So, at the time I’m writing this it’s mid-October and it feels like we are barreling toward the holiday season. Much to the delight of some and the dread of others.
It’s definitely a time of year that can provoke a whole range of emotions. So I want to know, does anybody out there have mixed feelings about all of the food associated with the holidays? The joy of eating our favorite holiday foods can get muddied when it co-exists with things like feeling out of control, feeling like your failing your diet, or the feeling that it’s inevitable that you’ll eat more than feels good in your body.
If you know what I’m talking about then watch or read along because there is hope.
Holiday Eating: How to enjoy your favorite foods without feeling out of control
Taking the time to think about and work on your relationship with food can be such an important step for keeping you feeling good throughout the holiday season.
So, we all eat every day and while we always have to think about what to eat (like the ever present question of “what to make for dinner”), rarely do we stop to think as much about all of the rest of what’s going on – how do we feel before, during and after eating, what external noise is influencing your food choices, and how your mental or emotional state in any given moment affects your food choices.
Pausing and stopping to ask yourself (with kind curiosity) what is going on for you before, during and after eating is a great first step to take for keeping yourself from feeling out of control around food.
Feeling out of control
When you feel out of control around food, the food is the one with the power. Its mere existence compels you to eat it. This specifically happens when it is a food that you don’t always have access to or don’t usually let yourself eat.
Ridged thoughts around food and what you are and aren’t allowed to have can often backfire and take you further away from where you want to be. This is one of my biggest issues with diets – they are rigid which makes them nearly impossible to follow for the long term. Setting dieting aside (easier said than done, I know) but setting dieting aside can free you to find a way of eating that makes space for the changing of seasons, including holiday eating. Switching out rigid diets for an intuitive approach to food that involves listening to your body will help you make it through the holidays without feeling like a failure and while still feeling good in your body.
Get your power back
It can feel so good to shift that power dynamic back to a place where you are in control and where you get to make intentional choices about what you do and don’t want to eat and how much you do and don’t want to eat by listening to your body.
It all starts with the pause (with kind curiosity) and asking yourself how you’re feeling before, during and after eating.
Give this first step a try and if you would like more help in shifting your power balance with food, I would love to be your guide for that journey. Please reach out to me using my appointments page.
