Are you ready for the holiday season?

Ready or not, it has once again arrived. Thanksgiving is just around the corner and stores are full of Christmas decorations already! I don’t know about you, but I sort of wish we could enjoy one holiday before jumping into another.

How do you feel about food this time of year? Do you look forward to all this season brings, or does it stress you out?

Many of us both look forward to the abundance of food during this season, but also have feelings of dread over what and how much we will eat. The following are a few ways to consider approaching food differently this holiday season.

#1 Avoid skipping meals

It’s tempting to skip meals to “save up” to make room for holiday meals or parties. This can backfire and lead to extreme hunger, which often, on the flip side, leads to uncomfortable fullness, usually with a side of guilt and self-criticism.

If you’ve ever “saved up” for a meal and then wondered, “Why on earth did I eat so much?! What’s wrong with me?” It was the saving up that was the culprit, not your lack of willpower.

When you skip a meal, your body produces higher levels of the hunger hormone ghrelin. This makes you feel hungrier, leading to increased food cravings and a tendency to eat more during your next meal.

Not eating for an extended period also causes your blood sugar levels to drop. This can make you feel tired, irritable, and more likely to reach for quick-energy foods, which can result in overeating.

Eating regularly and consistently will allow you to approach the holiday meals and the abundance of sweets and treats more mindfully. Maintaining a regular eating schedule helps keep your hunger and energy levels stable, making it easier to make choices around food that align with your body’s true needs.

#2 Slow down 

Slowing down at all in this busy, jam-packed time of year may seem impossible, let alone around food. One of the overarching intentions of the mindful and intuitive eating approach that is the foundation of my work with clients, is to bring more awareness and pleasure to food and to honor how your body feels.

A wonderful way to bring more pleasure and awareness into a delicious meal or holiday treat is to slow down and notice it before mindlessly diving in. You can practice this by taking just a moment and noticing one quality of your food or meal with your senses. You might notice the smell, the way it looks, the different colors and textures, or the taste.

Slowing down can both increase your enjoyment and satisfaction with food and allow you to recognize when you are beginning to feel full. By slowing down, we give ourselves the opportunity to chew thoroughly and savor the flavors. This also allows our brain time to register when we are starting to feel full and satisfied.

Signs of fullness might feel like a decrease in how much you are enjoying the food or a feeling of comfort and satisfaction. This is that sweet spot where you feel content with what you’ve eaten. You’re not still hungry, but you’re not overly stuffed either. By slowing down, you are more apt to notice this comfortable, satisfied feeling and to finish your meal ready to enjoy the rest of your holiday festivities without feeling like you are ready for a nap.

#3 Drop the labels and guilt 

There’s no reason to label foods ‘good’ or ‘bad’, or yourself as ‘good’ or ‘bad’, for what or how much you’ve eaten. Although this is a common way to label food and eating behavior, the reality is food has no moral value. 

In fact, labeling foods as bad and feeling guilty about eating them can increase your cravings for those very foods. This phenomenon is known as the “forbidden fruit effect,” where restriction makes the food more appealing and can lead to overeating once you do allow yourself to have it.

Guilt and regret can cause you to eat mindlessly. Instead of savoring and enjoying your food, you might eat quickly and without awareness in an attempt to avoid dealing with the guilty feelings, which can lead to overeating and further guilt. It can be a vicious cycle.

By mindfully enjoying food and resisting the side of guilt, you break the cycle. If you’ve been so excited to eat the pumpkin pie, allow yourself to eat it in a way that feels good to you. Maybe you wait until your meal settles before diving right into dessert?

Instead of getting stuck in negative thoughts of good or bad foods and guilt, you might try asking yourself “what will feel good to me right now?” Pausing even momentarily to consider what will feel good to you can be a powerful tool. It encourages you to listen to your body’s signals, such as hunger and cravings, rather than eating out of habit, emotional triggers, or just because it is there. It can help you identify what your body genuinely needs and what will feel best in the moment.

Wrap Up

There is so much to enjoy and focus on this holiday besides calorie counts and regret over what or how much we’ve eaten.

By consistently nourishing yourself, taking time to savor your meals, and releasing the labels of ‘good’ or ‘bad’ food, you can more fully enjoy the special holiday treats and meals without the worry.

I hope these tips help you approach food and how your body feels more mindfully and that you can find moments of joy and peace throughout this holiday season.