Intuitive Eating During the Holidays: 9 Tips

This the season for holiday gatherings, family meals, and all the delights that comes with them. As an anti-dieting intuitive eating dietitian, I’m here to help you enjoy these festive occasions without guilt or shame. During the holidays, it can be easy to get caught up in diet culture , particularly if “indulging” is often considered shameful or belittled. So today we’re going to talk about how to use intuitive eating during the holidays so you can feel more empowered about your food choices this holiday season. Keep reading!

Navigating the Holiday Season with Intuitive Holiday Eating

The beauty of intuitive eating is that it allows us to listen to our own bodies and make decisions about what we eat based on our individual needs and desires. It gives us the freedom to savor our favorite holiday foods without worrying about “ calories ” or “weight gain.” Intuitive eating helps us relax and enjoy the holidays with family and friends, free of anxieties about food or body image.

The Christmas season is a time of joy, family, and of course, food! But for many of us, this time of year also brings up feelings of stress and anxiety around what we “should” and “shouldn’t” eat. The good news is that you don’t have to succumb to the restrictive diets and “must-dos” that can come with the holiday season. There are no rules for intuitive eating.

Through the practice of intuitive eating, you can break free from diet culture and fully enjoy the holiday season while still honoring your health.

What is intuitive eating?

Intuitive eating is an evidence-based ( 1 ) approach to eating that focuses on tuning into our body’s natural hunger and fullness signals rather than external rules or guidelines. It allows you to choose foods based on your body’s nutrition while taking into account pleasure, satisfaction , social connection, emotional needs, reward factor and sensory enjoyment. Intuitive eating is about building a healthy relationship with food without guilt or deprivation so you can move away from the restrictive diet mindset.

The holidays are a great time to practice intuitive eating, as it allows flexibility in what you choose to eat without feeling guilty or like a failure if you indulge in something “less nutritious.” You can allow yourself to enjoy all foods without judgment by making conscious decisions that honor both your physical and emotional needs. In addition, intuitive eating helps us be better at managing emotions, as it encourages us to recognize our feelings without using food as a reward or punishment.

Finding balance during the holidays doesn’t mean depriving yourself, but rather learning to meet your own individual needs while enjoying all aspects of life, including food! With the help of an intuitive eating dietitian like myself, I can work with you to develop strategies for how best to navigate physical cravings and emotional desires during this special time of year.

Tips to survive Christmas with Intuitive Eating

1. Have breakfast:And lunch….and dinner…. In fact, staying well-fed throughout the day will help you regulate your hunger and satiety signals, making it easier for you to eat from a place of body wisdom. It can also help minimize deprivation-driven eating, which is a normal response to food restriction.
2. Tune in to your body’s signals:Developing an awareness of your levels of hunger, fullness, and satisfaction can help you recognize when it’s time to nourish your body and when it’s time to peacefully stop. This intentional approach will allow you to savor each bite while also being aware of your physical sensations, such as feeling uncomfortably full after eating a large meal or feeling satisfied after having eaten enough. It’s important not to put pressure on yourself during this process, but rather trust that your body knows what you need and let those internal signals guide you when making food decisions.
3. Give yourself unconditional permission to eat:Giving yourself unconditional permission to eat during the holidays is an important part of intuitive eating and may be the most beneficial strategy for managing holiday stress. When you give yourself unconditional permission to eat whatever you want, whenever you want, without guilt or shame, you are creating a safe space in which you can enjoy food. Unconditional permission is about choice and trust in oneself. Decisions are anchored in attunement to our body’s hunger and satiety signals, awareness of our emotional needs, and desire to truly nourish ourselves.
4. Diversify your plate:Eating a variety of foods that nourish not only your body but also your soul is a key component to practicing mindful, intuitive eating. During the holiday season, this may look like making sure to include a variety of colors and textures on the plate, for example, adding garlic-roasted sweet potatoes along with a savory filling or including a salad and cooked greens with dinner. It can also mean trying different foods that are unique to cultures or traditional for the holidays – this adds a festive touch while expanding your culinary experiences! Furthermore, diversifying your plate allows you to meet your nutritional needs as well as enjoy different flavors and textures.
5. Reflect on your thoughts:Exploring your thoughts about food as you navigate intuitive eating during the holiday season can help you break out of the restrictive diet mentality and reconnect with what really matters: enjoying the season with friends, family, and loved ones. It’s important to remember that foods are neither “good” nor “bad” (all foods can fit into an intuitively guided lifestyle), but many of us attach emotional meaning to certain holiday dishes that we should have. consider. Learning to discern any thoughts and beliefs you may have about a food (Where does it come from? Is it really true? Is it really helpful or harmful to me?) can help you move toward food freedom. At the end of the day, what matters more is how you feel after eating than what you could have consumed. Did you feel full? Did the food leave you feeling energized or sluggish? How did it affect your mood? If you later find yourself struggling with feelings of guilt or sadness, take some time to reflect on why those feelings might be there; It could be a sign that something else needs attention beyond food.
6. Enjoy Satisfaction:Prioritizing the enjoyment of food rather than trying to stick to strict rules can help minimize the stress associated with mealtime decisions and avoid deprivation eating. Satisfaction is so important to the entire eating experience, you may feel full but not satisfied after a meal. Allowing ourselves the pleasure of eating frees us from food obsessions, giving us more time to nourish ourselves in a way that promotes our health and well-being. Do you need help to obtain your satisfaction?
7. Remember that there is no need to compensate for meals:It is important to remember that you do not need to “burn” calories from meals or eat less to compensate for food choices. Intuitive eating is not about deprivation; It’s about honoring your body and providing yourself with nutritious foods that promote a positive relationship between you and the foods you eat.
8. Respect yourself:When you approach the holiday season with an open mind and accepting attitude, you are much more likely to make food choices that are in line with what you really want and need. Remember, no one else knows what is best for your body, only you know! This means the key is to be flexible and allow yourself to enjoy your favorite traditional foods while also being mindful of how they make you feel. And don’t forget to practice self-care ! Taking time for yourself during this busy period is essential to keeping stress levels low and being able to make intentional food choices.
9. Set boundaries around diet conversation:The holiday season often brings a lot of social pressure and conversations about food. Setting boundaries with the diet conversation is important to maintaining a positive relationship with food and body image during the holidays. A key part of this process is recognizing that everyone has different needs, beliefs and preferences when it comes to eating. A great way to respect those differences is to offer people the space and autonomy to make their own decisions about what they eat without judgment or interference from others. Practicing mindful communication can also help avoid conversations that could lead to feelings of guilt, shame, or anxiety. If you find yourself in a situation where someone has shared their restrictive diet plans or eating rules, you can refocus the conversation on something else entirely or respectfully ask to change the subject.

Conclusion

The holiday season is a time of celebration, family and friends, and, of course, FOOD. For many people, this period can be a difficult time when it comes to food. There is so much pressure from diet culture to “avoid weight gain,” and we often end up feeling guilty after eating. If you’re struggling with intuitive eating during the holidays, don’t worry! I’ve got you covered with these nine tips that will help you enjoy your food while honoring your body and respecting yourself. How do you plan to honor your enjoyment of food during the holiday season?