Intuitive Eating During The Holiday Season
This time of year can bring up a lot of discomfort around food and our bodies. I used to look forward to it, but I also dreaded it because I felt pressure to look my best (even though I felt my worst) and I was scared to be around all the “bad food” + alcohol. I didn’t trust myself.
So if this is you, I’ve organized some things you can do or try that I hope can help you feel as good as you can right now, but also learn to tap into the ability to explore your trust factor around food during the holidays :)
What You’ll Read Today:
Grounding yourself when you feel very chaotic around food
Wear something that feels good in your today, here-and-now body
Give yourself unconditional permission to eat foods you actually desire
It’s okay to feel full
Reconsidering holiday traditions and what feels intuitive for your life
Trust that everything you eat holds nutritional value regardless if you think it’s “good” or “bad”
TIP #1
I think one of the most important things you can do is to recognize when you feel mentally chaotic around food and then during those moments, find a way to ground yourself. And this will look different for everyone. Suggestions to try: brain dumping, a cup of hot tea or coffee, silencing your cell phone, champagne glass with bubbly Pellegrino, going for a stroll + breathing in the fresh crisp air, go do a fun feel-good workout or whip out an old coloring book and crayons. ***This is one of the reasons I created this blog - it grounds me to write. I also think doing food-related hobbies or outings can be grounding too, but sometimes it can do the opposite - so do what you feel would work best for you in this moment. I know for myself, baking really helped me overcome my old beliefs around food. Think about what makes sense in the moment, too. You can’t exactly go for a jog to clear your mind in the middle of thanksgiving dinner… I mean I guess you could if you wanted haha!
TIP #2
Wear something that feels good in your today, here-and-now-body. It can be something dressy or something super comfortable/casual. If you can, maybe buy something that will make you feel your best or consider going to a hand-me-down store and make it a fun, enjoyable experience. Sometimes we think we look “bad, fat, ugly” when in fact, we don’t, we just need to respect our bodies a bit more and find something we feel great in. Confidence comes within, but it is a muscle that needs to be activated and used consistently with a little dash of the willingness to be vulnerable.
TIP #3
Give yourself unconditional permission to e a t and to eat foods that you actually desire. I would start this as soon as possible, too. I know it may sound counterintuitive, but it’s actually a very important step in your food healing journey. Doing this can help lessen or even eliminate “food temptations” because you’re mentally allowing ALL foods into your life especially during the holiday season. The more positive experiences you gain, the more confidence you’ll have each year as we enter a new holiday season.
TIP #4
It’s okay to be full - once you accept this, the shame for overeating starts to dissipate and the desire does as well. I think what also might help is celebrate the holiday throughout the entire month - whether it’s halloween, thanksgiving, christmas etc. I have found that when we allow ourselves to enjoy the anticipation of the holiday’s specific date, when the day finally arrives - the pressure isn’t really there anymore. So for example, if you are so freaking excited for some mashed potatoes and you really only allow yourself to eat them during thanksgiving dinner and then you find yourself overindulging and not feeling your best after the meal, it’s perfectly fine and so much fun to make some mashed potatoes before the holiday’s date arrives. And then, since you’ve allowed yourself to eat it throughout this month, you may notice your experience with eating them on thanksgiving day feels different - hopefully better + more intuitive, but also give yourself grace if you find yourself still overindulging. Maybe next year will be different especially if you continue to practice this throughout the year. :)
TIP #5
What are your typical traditions and which ones of them do you actually enjoy? What are you most excited for? If theres anything that’s calling you, do it, but if there’s anything that you’re dreading, I suggest not doing it at all. You may let some people down, but that’s okay. Sometimes our mood can really affect HOW and WHAT we eat even on the days leading up to the actual event. Theres a book I read last month called “Have Yourself A Minimialist Christmas” and I found it to be really helpful and eye-opening. If you happen to be the type of person that just is overwhelmed and have been craving some stillness or slow living into your life and holidays, I recommend that book for sure. When our nervous system and subconscious feels stressed out, it can totally impact our relationship with food, exercise and our body/mind.
TIP #6
Trust that everything you eat or are going to eat carries nutritional value. It doesn’t matter what it is either. Whatever you choose to eat, it gets absorbed and whatever doesn’t get absorbed, we eliminate by using the bathroom. It’s really that simple. What gets in your way of mastering or even attempting Intuitive Eating is all of your old thoughts and beliefs around food and the food “rules” that consume your mind. And all of it can feel 10x worse when you are constantly yo-yo dieting or falling on and off the “wagon”. So I want you to help yourself quiet your mind and by telling yourself that everything you eat gives your body nutrition, it may help! It helped me :)
Thanks for reading along. I hope you have the best holiday season this year!
XOXO
Kelsey