How To Make Your Holiday Nutrition Suck Less

Holiday weekends and healthy eating used to be such a struggle.

Not because I didn’t have will power or discipline, and it certainly wasn’t because I didn’t already know the pitfalls of the weekend.

It was because of what I believed healthy eating needed to have been.

A diet free of any and all processed foods. 

Processed foods were forbidden - according to the diet rules of course- and consumption of them would bring feelings of guilt which would later be assuaged by working it off with exercise. 

So, on holiday weekends, where there’d be less activity, the allure of forbidden foods would be as strong as me relieving my cupboards of all the snacks before the weekend was over.

After all, it was a given I'd make up for it with exercise the next week when things went back to normal. Right? 

If any of this sounds familiar, know that you are not alone.

And as much as you’d like to think this is simply your belief, it is an accumulation of all you’ve been exposed to up to this point.

👉🏾 The ads and magazine covers highlighting the ill effects of carbs & bread

👉🏾 Your cousin stating her avoidance of fruit because it has too much sugar

👉🏾 The fitness instructor telling clients they need to burn off the rice and peas

👉🏾 Your best friend expressing guilt for eating a scoop of ice cream after dinner

Messages like these, however innocuous they may seem, you adopt as your truth.

Diet culture being what it is, they aren't likely to go away any time soon.

By the way choosing to not eat certain foods because you have no interest in, dislike or are made sick by them, is not the same as going out of your way to avoid foods you do like and would be satisfied including them even if occasionally, because you think they will mess up your healthy eating.

The latter creates a disordered and unhealthy relationship with food and a great mistrust in your ability to regulate our own appetite.

Who wants to live like that? I knew I no longer wanted to and maybe you don't either. 

So, what are you to do when the next long weekend comes around and you’re dreading what it will mean for you and your nutrition?

I'm going to invite you to check in with yourself - call in homework if you like. 😃

Do this quick evaluation of your own approach to healthy eating. 

• Do you consider some foods as off limits as a way to control your consumption of them?

• Do you feel guilty at all for having certain foods you like and/or say you're going to make up for eating these foods by eating less the next day or workout especially hard to make up for it?

• Do you believe you have no control around some foods and so you avoid them entirely?

If you answer yes to any of these, your next step is to ask why.

Do as deep or shallow a dive as you need to, but make sure you’re being honest.

What you find might be an ‘aha’ or an ‘oh no’, but at the very least you’ll know where to begin.