For decades, I hid a problem that I never talked about… and the holidays only made it worse.
As a dietitian, I knew what I was “supposed” to be doing. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stop myself from eating the sugary comfort foods that kept piling on the weight – especially during the holidays.
I Still Remember Some Very Vivid Moments
#1: The Peanut Brittle
The plate of peanut brittle a neighbor dropped off… which I secretly ate before my husband came home. I managed to leave some cookies on the plate so it wouldn’t look suspicious, but I never mentioned the peanut brittle.
#2: The Pumpkin Pie
Being nervous about going to a relative’s house for Thanksgiving… because how was I going to get enough pumpkin pie and whipped cream? (It was truly embarrassing how much whipped cream I had to have!) I was so thankful when the host sent me home with 4 pieces of leftovers, which I devoured later that night in the privacy of my own kitchen.
#3: The Cookie Dough
Baking cookies to give as gifts and making myself sick gorging on the raw cookie dough in the process. I actually got food poisoning years ago from eating raw cookie dough, and so did my entire family. But this didn’t stop me! I just started buying raw cookie dough from the store because the eggs had been pasteurized and were “safer” to eat. Despite the dangers, I found a way to get my “fix”.
For years, I told myself I didn’t have an emotional eating issue because my regular meals were so healthy.
But the truth was, I did.
I was using food to calm, soothe, reward, and comfort myself – especially during the stressful, emotional, sugar-filled holiday season.
Why Cravings Hit So Hard Over the Holidays
There are several reasons that your cravings intensify over the holidays.
Stress Can Raise Your Adrenaline and Cortisol Levels
The holidays can be an emotional roller coaster, amping up your stress response. And higher cortisol and adrenaline levels create the perfect storm for triggering cravings and store belly fat.
Fatigue Can Increase Your Hunger Hormones
Lack of sleep raises ghrelin (the hunger hormone) and lowers leptin (the fullness hormone), which makes cravings harder to control.
Food Becomes a Coping Mechanism
The truth is that food does soothe us. But it’s temporary. And it never addresses what’s underneath – the loneliness, the overwhelm, or the holiday-triggered memories.
But please remember – your cravings are not a personal failure. Your brain and body are doing their best to help you cope with the stress, fatigue, and emotional overload.
And for so many of us, food has been the answer.
What Finally Worked for Me
What finally helped me wasn’t another diet.
It was learning how to calm my stress response and gently rewire my brain to change the way it thought about food.
Once I did that, everything changed.
Instead of being a season full of temptation and stress, the holidays became a season of comfort and joy – and I no longer had to use food to cope. I was able to stop my cravings and emotional eating, lose the weight, and keep it off.
Over the past 20 years, I’ve helped countless women do the same – and I’d love to help you, too.
You can find my emotional eating articles right here on Sixty and Me. They will help you begin your journey.
If that’s not enough, and you’d like more individual help, I can offer you my Weight Loss Success Program, which I’ve worked to discount specifically for Sixty and Me readers. Use the coupon code sixtyandme to get the entire program, plus amazing bonuses, for the very special price of $97. I can’t wait to see you!
Let’s Have a Conversation:
What changes have you noticed in your eating habits around the holidays?
