Feeders and Food Pushers at Christmas
The Weight Loss Saboteurs
Beware the Feeders and Food Pushers at Christmas. Are you one who dreads Christmas because of social functions and Christmas day Lunches & Dinner? All that wonderful food. Lovingly cooked hams, turkeys, beef, chicken. Vegetables of all sorts and salads that would rival any royal banquet. Those enticing desserts and chocolates. The obligatory alcohol.
AARRRGGGHHHHH – stop.
If you struggle with ongoing weight issues or have had weight loss surgery, the dread of Christmas cheer will start early December and continue most likely until New Year’s Eve. You tell yourself next year will be different, I will be prepared but it becomes a cycle repeated year in year out always with the promise of change next time.
Part of breaking this cycle is being aware and mindful of a few things which are particularly prevalent around the festive season.
Watch out for the Feeders. You know the ones. They want you to pile your plate up high with everything in sight and if you don’t do it, they will do it for you. A Mt Everest of food. It’s like a competition to see who can stuff down the most food but there is no prize at the end just a feeling of bloating and nausea with a commitment that you won’t be doing that again.
Feeders come in all shapes and sizes from all ethnicities. They are constantly walking around with plates and tongs dumping morsels onto your plate reassuring you there is more than enough for a second helping.
Then there are the Feeders that guilt you into eating even when you don’t want to or don’t like what is on offer. They have spent all week cooking and preparing for this wonderful day just so you can share in their legendary gourmet offerings. Don’t even think about refusing their food for you will offend them on a scale of epic proportion.
As you are being coerced into stuffing yourself, I want you to be aware and take note of what size the host feeder is and how much they eat themselves. My experience with a lot of observant research shows that generally the host feeder is slim or slim-ish. Other information of note is that rarely will you see these Feeders each much themselves. Their sole purpose is to feed everyone else which becomes merely an exercise in making themselves feel emotionally fulfilled.
To survive these Pushers of Food and not sabotage your weight loss, here are a couple of tips that work.
- Put a little of each food item on your plate. You will find if you do this the host Feeder will most often leave you alone.
- Eat slowly, chewing your food thoroughly and savouring the taste, really enjoy every mouthful you eat.
- Stop eating when you get that initial feeling of satiety. Remember its ok to leave food on your plate and not eat it!
- I know someone who takes a “doggy bag/container” with them, so they take home what is left on their plate to eat at the next meal or next day. If you have real issues with wasting food, then this is a good option.
- Communicate you have had enough to eat and that you are satisfied. If this is met with resistance from the Feeder you need to be firm in your stance.
Eat and be merry. Enjoy yourself. Enjoy your food, really enjoy it. Its one day, one meal and it doesn’t need to be the catalyst for fear or weight loss sabotage that it may have been in the past.
Merry Christmas and a successful 2023
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