Are you due for a pre-holiday tune-up?

The holiday season is fast approaching! Halloween kicks things off, quickly followed by Diwali, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, New Year’s Eve. After a rough 2020, many people are looking forward to the upcoming holidays to relax, celebrate, and to enjoy their favorite traditions (perhaps in new and creative ways!).

While all these holidays are different, one of the things they all have in common is that these celebrations typically involve food. What is eaten (and when) is deeply rooted in our habits, many of which are subconscious. Before we dive right into the season and start operating on autopilot, let’s take a moment to pause and see if a healthy tune-up is in order.

Do a Quick Assessment – What does your relationship with food currently look like?

• Do you feel like you are in control of what and how you eat?

• Are you full of energy and able to get through your busy days without a nap or some caffeine?

• Is your mind clear and able to solve problems as they arise?

• Do you generally maintain/lose weight during the holidays?

• Do you feel confident when you get up and get dressed for the day?

If you answered “yes” to all the questions, that’s a great sign that you most likely have a healthy relationship with food and can enter the holiday season with a sense of confidence, energy, and self-control. Perhaps you can share some of your own tips with your loved ones to also help them feel and look their best?

If you answered “no” to some of the questions, chances are that your relationship with food is due for a tune-up (or a more drastic overhaul) prior to diving into the holiday season.

If you answered “no” to all of the questions, chances are that your relationship with food is due for a tune-up (or a more drastic overhaul) prior to diving into the holiday season. Please reach out for a free consultation to learn about our health programs and one-on-one coaching.

The Power of the Pause

While there are many schools of thought about what the “right” way to eat is, most approaches agree that it’s important to be mindful about what you eat, when you eat it, and why you are eating it.

In our busy lives, it’s easy to skip this important step: we eat too much…we don’t eat enough…we eat when we’re happy…we eat when we’re sad…we eat just because it’s the weekend…or because someone we love would be disappointed if we didn’t eat. Sound familiar?

One of the simplest things that you can do to begin your tune-up is to pause before you eat and consider WHY you are eating:

• Am I truly hungry or am I just thirsty? [Aim for at least 64oz of water per day]

• Does the food represent Comfort? Escape? Love? Celebration? Success? [Ideally, it should represent FUEL for your body]

• How am I likely to feel AFTER I eat? [Will I have more energy or less? Feel bloated or not? Etc]

Consider Alternatives

For many, our relationship with food is invisible to us; it lives in our subconscious – driven by years and years of habits and patterns. Once we pause and recognize that we are falling into our bad habits, we can consider some healthier alternatives.

A few questions to ask:

• What holiday traditions make me feel my best and which ones take me away from my overall goals? [ID less than healthy activities in advance & invite your loved ones to help brainstorm alternatives or opt to skip them]

• How can we mix up the tradition to make it less about food and more about spending time together and celebrating in healthier ways? [e.g. Instead of a cookie exchange, plan a hike, game night, dance party, karaoke, etc.]

• Are there potential substitutes for some of our less healthy traditional foods? [e.g. swap veggie noodles for pasta; mashed cauliflower for mashed potatoes; fruit/veggies for sweets & candies; a pumpkin carving contest vs a gingerbread cookie decorating contest, etc.]

Plan Ahead & Invite Others to Join You

Now that you’ve identified some areas that you want to tune up and consider some alternatives, it’s a great idea to invite others in to help you as you make those adjustments this holiday season. Willpower alone is rarely sustainable and trying to do everything by yourself can be lonely and extra challenging; however, surrounding yourself with others who share your goals will make it easier.

• Be sure to eat a healthy meal and drink lots of water prior to going to a social event – you’ll be less tempted to overindulge

• Offer to bring a healthy dish with you wherever you go – at the very least, you will know that there is at least one healthy option available for you (Download my favorite recipe in our Holiday Event Survival Guide)

• If alcohol is being served and you don’t plan to partake, bring along a flavored seltzer to fill up your own wine glass – no one will have any idea what’s in your glass (and they are unlikely to actually care!)

• If there’s a buffet or passed hors d’oeuvre, carry a napkin in one hand and your glass of bubbly seltzer in the other to keep yourself from sampling everything

• Be prepared for others to potentially tease you about not overindulging; when they do, don’t hesitate, flounder, or get triggered; instead, take a deep breath and tell them that you are happy to be there celebrating along with them and are focused on feeling your best throughout the holiday season [or another phrase that feels more authentic to you]

• Have at least one designated “accountability buddy” at each social gathering to help you navigate any challenges that may arise

• Share your tune-up goals with a few close friends and ask for their support

This simple pre-holiday tune-up requires only a few minutes of your time yet can yield some wonderful results. Remember to Pause, Consider your Alternatives, Plan Ahead, and Invite Others to Join You - then reflect on how you handled each holiday situation so that you can incorporate those learnings into your plan the next time a holiday rolls around.

Wishing you a happy, healthy kick-off to the holiday season!

Dianne