Navigating the Holidays Through A Non-Diet Lens
Find Ease this Holiday Season
Written by Erin Nelson, RD
The holidays are fast approaching, and while it can be filled with so many great memory making moments, it can also be one of the most stressful and emotionally taxing times of the year.
One reason it can be such a charged time of year is because diet culture tends to get extremely loud when we visit with friends and family we have not seen in a while, and they are often all in one place at one time. Whether you are currently pursuing weight loss through dieting and exercise or have opted out of diet culture (or find yourself somewhere in between), the added pressure to talk about your diet or someone else’s can feel like too much.
I am sure many of us can see this collective movie playing in our minds: You arrive at the annual family/friend holiday get together, where everyone brings a potluck item. The stress started about a week ago because you know that undoubtedly there is going to be talk about who has lost weight and who hasn’t, you have been stressing about what to wear and you aren’t sure what food will be available. Your aunties will have a running commentary about the food they are putting on their plates and will announce they have been “saving up” for this meal so today is a “cheat day”. Another family member corners you to ask if you will sit by them during dinner, so they have an audience to recruit and discuss how well a certain diet is “working” for them.
It is a lot. It is a lot because in addition to what our friends and family are saying to us, we are also struggling with our own internal dialogue about how we feel in this situation and how other people’s comments have affected us in the moment. It is a lot because the foods we eat at the holidays are often tied with the strongest of emotional connections. And it is a lot to remain constantly vigilant in order to anticipate what will happen and how we will react.
There are many strategies you can use to help you cope with the stress of the holiday season. These are just a few of them:
Prioritizing rest before, during and after a holiday event can be helpful. Allow yourself the time to process the events you participate in and how they have affected you.
Try to think of food as neutral. The only moral value food holds is what we are placing on it. This can be especially helpful during an event where people are saying they “shouldn’t have this” or are “bad” for having that.
It can also be helpful to ensure you are eating consistently throughout the day so you are not going to a function or get-together quite hungry, which may increase the stress and anxiety around eating.
Join us for our free workshop More Joy, Less Stress - Find Ease with Food This Holiday Season on December 14th, where we will get more specific on how to move through the holidays with ease, using these strategies as well as a few more. You can sign up for this free workshop here.
We are here to support you in whatever capacity feels the best for you. In addition to this workshop, we continue to offer individual nutrition support to clients here and you can explore the latest workshops and events we are offering here.
We at The Nourish Collective are wishing you a safe, happy holiday season, filled with ease and yummy food.
