Celebrating The Holidays

December 20, 2010 By Leanne Vogel July 21, 2015

The holiday season is often believed to be a dangerous time for individuals on diets or those consumed by living a healthier lifestyle. Many of us get apprehensive about the foods we’ll be surrounded by. Before events we get our guard up and practice self talk like “this food is fatty, there’s too much sugar, it will add to my waist line, or I work too hard at the gym to throw it all away”. And if we ‘cheat’ on the foods we’ve attached these negative messages to, it is that same energy we’re digesting, consuming and bringing into our bodies. Let’s take a step back and remember that the holiday season is perhaps at most 4% of our entire year. Yet we’ve put so much pressure on ourselves to be good, stay guarded and disconnected from the celebrations in order to stay on track. But the holidays are a time for celebrating around the dinner table, reminiscing about the gingerbread house you made with your mom as a child, and spending time with the ones we love. If we’re constantly in an upheaval of negative thoughts and emotions, consumed by the struggle of sugary, fatty foods, we miss out on this amazing experience of sharing community and love. It’s time for us to change the negative thoughts we’ve surrounded with the holidays and open ourselves up to the possibility that once we’ve given ourselves permission to feast, we will do so in a healthful way. So instead, we should tell ourselves “this food is made with love by the people I love, my hard work throughout the year will help me digest this food, and I am going to enjoy and feel good when I eat this.” If we remove this pressure we’ve placed on ourselves and just let go, we’ll have the ability to simply enjoy, share, create, and ultimately reap the benefits of a balanced lifestyle. Look forward to these special events in your life. Be with your family, be present, build memories and most importantly, eat out of love and passion for your body.

This entry was tagged: christmas