Holiday Health Alert: What Healthy Eaters Do

Abbie Chesney, MA, LPC
Featured Therapist

Interested in knowing what healthy eaters do to stay healthy?

Have you recovered from your Thanksgiving hangover? A little too much turkey and stuffing, maybe a little too much family, maybe a little too much football? Should you buy stock in the company that makes Alka Seltzer?

Healthy eaters...

• Listen to their bodies, not their neuroses.

• Cultivate emotional nourishment.

• Don't expect food to meet their emotional needs.

• Maintain physical and mental energy for activities and responsibilities.

• Gauge hunger and fullness cues to determine portion sizes.

• Stop when they're satisfied but before they're FULL.

• Dine instead of feed (turn on some music, light a candle, have a conversation, and so on).

• Enjoy their meals instead of inhaling the food.

• Don't eat in front of the TV.

• Eat fresh foods instead of processed foods.

• Consume a variety of foods and food groups.

• Don't eliminate any particular food or food group.

• Eat whole grains.

• Enjoy nuts, seeds, and beans.

• Eat the bulky, fibrous foods first.

• Eat more vegetable fats than animal fats.

• Eat plenty of vegetables.

• Enjoy sweets in small quantities (maybe a bite or two, only) because they don't want to overdo, not because they can't have them.

• Allow themselves to eat out.

• Eat their favorite foods in moderation.

• Eat regular meals.

• Snack as necessary.

• Try new foods.

LifeWorks healthy eating tip:

Count your bites: the average person can find satisfaction with about 12-15 bites of food. Find out the right number of bites for you (do the count when you're sitting down to a meal, but not famished or emotionally starved). Estimate that amount as you load your plate. Two or three bites of each item and you're golden.

Healthy eating is a lot easier than you think. Dining should be a positive and enjoyable experience. So enjoy your holidays. Share a meal with friends and family. And savor every bite!

For help with eating disorder, holiday stress, and other issues, contact Abbie Chesney at (214) 357-4001. Call for an appointment today!