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Eating During the Holidays

Lisa Tretta Brugger, LMFT
November 22, 2010

As the winter seasons approaches, we often bookmark the progression with the many holidays that occur during this time period, including Halloween, Thanksgiving, Chanukah, Christmas, and the celebration of the New Year. Thus, October through December is occupied with the hustle and bustle of family trips, planning and attending parties, and buying and wrapping gifts. We are tempted to function in a very chaotic way. We attempt to fulfill all of these holiday specific tasks AND attend to our daily responsibilities at work, school, and home. It is in the middle of this chaos and celebration that we tend to slowly (or quickly) become disconnected. We can easily begin to function on auto pilot. We get thrown off balance by placing our focus on what we need to do versus what we need or feel. We stop listening to our bodies and look outward instead of connecting inward.

The “symptoms” of being disconnected can present in various ways—we might become fatigued or sick, or skimp on getting enough sleep, or become cranky and irritable, or we might eat. And eat. And eat. I have been known to present ALL of these symptoms during the holidays! However, I find that because food is typically an “accessory” to the holidays (or the main event if you are one of my family members) it becomes one of the easiest ways to disconnect. In an effort to live this holiday season in a more balanced manner, here are a few tips on how we can feed our bodies throughout the holidays and perhaps throughout the year.

1. Listen to your body. If we allow it, our body provides us with the signals to determine when we are hungry and when we are full. Before eating, take note of your hunger by envisioning a hunger scale of 1 to 5, where 1 equals starving and 5 equals stuffed. Where do you fall on the scale? Ask yourself, “How hungry am I?” and take mental note of this before eating. Midway through your meal, again take mental note of where you fall on the hunger scale: “Am I comfortably full? Could I eat a little bit more without becoming uncomfortable?” At the end of your meal, check in with your body once again to determine your body’s needs. “Am I satisfied? Am I comfortable? Am I stuffed?” If at any time you find yourself feeling satisfied or stuffed, then you are done. You can always eat again later when your body signals you to do so.

2. Eat without distraction. We can easily lose sight of our hunger and fullness cues when we combine eating with other activities. For example, have you ever eaten a meal in front of the television and found that you completed the meal without any awareness of what it tasted like? If it is time to eat, try to make food the main event. Place the portion of food you want in your dish rather than standing by the food table and snacking. Sit at the table or in an environment that allows you to focus on the food and present company.

3. Trust your body—If you want it, eat it. If you have a craving for a particular food, allow yourself to have it in moderation. When we restrict ourselves from eating certain foods we are not listening to our body’s true desires. We become out of balance by ignoring our bodies. Ultimately, when we attempt to ignore our bodies by restricting food, we tend to overindulge later and remain unbalanced. By paying attention to your food desires and fulfilling them, your body will respond with joy and satisfaction.

4. Treat each meal as your first meal, not your last. If we approach the Thanksgiving meal operating from a mindset of “eat all you can because this is the only time you will get turkey and pumpkin pie,” you will most likely eat much more than you need in the moment. Place only as much food on your plate as you desire in the moment. You can always have second helpings if you are still hungry. Leftovers will make wonderful meals in the days ahead. Attempting to “get it all in” at one meal will only lead to discomfort and dissatisfaction from your body.

If you find that you have become disconnected and are upset or disappointed with the type or amount of food you have consumed, forgive yourself rather than judge or punish yourself. Each meal is an opportunity for you to reconnect and listen to your body. Let us celebrate the holidays by celebrating with food and our bodies, and the gifts they both provide.

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Lisa Tretta Brugger, LMFT is a Senior Staff Therapist in CFR's Exton office. She can be reached at 610-594-9808 ext. 2.

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