The holidays can be extremely FUN, but also an extremely challenging time for many. We’re faced with so many unfamiliar foods, it can be hard to be an intuitive eater during those times! Let me show you how…
I’m going to be talking about what intuitive eating is, how it can be tricky during the holidays, and my best tips for you to feel good and confident going into the holidays.
What is Intuitive Eating?
So, what exactly is intuitive eating? Hopefully you’ve heard a little bit about it, but in case you haven’t, let me clear some things up. According to the authors of Intuitive Eating, Elyse Resch and Evelyn Tribole, intuitive eating is “a self-care framework, which integrates instinct, emotion, and rational thought.”
Basically, intuitive eating is how we can combine what foods we know make our body feel physically well, while still enjoying the foods that bring us joy. When you think about it, we were all born intuitive eaters. There was no thought about how or when we ate as infants.
Over time and through the influence of diet culture and social media, that intuitive eating has changed for many. We want to get back to that place of not putting food on a pedestal, and instead, finding the enjoyment in it.
Eating During the Holidays
During the holidays, you know you’re going to be eating GOOD. Whether that be Thanksgiving, endless Christmas cookies, or random hot chocolates on a winter night. No matter what, the food during the holidays is good, and there’s no getting around that!
What we can get around is the fear and pressure there is to eat ALL the goodies ALL at once. I totally understand how overwhelming it can be to be surrounded by so much food, so I want to honor and respect that. I want to show you that instead of seeing a table of cookies and feeling fear, you can feel excitement.
How to Combine the Two
Now that we know what intuitive eating is and what eating around the holidays entails, how can we combine the two? Let me start off by saying that intuitive eating is a practice, not perfection. It’s an ongoing progress. Some days you may feel super in tune with your body, while other days you may eat way past fullness. Both are normal.
How about we imagine a scenario to explain this best. You just walked into your house for Christmas break and there are tins upon tins of Christmas cookies. How do you navigate that?
First, I want you to do a full body scan and see how you feel. Are you hungry? Do you even want a cookie, or is it just the idea of a cookie you want? See if anything actually appeals to you. If it doesn’t, maybe don’t have a cookie right away, but know that they’re there whenever you want one.
Now let’s say you are hungry and do want a cookie. Sounds good! Assess all the options, and see which one sounds the best to you. Do you want something soft? Chocolate? Minty? Think of what will leave you satisfied. That may be one cookie, or it may be five.
The point is to first think if you actually want the foods that are being offered instead of just automatically going for them. You can want it in two different ways: 1) Your body may physically be craving it, or 2) it can satisfy an emotional hunger that isn’t necessarily physical. Both are totally fine!
Being Realistic With It
I know what you’re thinking. Am I really going to stand over the cookie table and try and see what my body feels? When the delicious sugary aroma of warm chocolate chip cookies fills the air? Yeah, probably not.
The best advice I can give with eating intuitively during the holidays is to give yourself grace. You’ve heard it before, and you’re going to hear it again. It is SO normal to overeat during the holidays. I’m not telling you to go and gorge on tons of food all the time, but if you do, it’s going to be okay.
Remember that with all of the foods you’re having during the holidays, you can have again. You can make chocolate chip cookies anytime of year. Stuffing doesn’t just have to be eaten on Thanksgiving. These foods can be accessible to you anytime theoretically, so there doesn’t need to be an all-or-nothing mentality surrounding them.
I’m not perfect with this either. Just last week, I opened a box of cookies that my parents brought home from a wedding, saw an Oreo truffle, and didn’t think twice before devouring it. Did I think if I really wanted it or not? Nope. It looked delicious, so that’s what I ate! This is also intuitive eating.
I hope that this was helpful and provided some insight into what goes into intuitive eating during the holidays. It isn’t always easy, but I promise that it can be done. AND if it’s not done, that’s okay. You always deserve to nourish your body, and you always deserve happiness.
xoxo
More Helpful Posts
- Confidence Tips That Don’t Involve Weight Loss
- Mourning Your Old Body
- Eating Intuitively When Out to Eat
- Eating During the Holidays Without Stress
- Why I Don’t Count Calories
