Lora Hyde, RDN, CDN, is a Registered Dietitian with a passion for nutrition and fitness. She has more than 23 years of experience working with patients with various nutrition diagnoses, including diabetes, eating disorders, metabolic syndrome, pregnancy, and weight management. Lora has worked at Coburg Village for nine years helping residents tailor their menu choices to accommodate individual dietary needs.

Mindful Holiday Eating 
With the holidays upon us it is always beneficial to review mindful eating strategies. Mindful eating is the practice of eating that focuses on being fully present and aware of your thoughts, feelings, and senses while eating. This way of eating takes the focus off dieting and rigid eating behavior and assists with helping you understand your own hunger, reasons for eating, and overall enjoyment of food. Some easy mindful eating strategies to get you through the holidays, include:

• Be aware of your hunger and fullness. Try to pay attention to when you are hungry and when you are not, and only eat when you are feeling hungry. If you skip meals and then become over-hungry, this is when overeating often occurs.
•  If you tend to eat fast, try to slow down a bit and think of the flavors, smells and textures of the food you are eating. Also, think about where the food comes from and how its ingredients are grown. This makes you appreciate the food more and helps the enjoyment from eating last longer which helps with satiety.
• Try not to restrict yourself from your favorite foods over the holidays. This will just make you want more of them and often leads to overeating. Continue to eat the foods you like over the holiday, but remember that you do not have to overeat to enjoy them.
• Try to eat sitting down at parties or gatherings. This helps you slow down eating, enjoy your food more, and prevents you from standing at a table and continually adding food to your plate without being hungry.
• If holidays cause stress and lead to episodes of overeating, take deep breaths, if needed, to calm yourself before, during, or after a meal.
• Be accepting of your food thoughts without being judgmental about your feelings. For example, if you are hungry and would like to eat something you normally view as unhealthy, don’t feel guilty about wanting it or eating it. Try to enjoy it and remain mindful about the amount you are eating.