The Holidays and Food Anxiety

Christmas is just under a month away. With that being said, a lot of us are going to experience a heightened sense of stress when it comes to financially preparing for these months of gift giving and party hosting. Although that is one main stress associate with the holidays, my main focus as a nutritionist is to address all thing related to food and nutrition. At this time, many of us also may experience a sense of food anxiety when it comes to excess baked good and calories that are beyond your ability to count. We may begin to fear the dreaded holiday weight gain. So to compensate for overeating the night before, you restrict yourself the next day by eating super "clean" and overexercising to "burn" of the excess calories. does this cycle sound familiar? Now take a deep breathe... we are all in this together. likely if you are reading this post, you can connect to this in some way and are looking for tips to help with this. first we must understand what psychologically going on when we respond in this manor.

BINGE RESTRICT CYCLE:

Tips for overcoming this cycle this holiday season:

1. Journal - Wright down your thoughts and feelings around why you think you can and cannot eat certain foods or why you deserve to not fuel your body. make a two column chart. one for the deceptive thought and one for the counteractive positive self talk.

2. Eat Mindfully - Take time to fully enjoy the various dishes prepared for dinner. Eat what you like for the day but honour your hunger cues. with every bite identify texture and flavour to make sure your really enjoying your meal. When we eat in a rush, we're more likely to over eat.

3. Appreciate your body - Now this is a hard one! But with full intent, thank your body for fully being there for you even when your thoughts only wanted to tear it down and make it smaller. Appreciate the fact that because you have a body, you are able to enjoy the precious moments with loved ones. That's what the holidays are truly about!

4. Remove food rules - As scary as this may sound, it has to be done! The more rules you have for yourself going into a holiday party the more likely you are to think about it all night long until you finally cave in. Instead try and keep your mind on other things like connecting with those around you. if you truly don't want a food being offered, and your choice is not being governed by the anxiety, saying NO is ok too.

5. Move your body - By this I don't mean run on the treadmill until you burn off all the turkey dinner. I mean, go for a walk, be outdoors to experience the fresh air. It will stimulate the release of feel good neurotransmitters to help elevate the sadness you may feel from getting down on your self.