I am going start by piggybacking on last week’s blog – ‘What is Normal?’. Is it normal to overeat during the holidays and eat and drink things you normally wouldn’t? Why is overeating during the holiday season considered normal? Why are there jokes about stretchy pants? Why will I be so busy in January helping people undo the holiday eating damage they have done?
What if we considered the holiday season to be no different than any other time of year regarding our eating and drinking? Is it really all that different? It seems like there is always some kind of celebration or reason to overeat in our lives. Weddings, birthday parties, showers, going away parties, retirement parties, summer celebrations, all the other holidays: Valentine’s Day, Easter, Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, … you get the idea. But if celebrations are happening all year long, why is it so normal to use this particular November/December holiday season as an excuse to overindulge?
Next week I am going to give you some specific things to do to help you get out of this holiday splurge mentality, but this week I want to talk about one of the main reasons a lot of us turn to extra food or drinks this time of year…
Holiday Stress and Expectations.
We do not live in a Hallmark channel movie, our homes do not have to look like the cover of House Beautiful and our food does not need to look like the Cooking Channel would make you think.
If you ever come to my house anytime of the year for a meal, you will absolutely have some food. I may not have cooked the food myself, the food may not be that good, but I just don’t care that much. I want to spend time with you and I want you to have a good time but I don’t make the quality of the meal a requirement for that. A few years ago, I discovered that I love to have people to our house. I love setting a pretty table and planning fun drinks… but not the preparing of the food. And so, I let go of trying to be a good cook. I put no expectations on myself in that department and I feel so much more excited to have people over for a meal. This mental release opened a whole new world of relaxed entertaining for me. You may love to cook and this doesn’t apply to you, but maybe you have another area where you can lower your expectations to be kind to yourself.
I have a few family members coming to stay with me for the Thanksgiving holidays and I am genuinely excited to spend time with them. My expectation of myself to provide meals and entertainment is very low and I know that will make me more enjoyable to be around. I think that me being relaxed will help everyone have more fun (even if we don’t have fancy meals and perfect activities).
Now don’t think I have this all figured out. Emotional eating is a struggle for me, and I am sure I will be working on it forever. I will tell you what does help me. I am not surprised when it happens. I know that I cannot eliminate all stress from my life during the holidays or any other time of year. I try to expect it and acknowledge that it is there – “Hello stress, I knew you were coming”. I try to not rush to get rid of the stress by eating a cookie or drinking a festive beverage. I just try to co-exist with it and set it a place at my pretty table.
