During the holidays, it is a big challenge to control your diet.  It is especially difficult for those suffering from an eating disorder.  For those who deal with the struggles of bulimia, binge eating, or anorexia, there is a chance that you could have received treatment for your eating disorder.  Hopefully, this treatment has familiarized you with the right tools to be in the presence of food without reverting to your former eating habits.

However, unlike the rest of the year, the holidays are different.  It can involve many situations where stress can lure you into relapse and bring back unhealthy behaviors.

The following is a list of 10 methods you can use to control your holiday eating.  Take note of them in order to enjoy the holidays free from the stresses of unhealthy eating behaviors:

1. Make a plan on what to eat.  Before you attend a holiday party or dinner, decide what foods you will or won’t eat.  If you make a plan and stick to it, you will not have to worry about the temptation of adding tons of desserts to your plate instead of healthy vegetables or proteins. You do not have to shut yourself off to these enjoyable foods, but make sure you eat them in controlled moderation.
2. Create a food journal.  Having a journal you write in daily, making notes of what you eat each day assists in managing your consumption during the holidays.  Make it a point to write everything down, even if its food that you rather pretend that you did not eat.
3. Have a regular eating schedule.  It is not wise to starve yourself for two days before Thanksgiving dinner in order to prepare for a big meal.  By being hungrier, you risk the chance of overeating and you will be tempted by foods that are not as healthy.  By keeping a regular eating pattern, you will be satiated regularly and lower your chances of stuffing yourself during a celebratory holiday meal.
4. Bring your own dish.  Offer to bring your own dish in order to make sure that you have at least one healthy dish to eat.  By doing so, you have more control over the food content for the occasion and are able to eat with less guilt.
5. Moderate your portions.  The empty plate in your hands coupled with an entire buffet of holiday goodies can amount to catastrophe unless you exercise control over how much you pile on your plate.  Visualize the proper portion you’ll eat when you decide you much to take.  You may be full after one plate of food, but if not, you can always get more.  You do not have to eat as much as you can or more just because the food is there.
6. Know what your weaknesses are and stay away from them.  Food weaknesses exists for everybody—for certain folks, it is pie, for others, it may be pork chops.  Whenever it is possible, stay away from the foods that are your weaknesses and which you can’t stop eating.  Take a seat far away from the tempura shrimp and sit closer to the steamed broccoli.  By doing so, you are less tempted to easily grab something that you know is bad for you and reach for something healthy.
7. Remove temptations from your house.  You may not be able to control the flow of sweets at a holiday gathering or at work, but you have much great control in keeping them out of your house and being able to limit the temptation in eating them.  If you receive gifts of candy or baked goods, bring them to share at work or give them to others.  That way, you will not have the guilt of having to eat them all.  Always keep in mind that when food in the home is out of sight, it is out of mind.
8. Keep your support network running.  Continually receiving support is very important to the control of your diet during the holidays if you are struggling with an eating disorder or have overcome one.  This support can come from family, friends, or your therapist.  Try to avoid triggers to your disordered eating and try to avoid them, with the help of your support system.  If these situations are unavoidable, try to have around people that you trust when you are overwhelmed with stessors and temptation so that you do not have to turn to prior patters of disordered eating.
9. Put holiday stress to a minimum.  Stress causes a lot of the behaviors associated with eating disorders.  It causes people to turn to damaging negative methods of coping.  Minimizing stress by lowering your obligations for others during this festive time of year and ultimately lowering your stress can assist in controlling your eating.
10. Keep the focus on celebration.  The main purpose of the holidays is to celebrate the joy of friends and family.  It is important to keep that in mind and not to concentrate on the amount of food you’ve eaten or how many pounds you think you have put on.  Focus on the ones you are with and where you are.  That is time and attention well spent.