Debbie Hatch | Family & F.I.T.
Many people will be celebrating with family & friends tomorrow. Many people won’t. I believe every one of us has an abundance of things to be thankful for. Some have more than others. Wherever you are, whatever you’re doing, I hope you won’t let food be a major cause of anxiety and stress.
Here are 6 tips for approaching the holiday – from a “diet” perspective.
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1. Start THANKSgiving with gratitude.
Think for just 5 minutes about what’s good in your life. Reflect on those things.
2. Have a conversation or two.
If you’re, physically, lucky enough to spend time with people you care about – really SPEND time with them. Put the phone down for a few minutes. Shut off the computer for a while.
If you’re not able to be with the people you love, call them.
3. Decide your food non-negotiables.
For example: I will have pumpkin pie – “real” home-made pumpkin pie. My daughter will have sweet potato casserole. My husband will have mashed potato and gravy.
4. Let some things go.
There are no rules for this holiday. That means, there is no reason you need to have everything.
For example: i will not obsess over food but I will start filling my plate with turkey first, then veggies, and then a little stuffing. I will not eat a brown-n-serve roll or mashed potato and gravy merely because – for me – those things aren’t anything special. They add nothing to my enjoyment of the meal.
5. If some is good, more isn’t necessarily better.
More isn’t better. Better is better.
After you finish your plate, wait a few minutes before you go back for seconds. Think about it: Do you really want more or are you going back for seconds just because that’s what you always do?
This meal is not a competition to see who can eat the most. There is no rule that forbids us from leaving the table until we are in a food coma. Eat what you want but remember how uncomfortable that over-stuffed feeling is? Not a lot of fun.
Tomorrow is not the last day you are going to ever be able to eat. Pie, potato, rolls, dressing will all continue to exist in the world on Friday – and beyond.
6. Don’t fall into the “you will need to repent for every morsel you eat” trap.
I have been seeing posts since Halloween, and today it was leveled-up to videos listing how many calories are in this or that type of food and how many calories you can burn by doing this or that type of exercise. That stuff is complete BS!!! You do not have to “earn” your meal and you don’t have to “pay a penance” for it, after the fact.
There should be no “gobble wobble” unless it is this kind.
One day of enjoyment is not going to “ruin” you, just like one day of dieting is not going to make everything wonderful. It’s just a day. A day in your life. A day to be thankful for.
xo