Permission Slip to Fully Enjoy Food Over the Holidays
November and December are, for many people in America, the time of the year most filled with gatherings, parties, and festivities, which means we’re usually sitting around the table to enjoy a meal or grazing on snacks at parties for a lot of these two months. Thanksgiving is literally a day dedicated to food and family, and December, for my family and many others I know, is 31 days of holiday baking, holiday parties, holiday cookie exchanges, holiday beverages, etc etc etc.
All this to say, it’s a lot of time spent indulging in heavy foods and sweets.
Food is the center of many holiday events, and for those who have an unhealthy relationship with food, diet culture, and body image, these months can be difficult mentally and emotionally. On top of this, after the holiday season has ended, New Year’s resolutions start popping up, with social media feeds and advertisements pushing new diets and gym memberships to “work off holiday weight”. This narrative uses guilt and shame around enjoying these months and these foods that many of us love, something we should absolutely not feel guilty about. Creating goals to better ourselves and live a healthier lifestyle is important, but as soon as these goals come from a negative place filled with self hatred and guilt, we have to shift.
These toxic ideas of needing to “work off holiday weight” or eat less in January to accommodate for how much you ate in December are taxing on our mental health, and painful things to consistently tell ourselves and our bodies as this mindset could lead to unhealthy eating habits, or further existing ones. The holiday season is a major time of the year to take time off work, travel to see our families and friends, and celebrate together. Why should we feel guilty for fully enjoying ourselves, and indulging in the foods we love?
This is not me saying it’s okay to gorge ourselves just because it’s Thanksgiving, or drink into oblivion at a Christmas party. It is me telling you that it is completely okay to enjoy yourself during this season and after; eat the foods you love without worrying about the number of calories on your plate or how you’re going to work it off the next day; indulge in your favorite holiday dessert because why not (and have an extra slice of pie while you’re at it!). Yes, I recognize this is much easier said than done, but being mindful and aware of the negative thoughts that could come up during the next few months, and working through them, will go such a long way. Keep reminding yourself that it is okay. And, might I even say, necessary to bring about the most joy into your holiday experience
Some ways that may be helpful to work through the mental/emotional stress around food and body image that can come up around the holidays include:
Create a list of some of your favorite holiday foods and make sure you get to enjoy them. We all have our favorite dishes, desserts, and drinks that symbolize the holidays for us and that make our unique taste buds happy. Now is the time of year to bake these, buy these, and fully enjoy these.
Have a cookie baking day! I feel like Christmas / holiday cookies are such a fun part of this time of year and there are so many cookie recipes that you or your family may have made over the holidays that can bring about those feelings of nostalgia, comfort, and love. Get out that recipe book, search around on Pinterest, or use Chat GPT to uncover a few recipes that you absolutely love. Then, either make it a solo baking event or invite some of your close friends or family members to join you!
Savor every single bite, without guilt or shame. Think about having a mini love affair with the delicious food on your plate. Rather than feel guilty or ashamed of your indulgences over the holidays, relish in them! Can you really taste each bite and allow yourself to feel a joyful connection with the food you’re eating? How can the things you eat really enhance and light up your days? For example, when you’re taking the first sip of your peppermint latte, can you close your eyes and really savor the deliciousness? Or when you’re enjoying the dough of the batch of cookies you’re making, can you bring yourself back to your childhood and invite in the innocence of how yummy cookies are? Choose joy and allow it to overpower any shame or guilt that surfaces.
I am someone who has always loved food, and, much more recently, learned to love cooking it. My palate was very mature as a kid, and as I’ve grown up I keep discovering and trying new foods; it’s addicting. Not only do I love the taste of my favorite dishes and sharing them with my loved ones, but I love how it brings people together and is something we can gather around, not only during the holidays, but at many times of the year. Whether it be having picnics in the park during the summer, hosting a Friendsgiving potluck, singing around the birthday cake, going on a first date to your favorite restaurant, food is at the center of it all. Thinking about food in this light has helped me realize that it is so much more than just fuel, it’s a small slice of culture, tradition, and, truly, a labor of love. The idea of knowing that some of my favorite recipes, and not just holiday ones, have been used through generations is so fascinating, and, when I remind myself of these things, it’s way more enjoyable to eat my meals and savor the taste.
I’m extremely lucky to have had a relationship with food that’s more healthy than not, but the inner critic still is there, telling me that I should be eating less and need to be burning more off; these thoughts find all of us at some point. It’s what we do with these thoughts, and how we move forward that matter.
I hope during this holiday season that you can completely and unapologetically enjoy your favorite holiday meals, with healthy doses of joy and delight!
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Blog Written by: Isabel Lopez
📷: Isabel Lopez
