We are always worried about holidays when it comes to our eating and activity habits. Right now the Internet is brimming with advice on how not to overeat overindulge or ruin your progress. It's difficult to learn how to stay healthy when you're tempted by "evil" carby, salty, sugary foods like cookies, buns, stuffing, casseroles, and pie... so much pie. But let's be realistic here: the holidays are centred around sharing food with friends and family. You eat delicious stuff you don't otherwise eat on a daily basis. And many coaches, dietitians, nutritionists and yes even bodybuilders don't think anyone should feel guilty for filling up on extra hearty yes, fattening, foods one day out of the year. Or two period seriously, whatever! It's like our self trust gets thrown out the window and panic sets in, “Oh my God what will I do with this food?!” … simply do what you do any other day. Have your breakfast have your snack maybe your lunch and then you enjoy something in the evening. Maybe it's a full day of festivities and you just say fuck it too restricting yourself for one day and enjoying the damn fucking cookie! The issue I find with majority of people is that everything is now labeled with shoulds, woulds, right and wrong, bad or good. And everybody wants to put themselves in this damn box of perfection that doesn't even fucking exist. It's all coming from a place of deficit, a place of restriction. so no wonder everybody wants to rebel and panics. Now don't get me wrong I have said these words myself and I've said it to myself and I've said it to my clients as well. As a coach I need to put labels on certain things sometimes to enforce an reinforce what the client has hired me for to help them with. But the majority of the time that's not how life work. One day of poor eating isn’t going to make you a fuck up. It isn't going to make you gain actual pounds though you'll probably feel fucking bloated as all hell. But one unhealthy meal is not going to cause you to gain weight just like one healthy meal doesn't cause you to lose weight. What matters are the habits you have most days. Your overall eating pattern which is what you eat on a daily basis over the course of weeks and months is what truly matters when it comes to long-term health, body changes. And your overall relationship with food and dieting. When you change/shift that mindset and come from a place of positive, nourishment, abundance, permission, that means you choose what you want to do. I promise you you won't ruin it. If you come from a place of nourishment, if you come from that place of permission instead of deficit you can overcome that and live your life of food freedom while still having a hustle and muscle mindset every other day of the year.
I'll ask you this, what sounds better to you? “I can't have that, I'm not allowing myself because I can't trust myself around this food I'll binge. But everyone else looks so happy, everyone else is sharing, I wish I could have that, but I can't because I'll ruin my progress and I'll feel like a failure." OR “I can have a bite of that and I can have a bite of that and I can have a bite of this! Wow this is actually a lot easier than I thought it would be by giving myself permission to enjoy this food for this moment. I get to be involved with sharing of happiness with everybody. I have my routine ready and set to go tomorrow and I go back to my daily habits that I already do everyday."
Feeling guilty about food is extremely counterproductive especially when you are trying to build a healthy relationship with food, lose fat, have energy to run after the kids or put on your favorite swimsuit come spring. We've been taught that certain foods are unhealthy and that we should feel guilty about indulging in them. But it doesn't make any sense because then why the hell do we have them in the first place. This is where you need to understand your version of how restricted or intense you want to be with your goals. If your intention is to abide by it to the best of your ability as 100% with no wavering then give her shit! But then don't fucking complain about it. Don't bitch and moan and whine that you can't have a cookie that you can't have a treat, if you're choosing to do it. Its not punishment unless you’re seeing it that way. You might feel like your feeling left out but it's your decision. It's your choice. So change it! If you're choosing to indulge an enjoy the cookies enjoy the treats enjoy the food for a day or two you can't feel guilty about it you shouldn't feel guilty about it because you're making that choice that's where you have that inner dialogue discussion with yourself and decide how you are going to feel. I know it sounds really crazy that giving yourself permission or just telling yourself it's going to be OK will fix it. But the more you rely on yourself and trust yourself with what you have established already with positive habits, you will be able to sustain throughout the Christmas season. It simply means that you be mindful while you enjoy the food, the time and the people that you're with.Not worrying about screwing up after one day. Because it matters what you do the other 98% of the time not the 2%. If you know that throwing away your inhibitions completely tends to be a slippery slope and can lead you to make poor food choices in the following weeks or months. Anyone with a tendency towards binge eating or compulsive overeating should approach the holidays with a game plan to stay on track. If that describes you, I suggest choosing one indulgence in filling the rest of your plate with veggies and other happy healthy stuff. But if you have a healthy relationship with food and eat well balanced diet the rest of the year then there's no reason to say no to the four different types of carbs being passed around the table. In fact allowing yourself to indulge over the holiday really shouldn't impact your weight or health at all! The reason why I want you to be mindful of feeling guilty around food is that when you feel guilty eating something, you have a tendency to eat it quickly and don't pay full attention to it and this causes you to be less satisfied and crave more of that food because you don't feel fulfilled. SO when you're indulging like I said do it mindfully you'll enjoy your food more in stop before your painfully stopped or feel like shit. And keep in mind that indulging is much different than bingeing. Indulging means mindfully eating something that you love and then stopping when you're full. Mindful eating encourages you to sit down slow down and enjoy your food. You get to taste and savor the food while catching up with your family and friends. This method will help you manage your appetite better by listening to your body's hunger cues.
So I want you to go ahead and eat the foods you love, say no to the ones you feel so so about and enjoy every bite.
You'll feel more satisfied and have more room for dessert and if you do end up needing to change into leggings after dinner I won't judge you one bit!
Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!
Coach Brit