Work Christmas parties can be stressful, especially if they are at the end of your working day. If you have been busy working for the lead up to the event, the stress hormones that increase our drive to eat high-energy foods will be elevated. This means that when you arrive at the party and are presented with food, eating it immediately will feel more like a necessity than a choice.

In order to prevent this stress fuelled, reactive eating, you need to break the momentum of the day. It doesn’t need to be a long break but take it in a quiet place with some fresh air. Sit down or go for a slow walk. While you are doing so, take the time to breath. By breathing slowly, and focusing on your breath you can re-engage your prefrontal cortex. Once you’ve this, remind yourself of your goals and make some plans on how to navigate the food choices.

• Walk the length of any smorgasbords or buffet so that you can see all that is on offer and decide which pieces you will take, rather than joining the queue and taking everything you see because you don’t know what is coming up next!
• If the food is canapé style, hold a plate and put each canapé that you would like on the plate before eating any of them, this way you can see how much you are eating without losing track of it, or dismissing lots of canapés as tiny portions- they all add up.
• Make a point of standing away from the food services area so you are presented with food last. The options look less palatable when choice is reduced and you are down to the last few sad and lonely canapés left on the platter!

The work wind-down to Christmas should be fun and relaxing… even though it doesn’t always work out that way. So take the time to set yourself up well to enjoy all of your Christmas events and don’t let the season overwhelm you!