Nov 23, 2021
Holiday season is upon us, and that means, for some of us, increased anxiety about food! You might have a sinking feeling in your belly, worrying about all of the delicious food that tends to come with the holidays! That doesn't have to be the case, though, and I am here in this episode to walk you through all of the ins and outs of eating during the holiday season!
Diet culture resulting in articles with headlines such as How to Eat Healthy During the Holidays doesn't help matters. In fact, it's probably because of that that so many of us deal with anxiety around holiday eating in the first place! A lot of those tips are about stuffing yourself with salad so that you don't stuff yourself with stuffing, but rest assured, that is not the type of tip that you can expect to hear from me in this episode!
I start with what I feel you should do before eating during the holidays – so before the holiday treats arrive. Visualization is so key because it works, so visualize what it would look like for you to enjoy food from that holiday treat tray – to truly enjoy it and experience it without diet culture looking over your shoulder trying to make you feel guilty about it. I also share that you should survey the food and what's available before taking a plate so that you might prevent the my eyes were bigger than my stomach problem.
I also discuss mindful eating – what that means and how to go about doing it, including but not limited to gauging how satisfying the food is and assessing what memories are associated with the foods that you eat. I address how to deal with food FOMO (fear of missing out) and what to do if you want more of something even when you know that eating more would not make you feel very good. I also point toward what to do after the meal is done, affirming that yes, you need to move on but that you should first reflect on the experience.
I really hope that you enjoy listening to this episode of The SociEATy Podcast! I hope that these tips are helpful for you, and I want you to feel empowered and to begin working toward intuitive eating if you haven't already. Holidays should be a time to make memories, not to stress about food! I would also be very grateful if you were to leave a review on whatever platform that you use to listen as I read each and every one of your reviews and it helps us continue to do this. If you aren't already, be sure to also subscribe to The SociEATy Podcast so that you never miss an episode!
Time Stamps
[1:13] – We discover that eating during the holiday season is this episode's topic.
[3:27] – Colleen defines what “healthy” eating during the holidays means to her.
[5:50] – Colleen encourages us to do visualization before holiday eating.
[13:46] – We learn how to anticipate how hungry we're going to be going into a holiday meal.
[19:17] – Colleen tells us that we should survey food before taking a plate.
[21:50] – We are instructed to eat mindfully.
[25:55] – We can also, Colleen shares with us, use the hunger scale during the holiday season.
[28:18] – Colleen addresses food FOMO (fear of missing out).
[30:18] – Colleen shifts toward what to do after the meal is done.
[36:50] – Colleen summarizes all of the tips from the episode.
Links and Resources
Colleen Christensen Nutrition – Website
The SociEATy - Become a Member
Ultimate 5 Step Guide To Food Freedom