your own protection.
    

11. Understand that food is not going out of fashion. You can eat hyper palatable foods at any time of year, you can eat it for breakfast if you want, it isn’t going anywhere. You have the power to choose. You don’t suddenly have to eat all the foods known to man simply because it is Christmas.
    

12. Eat your greens, hydrate and keep moving. Good habits are there to support you and don’t stop for the holidays.

If you are really struggling, you can contact me for a Power Hour, where we will can come up with some personalised strategies to help you navigate the Christmas period.
I’ll be taking on clients again mid January. Please direct message for more.

Going on holiday for Christmas and need guidance for maintaining your physique? Read Don’t Be Afraid of Food on Holiday