Drop the Food Rules and Enjoy the Holidays

Do you dread the holidays because of the “calories” it brings? If nobody else has told you before, let me say that it is ok to enjoy holiday treats. I know that many of us are facing a few extra pounds from this pandemic. But even so, you don’t have to feel guilty about eating a few cookies or having that eggnog. Being healthy is all about balance, not counting calories. If you struggle with emotions like guilt or regret when it comes to food around the holidays, I hope this year you’ll consider dropping that shame and embracing all aspects of the holidays. Keep reading for strategies to mindfully navigate the holiday season.

Holidays always include special treats and food. It is part of what makes the day a celebration. Assigning arbitrary and moral value to those celebratory foods is a practice that has come out of diet culture. Food is just food. And your body needs food for nourishment. It has no moral value. Food is also very cultural. A reason to gather. A way to remember and honor tradition and family. I encourage you this season to focus on the cultural value that food brings to the table.

Why are certain dishes a part of your holiday celebration? When you reach for a cookie this holiday season, instead of it triggering guilt try redirecting that feeling to curiosity. Where did a family recipe come from? Are there any funny stories or memories associated with making the recipe?

And if you still feel that guilt or regret, stop and reflect. What is the source of that stress and guilt? What factual information is informing your view and causing these emotions? Are you feeling guilt because a doctor has told you to avoid eggnog because your cholesterol is too high? If so, that’s a good reason to feel guilt if you’re downing the eggnog every weekend. But for many of us that’s not the case. Rather, we have a general sense that eggnog is “really fattening.” And that we should avoid all sugar. But with balance and moderation we can, dare I even say we should, enjoy some holiday treats.

“Instead of vowing to start Whole30 or Keto in the new year, vow to see food as fuel for your body, full of nutrition, a good gift for us to enjoy. ”

— Gwendolyn Smith

Food is a reason to gather, a way to honor and celebrate tradition.

Need a few more strategies in addition to redirecting your feelings to curiosity? Here are three ways to be mindful about enjoying holiday treats this season:

Don’t skip meals. It may seem like a good idea to skip meals and “leave room” for all of the party food. However, it inevitably leads to binge eating. Instead, enjoy regular meals to avoid the negative effects of sugar crashing. A helpful strategy is to enjoy a light meal with protein a few hours before a party. For example, make a granola parfait for breakfast before a lunchtime party. Or, have an apple with almond butter as a snack before a dinner party.
Drop the food rules. Food rules and diet culture are rife with misconceptions and unhealthy perspectives. For many of us they stem from our formative years and were shaped by friends around the cafeteria table, magazine articles we read, interviews with celebrities, and even commercials. And we are left struggling with how we look, viewing food as the enemy. If this is something you are struggling with, I want to encourage you to push the food rules and emotional eating aside. You have inherent value and how you look physically has nothing to do with that. Your choice to enjoy some holiday treats does not define if you are a good or a bad person.
Seek Balance. Crash dieting in January to overcome imbalanced holiday eating is not a good or healthy strategy. Thinking it is an effective way to approach the holidays only sets you up for more guilt and disappointment in 2021. Rather, seek a balanced approach. If you’re not sure what this means, there are many great resources to help you learn about the dangers of diet culture. You may even want to consider working with a health coach or a nutritionist (meet Jules B. below). Some health insurance plans even allow you to work with these professionals as a part of your benefits. So instead of vowing to start Whole30 or Keto in the new year, vow to see food as fuel for your body, full of nutrition, a good gift for us to enjoy.

Head into this holiday season mindfully. Have some eggnog. Honor a family cookie baking tradition. And if you’ve been living under the stress of calorie counting and food rules, enjoy some food freedom this Christmas.