Weight loss success story shares game-changing holiday strategies

A Wisconsin weight loss coach offers four strategies to navigate holiday eating patterns while maintaining a balanced approach to food consumption during the festive season.

According to her recent TikTok posts, Amber Clemens, who describes herself as a "former lifelong binge eater" and lost 160 pounds from 2018 to 2020, shares insights focused on moderation, mindful eating, perspective on holiday foods, and self-forgiveness.

Clemens advocates for incorporating trigger foods in moderate amounts regularly rather than avoiding them entirely.

"When I was trying to heal my relationship with food and get over binge eating, I thought I just could not have the things that were triggers for me around me, otherwise it would just automatically lead to a binge," Clemens said in a TikTok video last week.

She identified sweets as one of her primary triggers, noting that the average American consumes 3.4 pounds of candy during Halloween. "Ultimately, the biggest thing that helped me was starting to incorporate those things daily, or at least on a regular basis," Clemens said.

The importance of eating slowly emerges as another key strategy. "I used to eat so fast because I felt ashamed about almost every single thing that I would eat," Clemens shared. "What would happen is, I was not giving my body time to recognize that I was getting full, or at least comfortable, and I would just overeat before even recognizing it."

A 2013 study found that pizza eaters who increased their chewing by 1.5 times reduced their caloric intake by 9.5% while doubling their chews led to a 14.8% reduction. Research conducted in China determined that 40 chews per bite of 10 grams of food provided optimal results.

Addressing the perception of holiday foods, Clemens tells her 922,300 TikTok followers, "I want you to remember that these foods are nothing special, and in reality, we could probably have any of these foods that we really wanted any time of year. So yes, enjoy them, but remember, you can have them again."

On the topic of self-forgiveness, Clemens emphasizes the importance of moving forward after occasional overeating. "Progress is not linear. It is OK if you make mistakes — forgive yourself, move on and we try again tomorrow," she said.

In a separate TikTok video this month, she addressed concerns about holiday indulgences affecting weight management goals. "These few and far between days are not where all of your progress is made or broken," Clemens said, referring to celebrations like Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.