It’s the week after Thanksgiving and you have to make a plan: What do you do about the leftovers?

 

You might be one of the folks who gave to-go plates to the family and friends attending your meal. Or maybe you went to someone else’s house and didn’t bring home any leftovers. Or maybe you’ve eaten all you had left over and you don’t have to worry about it anymore.

Keep reading – what I’m going to say about leftovers can be used even if the Thanksgiving food is gone.

 

 

But some of you still have holiday food in the fridge and it’s calling your name. So what do you do? You want to eat it, but you don’t. When you’ve got that kind of internal conflict, there’s a lot of noise in your head. You’re spending way too much time thinking about that food instead of your life.

You need a plan.

 

The problem is how to make the plan without all the drama. Where’s the drama coming from? It comes from two main worries:

1. 1. 1. I’m wasting food
      2. This holiday food is making me gain weight

 

The first worry is the one that keeps you from throwing the food in the trash. It’s the same one that keeps you cleaning your plate when you’re full already. It’s the one that thinks throwing food away is wasteful. It’s the one that knows the starving children in Africa won’t get fed just because you eat your food, but still thinks you should eat the food because you’re fortunate enough to have it.

Good – you’re grateful. But you’re also treating yourself like the garbage can.

There’s no reason that you should eat food your body doesn’t need. None. If you put too much on your plate, then when you’re full you can notice that you put too much on your plate. Practice serving yourself less food with each meal and you’ll have less to throw out.

Also, how much are you throwing out – $0.50 for the few bites left on your plate? Think about that part for a moment. Is it worth the small amount of waste to wear the extra weight on your body? How much have you spent on supplements and “good” food and exercise plans?

 

 

The second worry is that the holiday food will make you fat. It’s what makes you want to eat salads and grilled chicken every meal after you indulged. It’s what keeps you in turmoil about going out to eat with friends. This one keeps you counting calories and carb grams and analyzing every bite you take until you’re exhausted and just eat the leftover pound cake.

The food doesn’t make you gain weight. Too much of any food is what makes you gain weight.

You can gain weight on salads. You can lose weight on pizza and wings. The key is to tune into your body and learn when your body needs fuel (hunger) and when it’s finished (politely full). We learn to overeat and eat when we’re not hungry, then we think we can hack the body by eating “good” foods. What we need is to learn to eat within the guidelines of hunger and fullness. It takes relearning, patience, practice, and consistency to unlearn a lifetime of overeating programming. But it can be done!

 

So make your plan. Freeze what you’ll serve and eat later, throw out what you won’t. Enjoy your food and eat what makes your body feel healthy and well. Remember that each time you get hungry, it’s a chance to practice serving yourself less. You get to relearn what is enough food for your body. Keep practicing!

 

If you want more help, go get my Weight Loss For The Holidays and the Mindful Eating Meditations courses. They’re designed to fit into your schedule and give you the support you need during this busy time of year! And if you want to work with me one-on-one, book a consultation on my calendar and we’ll get started building the individual plan you need to get to your goal!

 

Here’s your video help for the week!