The holiday season can bring about a lot of different emotions and feelings.
Excitement. Anticipation, Celebration. Gratitude. Stress. Anxiety. Guilt.
Sound familiar? Any that you want to add in there?
These holidays and celebrations are often centered around food. Which I personally love, but I know I used to fall victim to negative thoughts and patterns around eating around this time of year with so much being food-centric. As a health coach, I want to help you feel more confident and excited to navigate the holiday meals and celebrations!
Here are 4 things I think are SO IMPORTANT to talk about especially heading into this time of year.
1. You don't have to earn your food
Read that again. You don't have to earn your food, ever!! I also work in the fitness space in addition to health coaching and this is something I hear way too often around the holidays in classes and it just makes me cringe. When you hear that you have to do that extra set of crunches to earn that piece of pie or if you sprint to the finish line, you deserve that cocktail later, there is an immediate connection made in your brain. If you don't then you failed, and the only way to feel good about eating that pie or drinking a holiday drink is if you did something for it.
No way my friend!! Food is our fuel source but is also a source of celebration! For years and in so many cultures it is how people come together to express love, gratitude, joy, and a way to spend time together.
Instead of trying to earn your food, have it! Savor it! Enjoy it!
2. What you eat around the holidays doesn't make or break your goals
In the grand scheme of things, the holidays are a blip out of the rest of the year. Most holidays are just 1 day. Maybe if you have it over a weekend or even 2 or 3 different ways of celebrating (with friends, family, coworkers etc), that's collectively maybe a week? And then there is still some downtime in between each of the holidays.
What you do (or don't do) and what you eat during these couple of days throughout the year are not going to make or break you.
Instead of worrying about what you do these few days, remember its what you do the majority of the time! That is where your consistency and progress shine!
3. Move because you want to, not because you think you should
I love movement, it's a form of meditation for me at many times. But I do it because
I know how much it benefits my body, it gives me energy, & it makes me feel good!
Going back to the example of the fitness class where your instructor says something about earning your holiday meal. This plays right into that same mindset of feeling like you 'should'.
My coach says it to me all the time so I have adopted this. STOP SHOULDING YOURSELF!
Saying 'should' in your statement is almost always driven by expectations or reasoning from outside parties. Stop yourself when you find the thoughts of " I should workout before the big dinner" or "If I want to enjoy my weekend, I should exercise every day this week". Swap the should for a different word like "I can", "I want to", "I'll feel better if I"... something that make that statement come from your power and your decision.
If you want to move, you choose to move because of your own internal reasoning! And that can be to feel good before a meal!
4. Eating an extra serving of food and dessert doesn't mean you were "bad".
Food doesn't have the ability to determine your morality. Saying you were "bad" or "good" based on what you eat is giving your food the power to do so. This is a diet culture mentality that has been ingrained in us to think it's normal. But its actually you who gets to decide! Not based on what you eat but on your thoughts.
Foods can however leave you feeling good or bad based on how they support your body. And this is one thing I harp on with clients as a great way to tune inward when they eat. If you are debating that extra serving of food or having a slice of pie, give yourself a moment to pause, see how you feel now and if that food is going to leave you feeling satisfied or maybe a little uncomfortable after.
Allowing yourself the opportunity to tune inward and consciously make that choice can allow for satisfaction and feeling full while helping with any overeating, guilt, and physical discomfort.
Share with a friend heading into the holidays who might need a little reminder 💕
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