Enjoying the Holidays Without Food Drama
Can you enjoy your favorite holidays (hello Thanksgiving and Christmas) without a bunch of mental drama around food?
Have you EVER experienced a holiday get together without stressing in the weeks leading up to it about gaining weight? Or how to control what you eat? Or how much you need to exercise to off-set those treats?
Or do you usually take the “oh, forget it” mentality and go “all in” for those holiday get-togethers?
It IS possible to enjoy your favorite holidays (and the food that accompanies them) without gaining weight or being so mentally taxed that you feel stressed the whole time.
But it’s gonna take a different approach – are you ready?
Let’s start with what “enjoying” the holidays means to you. This will be different for each of us – so it’s important that you get clear on what is “required” for you to enjoy yourself (besides the right attitude)!
What are your top 5 favorite things about Thanksgiving (or Christmas depending on when you are reading this)?
What 5 things do you get the most enjoyment out of – are there certain traditions that you hold dear to your heart? Certain foods that you only get the chance to eat once (or twice) a year?
How do you like your day to unfold? Do you set some time aside in the morning to do a little exercise? Or do you take the day off? Do you sleep in? Or wake up in time to catch the Thanksgiving Day parade?
Are there certain football games that you always watch with your family? Or do you enjoy perusing the ads discussing a tactical plan for Black Friday shopping?
Take the time to get clear on whatever it is that YOU enjoy most about the holiday. (and this is a REALLY good time to figure out what things you do that you DON’T enjoy just to please other people – I’m not saying throw everyone else’s desires out the window – but be INTENTIONAL about how you plan your day and what you commit to.)
Now – I’m just curious – how much of your list included food? There’s no wrong answer here – but my guess would be that food or food related activities were one, maybe two, items on that list.
If that’s true – then WHY in the world are you spending SO much time thinking about your food and weight concerns around these joyful celebrations?
This is what we lovingly refer to as creating drama – specifically food drama. When we allow so much of our time to get caught up in the what ifs, or what to dos, we are creating the very drama that we want so badly to avoid. And we end up living that drama out right NOW!!
Don’t think for a second that stewing in those worries will not affect the decisions you are making about your food and weight loss goals TODAY.
More often than not, we get so concerned about gaining weight (and losing control) over the holidays that we start doing it in actuality NOW. We start ignoring our hunger cues now, and overeat. We start making excuses for not following our workout plans. We create this whole level of unease that follows us straight through Thanksgiving, Christmas, AND the New Year.
What if you committed now to staying aware and intentional with your daily decisions through this season?
What if you made the decision to enjoy the foods that you rarely eat while also honoring your body’s feedback and not overeating?
What if you decided to focus your attention on all of the other things you enjoy about the holidays and stay PRESENT in those moments?
What if you decided that you are ok with the questions that may come up when you don’t eat the second or third helping that you would’ve in the past?
What if you allowed other people’s confusion/questions over your different approach this year to be confirmation that you ARE changing and doing what’s best for you (instead of choosing to see it as judgement)?
What if you decided to honor the traditions of your family while also honoring yourself?
You CAN have all of these experiences – you just have to choose them – and it starts with refusing to participate in creating your own drama.
Oh and PS – you don’t have to participate in anyone else’s drama either! 😉
