What comes to mind when you think about holiday time and food? Excitement? Dread? Or maybe something in between?
For many, holiday traditions like Christmas, Hanukkah, and Yuletide revolve around food.
Perhaps you recall nostalgic memories of your mom’s Christmas cookies or setting out milk, cookies, and carrots for Santa and his reindeer. Maybe it’s gathering with loved ones around a home-cooked meal or indulging in your grandma’s bread
pudding with custard for dessert.
Do you enjoy treats and meals without overthinking what you’re eating, aside from savoring how delicious they are? Or do the days leading up to holiday gatherings fill you with worry? Does the period between Christmas and New Year’s feel like a write-off where you’re “off the wagon,” indulging in foods you usually avoid, only to feel regretful and guilty afterward?
A healthier relationship with food during the holidays might look like:
Enjoying a few Christmas cookies or treats if you’d like to.
Looking forward to meals shared with loved ones.
Not stressing about what or how much you’ll eat.
Eating until comfortably full (or even slightly past).
Sticking to your regular diet around special holiday meals because it makes you feel good and keeps your digestion regular.
A less healthy relationship with food might include:
Worrying about eating with others.
Overthinking what will be served.
Battling an internal dialogue that labels certain foods as “bad” and judges you for eating them.
Feeling guilty about overeating.
Restricting food before or after gatherings to “make up” for what you ate.
Engaging in excessive exercise to “balance out the calories.”
Tips for enjoying food during the holidays:
Stay hydrated: It’s common to drink more alcohol and sugary beverages during the holidays. That’s okay in moderation, but your body will thank you for also keeping up your water intake.
Tune into hunger and fullness cues: Listen to your body’s signals.
Don’t skip the veggie tray: Fruits and vegetables provide fiber, which, along with water, keeps your digestion regular and helps prevent constipation.
Pay attention to how foods make you feel: This is a great opportunity to practice intuitive eating. For example, how does eating 10 sugar-cookies make you feel compared to having a balanced meal followed by two cookies?
Enjoy the holidays and the special moments that come with them, including the food—it’s all part of the celebration!
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