I will be the first to admit that I love the Holiday season! I so enjoy the cozy time indoors with loved ones. My heart is so full when I walk the local Turkey Bowl with my family on Thanksgiving. I tear up during our Thanksgiving prayer. I adore Christmas Eve Service at church. I start watching Christmas movies the second I take my Halloween costume off. And I find great satisfaction in decorating the Christmas tree!
However, this time of year can really become stressful for many of us. Our schedules can become over-full, we may be facing difficult relationships as we gather with friends and family, it may bring about financial worries, and for many, it brings about food and body related anxiety. If you have ever struggled with body image, an eating disorder, disordered eating behaviors or chronic dieting you know what I am talking about. I have put together this Intuitive eating checklist for those of us who need an action plan to manage stress and protect our food freedom.
Manage Stress with Self-Care
When we are walking into a potentially stressful season, such as the Holidays, self-care is more important than ever. Self-care is necessary to protect our freedom from food and body struggles or any other struggle for that matter! We have to practice self-care in order to have attunement with our bodies. For example; If you are under a large amount of stress you may miss your hunger and fullness signals (more about self-care here). Here are some self-care tips that I employ through the Holiday season.
Stay in the Word
Stay rooted in the truth of your identity in Christ and keep your purpose on this earth clear in your mind. We are here to glorify, worship and love our God through loving others. Taking my thoughts off of myself and keeping them on my creator is the mindset shift that continually gives me freedom. Freedom from the worldly pressures to eat a certain way, look a certain way, to perform, to achieve, to produce….. Keep your focus on Jesus (see Philippians 3:15-21).
Remember the Reason for the Season
I’ve had to remind myself that the Holidays are not about me and my body. This comes back to remembering our purpose. How can we reinforce that thought? For Thanksgiving maybe we keep a gratitude journal focusing in on all we have to be thankful for and praying for opportunities to bless others. Maybe we really lean into Jesus through digging into the word with a Bible study around Christmas and we pray for opportunities to share the Gospel. Leading up to the new year maybe we begin praying for the Holy Spirit to bring our attention to how He wants to use us in the next year and what disciplines He’s anointing us to grow in.
Identify and Uphold Your Boundaries
Personal boundaries are a necessary part of life on this earth. Yes, we are to love others but that does not mean that we allow ourselves to be walked over or disrespected. Boundaries are limits we set in our schedules and relationships. Here are two IE specific boundaries that I keep in mind in social gatherings.
-Do Not Engage in Diet Talk
Decide right now that you are not going to take part in conversations that support diet culture. When we get together with friends and family over the Holidays it’s inevitable that someone will bring up how the food is going to affect their body shape or size, someone will tell you all about their diet plan or exercise routine, and/or someone will tell you their big, diet-culture inspired New Years Resolutions. You do not have to engage in this conversation. You don’t have to explain your food and body beliefs if you don’t feel up to it. You can aim at changing the subject or you can simply excuse yourself.
-Know that it’s Okay to Say No
I have always been a people pleaser. I really don’t like to disappoint people and so I have experienced many overwhelming seasons in my life before I learned to say no. However, once I did start saying no to things that didn’t work for me I found that, most of the time, people respected my decisions. Remember that when you say yes to something you are saying no to something else. When I am deciding what to include in my schedule I start by praying about it and remembering what my values and goals are. If saying yes to something means I am saying no to my coffee with Jesus in the morning or spending time with my family I really have to evaluate that decision. It is also okay to say no to food! You don’t have to eat something that isn’t appetizing to you just because it is being offered to you. And you don’t have to explain yourself. “No, thank you” is a complete sentence.
Receive the Free Gift of Grace
As with everything our self-care and our intuitive eating practices are a work in progress. You may over commit a bit. Maybe you’ll congratulate someone on their weight loss to be nice even though you don’t want to support the idea that weight loss should be a goal. You may eat too much and find yourself uncomfortable, watching football with weird uncle Phil on the couch on Thanksgiving. All of these experiences are opportunities to learn and grow. Accept the gift of grace that Jesus died to give you and move forward. There is absolutely no benefit in sitting in shame and condemnation.
Use Affirmations and Mantras
When you are headed into situations that you know may bring about anxiety, or trigger diet-mentality thoughts come prepared. I actually have a handwritten list of my truths in my back pocket in these situations. It includes scriptures about my identity in Christ and my purpose. How would the party be different if you went into it remembering that your purpose is to love God through loving people? What if your mantra was, “I am here to find someone to bless”? This list can include anything that you think would be a helpful reminder if you start feeling less-than or uncertain about your lifestyle choices.
14 Intuitive Eating Affirmations and Truths for Christian Women
The Actual Eating
Eat What Your Desire
Choose the foods that are appetizing to you and don’t settle for substitutes. When you’re at the holiday party and looking over the buffet table ask yourself things like “what looks good?” “what am I hungry for right now?” “What is going to make me feel good?” “what will leave me feeling satisfied?” and then make your plate. Don’t deprive yourself of the items that you really want and settle for something else because it is a “healthier” option. As you know, that will not lead to satisfaction and sets the stage for overeating.
Eat Mindfully
-Create a non-stressful environment
If we eat when we are stressed or upset our attention is not on the experience of eating and our brains don’t tend to register that we eat. It is hard to find satisfaction with a meal when we eat under these conditions. Find a place to sit down and eat that is comfortable and with good company.
-Be in the moment
Take a few deep breaths before you eat. Let go of any negative experiences from the day. Say grace. Take note of the present moment, of the food on your plate and enjoy the food with gratitude.
-Use a plate
We tend to eat with our eyes first. Actually taking a plate and assembling our meal is a part of eating that leads to satisfaction. When we graze over the buffet table we often are not aware of how much we have eaten. Just like sitting down and being in the moment, Using a plate helps our brains register that we have eaten.
-Take Your Time
Slow down and enjoy this experience with your friends and family. Set your fork down a few times and check in with how your body is feeling. Talk with your loved ones about the food. Don’t rush through the meal, enjoy it, take pleasure from it.
-Be aware of your senses
As you take bites of the different foods, be aware of the tastes, textures, and temperatures. Observe what you like and dislike about the food.
-Lastly, remember that you are no longer a member of the clean-your-plate club.
If you don’t like something as much as you thought you would you are not obligated to eat it. If your eyes were hungrier than your stomach and you decide you’re full and satisfied while there is still food on your plate you are allowed to stop eating. If you’re worried about food waste throw some plastic wrap over your plate and throw it in the fridge for later. And remember that the money was already spent on the food and it was already prepared. If no one gets to the leftovers and the food ends up being thrown out, so be it. There is no point in making yourself uncomfortably full.
I honestly think the best way we can manage our food and body anxieties through the holidays and every other season is purposefully taking ourselves off of our minds and focusing on how we can be a blessing to others. Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that we let our boundaries be crossed or stop caring for ourselves. What I am saying is the next time you find yourself headed down the road of food and body worry remember that the Holiday party is not about you, this life is not about you.
Head into that Holiday party with your purpose in mind, ask the Lord to show you how you can be a blessing to the people there; go in on a mission to serve and love the people around you. This outlook puts things into perspective and we find that our body shape and size seems a lot less important. When that shift happens we are able to embrace intuitive eating. If you’re ready to head into the holidays focused on loving others go ahead and enter your email address below to download your free Setting Holiday Intentions Worksheet.
