Navigating the Holidays Stress-Free

Written by Nicole Nyerick RD, LDN and Sarah Criscuolo MS, RD, LDN, CSN, CPT

space

How many of these thoughts can you say you’ve had at some point during the holidays?
“I feel like I’ll lose all my progress…”
“Ugh, I can’t have that…”
“I’m feeling super anxious for this holiday gathering and the food…”

These thoughts and feelings can pull you out of the moment and make the holidays a stressful time of year, rather than a time of merriment. You’re not alone, and we’re here to help get back the joy of your holiday season!

space

1. Set Intentions

What is most realistic for you to focus on this season to feel your best mentally and physically? What are some habits that you’re looking to maintain? These considerations are helpful so that you can set realistic expectations for yourself and your body leading into the holidays. Try to get away from fixating on things like weight gain and focus more on the experience of food and the holidays.

Some examples of non-scale intentions are:

I will eat mindfully, focusing on the pleasurable flavors and textures of foods.

I will eat when I am hungry, and until I am comfortably full. 

 I will be present when spending time with my loved ones. 

space

2. Have an Inclusive Mindset

 

Instead of focusing on what you “shouldn’t” have, enjoy ALL foods in portions that make you feel good! Avoiding your favorite holiday foods can lead to feeling deprived, and conversely, telling yourself that any food is “bad” leads to feelings of guilt and shame when it’s consumed. By giving yourself unconditional permission to eat, you are removing the negative “can’t” and “shouldn’t” verbiage from the eating experience. Practice allowing yourself to eat the foods you like without shame or judgment, recognizing that every food can fit into a balanced diet.

space

3. Take Advantage of Your Senses

Taste, smell, and enjoy the textures that food brings you! Practice slowing down and enjoying all the aspects of your holiday meal. Taking the time to chew your food also helps you tune into your fullness and support healthy digestion. Here’s a quick mindfulness practice that you can do while eating any time, anywhere:

1. Take 3 deep breaths through your nose, feeling the air extend down into your belly on the inhale and exhaling fully from either your nose or mouth.
2. Place a comfortable-sized bite of food into your mouth and begin chewing, noting what you like about the flavor and texture.
3. Once it’s chewed to applesauce consistency, swallow it.
4. Repeat this process until you’ve finished whatever you’re eating. You don’t need to take 3 deep breaths before each bite, but try to take at least one! This will help you to slow down and kick your parasympathetic (“rest and digest”) nervous system into action.

space

4. Embrace Your Intuition

Holidays can be stressful and busy. This can make it tough to find awareness of your body cues and intuition. Try to bring some extra mindfulness to your cues—that is, your feelings of hunger, of fullness, of satisfaction and overall, how your body is feeling (are you tired, thirsty, energized?). When you feel and recognize these sensations, it can help guide you to your next action– like maybe grabbing a snack, practicing self-care, or getting extra sleep. Check in with yourself throughout the day to see where you’re at.

One simple way to quantify physical feelings is to think about the hunger scale – imagine your hunger/fullness level being assigned a number, 1-10. The first half of the scale (1-4) represents feelings of hunger, with 1 being starving and 4 being just hungry enough to eat. The middle number, 5, represents the neutral feeling that we have while we’re eating. The second half of the scale (6-10) represents fullness, with 6 being comfortably full and 10 being extremely full. Try to keep yourself between 4-6 throughout the day – this means eating when you start to feel hungry, and stopping when you notice feeling satiated. Eating small, frequent meals every few hours can help you to stay in this range, which can have positive effects on your blood glucose levels and metabolism as a whole.

space

It can be easy to get overwhelmed at this time of year, but our dietitians at Karuna are here to support you and help you come up with strategies to get through it. Use this link to schedule an intake appointment to get set up with one of our wonderful dietitians today!

space