5 Tips for Eating During the Holidays

The holidays can be a stressful time around food, especially if you’ve struggled with disordered eating or chronic dieting. I know for me personally, it used to be difficult to give myself full permission around holiday foods if I hadn’t exercised that day. For some, it might be feeling out of control around holiday food that’s stressful. After holiday eating, the urges to restrict, exercise, or make up for it later by going on a diet or “getting back on track” can be strong. Everyone’s relationship to eating during the holidays is different.

Here are 5 tips that work for me when it comes to holiday eating. I hope you’ll give them a try and see if they work for you!

1. Give yourself unconditional permission to eat.

Truly allow yourself to have any and all foods that sound good to you. Give yourself permission to eat whenever you feel hungry, and remind yourself that you will not have to diet or restrict afterwards. If you know you’ll force yourself to diet after the holidays and that deprivation is inevitable, it will change how you behave around food. This is what’s called “the Last Supper effect”. If you know your New Year’s resolution will be to diet and lose weight, you’ll be more likely to eat with reckless abandon during the holidays. Because you gotta get all those delicious foods in before they go away forever, right?

But, if you know you can have satisfying food whenever you want, you won’t feel the need to stuff it all in, right then and there. You can enjoy a piece of pie after dinner, and have another slice if it sounds good. Or come back to it later, or make a pie on a random weekday just because. Not to mention, when you truly give yourself permission to eat, it frees you of any guilt surrounding your food choices.

2. Know that it’s OK to feel overly full.

Eating past the point of fullness from time to time is perfectly normal. Sometimes the food is just so delicious and we’re enjoying the eating experience so much that it happens. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. The feeling of fullness will pass. Your body will need food again at some point. And no, one too-large meal will not ruin your health. Our bodies know how to use the energy and nutrients we give them. We just have to trust in them. On this same grain, let your hunger and fullness cues guide your food choices. It’s ok to say “no thanks” to seconds or thirds, even if it’s a really special dish.  

3. Know that you don’t have to participate in body shaming or diet talk.

What we say and think about ourselves matters. We get to choose how we interact with diet culture during the holiday season. The holidays bring all kinds of family and friends together, all of whom may be in different places in their eating journeys. Some may still be deeply involved in diet culture. And that’s ok, it’s not your job to fix anyone. It is your job to enjoy the holiday season and all the food and drink that comes with it. If you find yourself in a conversation focusing on diet talk or body bashing, you are allowed to excuse yourself. You do not have to feed into the discussion with your own negative statements about yourself. If someone mentions a food being unhealthy or how they’ll have to work out to make up for it, you don’t have to react. You don’t have to accept those statements as true. We don’t have to believe everything we think, read, or hear as truth. If someone comments on your weight or body, you can respond with a statement like “thank you, but I’m not focusing on my weight right now”, or just leave it be with minimal reaction.

4. Be compassionate with yourself.

Beating yourself up for eating a certain way during the holidays will do nothing but put a damper on the whole season and experience. Speaking negatively to yourself never made anything better. Speak kindly to yourself during this holiday season, maybe a little more often than usual. Come up with some positive mantras you can repeat to yourself.  Continue to give yourself adequate nourishment. Doing so will allow you to mindfully enjoy the foods. Skipping out on meals increases your chances of bingeing or eating until you feel sick.

5. Don’t restrict foods prior to the “big meal”.

It can be tempting to skip breakfast before the big meal on Thanksgiving or Christmas to “save up” for all the food you’ll be eating. In reality, this just makes it more likely that you’ll feel out of control around food when you do eat. Not to mention, it’ll be difficult to enjoy spending time with friends and family if you’re preoccupied with a rumbling stomach the whole time. Eat a balanced breakfast the morning of- something with protein, carbs, fat, and fiber, and don’t go more than about 4 hours without eating. This way, you won’t be preoccupied with hunger or hyper-focused on food. You can enjoy all the other great things about the holidays aside from just the food.

What are some ways you navigate diet culture during the holidays? Or, just share with us your favorite things about the holiday season!