Do you have FOMO (Fear of Missing Out)?

Are YOU suffering from festive FOMO?

FOMO – shorthand for ‘fear of missing out’ – is the acute and often unjustified belief that everyone is having way more fun than you. And it reaches its annual high any day now. Small wonder. Apparently, people in the UK cram 44% more social occasions into December than any other month. This year will be slightly different.

But FOMO really is not your friend this month (or indeed any month) – especially if you want to maintain your weight over the holidays. Let’s take a look at how that festive FOMO usually pans out…

You’re committed to healthy eating at Christmas, you are watching your weight and don’t want to gain any over Christmas so your deprived mouth can only water at the vast amount of decadent food available over December. There’s a very subtle fear that you are never going to be able to have any of these delicious treats ever again. The fear of missing out activates your survival instinct to consume everything and anything. And so you go on a binge, and your healthy eating plans are obliterated. The self-recriminations start.

Here’s the thing you need to know about FOMO: We are culturally programmed to over-value losses and under-value gains, so it’s really not your fault. So we put more importance on the food we may be missing out on, and less on our goals and wellbeing.

The big question, of course, is what are you are you really missing out on? Nothing. OK, maybe some sweet or high-carb treats, some booze filled evenings and such. But eating and drinking these have a flipside: blood sugar imbalance and energy crashes, poor sleep, almost certain weight gain (if you consume in excess) – and that’s without mentioning the negative self-talk for having over-indulged.

FIX YOUR FOMO AROUND FOOD

There are several things going on when it comes to food. Your fear of ‘missing out’ on that delicious desert is the first. But also refusing food (though it should be a basic human right) is mired in emotional meaning both for you and for the host.

The answer is not to find more and more creative ways to say no. If you have to own up to eating healthily around this time or being gluten or dairy free, this seems to compound the original offence of not wanting to eat.

Your action plan is this:

1. HAVE A PLAN Before you go to bed each night, plan out your food for the next day (you don’t have to be super strict about it but have a good idea). This is never more true than at Christmas, when parties, chocolates, cookies and “treats” are just about everywhere.

2. DON’T TRY TO DIET JUST NOW Set a maintenance goal instead. This is much more realistic and it is achievable, even at this time of year. It will also give you the freedom to enjoy yourself without feeling deprived, or that you’ve failed, which in turn means you’re more likely to rebel (and this is code for heading straight for the box of chocolates without a second glance).

3. WATCH YOUR PORTION SIZES - especially when it comes to fast-release carbs like white potatoes, pastry, breaded items, cakes, biscuits and other sweet things.

4. DON’T GO TO A PARTY HUNGRY If you do, you will be fighting a loosing battle. Have a low GI snack before you go – just a little something that includes protein and slow release carbs (cottage cheese or unsweetened nut butter on an oatcake, for example).

5. KEEP FAMILY CHOCOLATES OUT OF SIGHT so you’re not tempted to tuck in just because they’re there. Ever heard of the ‘see food and eat it’ diet?

FIX YOUR FOMO AROUND ALCOHOL

Often party-goers who are cautious about their alcohol consumption are viewed with suspicion. If you want to have a few glasses of wine, have a few glasses of wine. But make that decision inside of what you know to be your social schedule over the entire Christmas period.

How does the amount of socialising stack up against your health goals? To be clear, you absolutely can honour all your social commitments but, in order not to find yourself tempted by the usual crash diet in January, hear this: it IS possible to go out, have fun, eat well and be ‘healthy’. You just choose it. If you cut back on the amount you are drinking at social gatherings – even choosing not to drink at some events at all – you can feel the improvements almost immediately. On those nights that you don’t drink at all, you’ll sleep better, wake feeling more refreshed, you’ll have much more energy, and your mood will be better. The impact on your waistline will be positive, too – alcohol is a big contributor to belly fat and is brimming with unnecessary calories.

Here are a few suggestions for cutting down – if that’s what you choose to do.

· Decide how much you are going to drink (maximum) before you go out.

· Consider telling someone else who will be there (friend or partner, perhaps) to help keep you accountable.

· Don’t feel pressurised by others. It’s your life and you are the one who makes the decisions.

· Have an excuse ready when you want to give it a miss (remember ‘no, thanks, I’d rather have …’ is perfectly OK. )

If you think 2021 is the year to get your own health niggles under control, why not book a call with Aine for January at https://www.goodfoodnutrition.co.uk/free-consultation