Balance, Blessings and Gratitude
As the holiday season approaches, many of my clients and readers express some measure of anxiety around dealing with the over abundance of food and beverages. Here are some key elements to remember:
1. Moderation and Balance
2. Avoid “All or Nothing” Thinking
3. Keep Moving
4. Maintain an “Attitude of Gratitude”
If you have a tendency to over consume food, alcohol, or soda during the holidays, begin now to examine pitfalls and to build strategies to avoid them. For example, if certain foods are kept in the house, is it likely you’ll overeat? If so, plan ways to keep them out of the house. Send problem leftovers home with guests. Can’t resist eggnog? Don’t buy any. Feel pressured to eat foods that disagree with you or set off a craving cycle? Set boundaries, politely and graciously, but firmly. For example, “That looks absolutely delicious and I know my taste buds would be thrilled, but my GI tract has been a little fussy lately,” OR, “It looks fabulous, but I’m so full I can’t eat another bite.”
There’s no need to feel deprived, however. Try tasting the “delicious minimum” of all the foods you like at the Thanksgiving feast by taking a serving teaspoon of each. This will fill your plate and tickle your taste buds without mountains of over-sized portions. Check in with your hunger and fullness cues several times throughout the meal so you can stop before feeling over-stuffed. Remember, this isn’t your last meal! You can have more food whenever you choose.
Don’t go to any event involving food over-hungry. Eat a healthy, tasty snack before hand, for example, an apple with a few nuts, or carrots and hummus, or celery with lite cream cheese. Becoming ravenous is guaranteed to stimulate over-eating.
Remind yourself of all the reasons you want to eat and drink in moderation. Write them down and carry them with you. Please remember that alcohol is a depressant, is dehydrating, impairs judgment, and greatly increases the likelihood of over-eating, and is full of empty calories. Keep sipping water or club soda with lemon or lime.
“All or Nothing” thinking is one of the greatest saboteurs of healthy living. One incident of over-eating doesn’t mean the whole day or entire season is lost. Get back on track immediately. And keep moving to manage stress and maintain fitness and metabolism. Even 10 minutes matters.
Practice positive affirmations to re-enforce healthy self-care:
♥“I deserve to treat myself with respect, neither over-eating nor under-eating.”
♥“I deserve to take time for appropriate exercise.”
♥“I live in moderation and balance.”
♥“I am grateful for wellness.”
Here is a little saying I learned this year, “Balance and Blessings, Blessings and Balance, for from Balance comes all Blessings.”
Finally, during this season of giving thanks, I want to express my gratitude to each of you for the sacred privilege of accompanying you on your journey. Blessings of light and peace!
Note: If you have trouble eating adequate amounts of food and feel afraid or overwhelmed by food-focused holidays, remind yourself that it takes 3500 extra calories to equal a pound of weight gain. Practice the affirmation: “I deserve to eat.”