Holiday season is in full swing! And since food is always present during this season- from holiday meals, holiday parties, and gift baskets full of foods, we can become overloaded with food guilt if we have a negative relationship with food and with our bodies.
With all of the holiday festivities, who doesn’t feel the need for a detox by the time January is here.
But, do we really want to live like this, year after year?
By practicing Intuitive Eating, I believe that you can fully enjoy the foods of the holiday season, without feeling like you immediately need to go on a “diet” at the start of the New Year. I really believe that you can learn to develop a food freedom mindset versus a diet mentality mindset.
So, what does this look like especially during the holidays?
Here are a few thoughts:
The word “health” has different meanings. For some health is the nutritional content of the food. For other’s it is “how healthy are you?”, “what’s your health like?” and “is that actually healthy for you?”. Over the years, I have come to believe that enjoying food is a part of health. The ability to bring more pleasure, satisfaction, and enjoyment to eating can help create a healthier relationship with food.
Stay present- respect your hunger and fullness cues. When we are “in the moment” we can better recognize when we are hungry and when we are full. We are not perfect and as a result we need to practice often knowing our bodies.
We all deserve to eat and to enjoy our food! Give yourself permission to eat and enjoy the food you are eating. This allows for greater satisfaction and holiday foods do not have to be “off limits”.
It is with optimism that you can experience the festivities during the holiday season and intuitive eating can be a part of that for you!
Cheers,
Rachel