Christmas overeating and constant snacking?

If you're the type who tries eating consciously all year long, dieting and anxiously thinking about the consequences in January of constantly snacking between big Christmas feasts, then this post is for you.

For some people, it can be rather strenuous paying attention to eating healthily and sticking to their regular diet amongst all the Christmas get-togethers with food, parties, cooking at home and the treats they received as presents, or even figuring out how often and how much they should eat from the festive spread.

However, the results of a recent experiment can help you make eating less stressful during the holidays. The researchers asked women to spend some time in the kitchen. One of the groups was sent into a clean and orderly room, while the members of the other group were sent to a kitchen where the counters were full of food, newspapers and dirty dishes in the washbasin and a mobile phone kept ringing from time to time. Both kitchens featured a number of dishes for the participants to eat. It didn't come of much as a surprise, yet the sight of a disorderly kitchen, the noise and chaos led to the women in the group eating more calories and choosing unhealthier dishes or simply snacking.

Researchers also pointed out that the stress caused by untidiness has a far greater chance of leading to snacking and overeating when entering a messy flat after a long and gruelling day.

I always tried leaving things in order before walking out the door in the morning, since who likes being welcomed by the sight of heaps of unwashed dishes, unfolded clothes and belongings scattered across the floor, but now I know that apart from being annoying, it can even have a bad effect on your health.