As we skid into the holiday season, it’s no surprise that the marketers are going full-throttle.
Along with them are the usual do-gooder coaches, trainers, and bloggers who are staging their relentless parade of sage advice bullshit about “staying healthy during the holidays.”
Here’s a sampling of the “helpful” tips that may be invading your eyesockets:
-Drink “lots and lots” of water
-Eat broth-based soups, salads, and lean proteins, and you won’t need much of those fudgy brownies.
-Drink sparkling water or club soda instead of alcohol to limit calories.
-Substitute mashed cauliflower for potatoes.
-Take only three bites of your favorite treats and savor them.
-Wear your “skinny jeans” as inspiration to pass up the tempting treats.
Sadly, all of this advice came from real articles. And truly, all of it sounds awesome.
As in, an awesome way to make yourself miserable.
Certainly there is nothing wrong with drinking water, enjoying a lush green salad, eating mindfully, or dazzling yourself with some kick-ass cauliflower. But there’s also nothing wrong with eating real mashed potatoes & delicious homemade cookies now and then.
It’s called balance.
Given how much of our news feed gets clogged with this myopic advice, I have only one tip to survive the holidays with your sanity intact:
Tell everyone to shut their (pumpkin) pieholes!
We focus on “the holidays” with the a priori expectation that not a single human being is capable of being sensible between October and January 1st. As though gaining a couple of pounds would be the SINGLE WORST THING that could ever happen.
And now that they’ve made you sufficiently paranoid about food and exercise, and encouraged you to feel guilty and ashamed about indulging – it just so happens that they have a diet plan made just for you.
Imagine that.
Sadly, this misguided advice is doing us more harm than good.
The fact is that our lives are full of wonderful celebrations that center around food, and this time of year is hardly an exception. Examine the rest of the year and you’ll notice Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Memorial Day, graduations, 4th of July, weddings, summer vacations, and Labor Day – all of which include their fair share of focus on delicious foods.
Some may argue that holidays and celebrations shouldn’t be focused on food (because OMG!). But the fact is that they are, and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. While food is fuel for our bodies, and it is important to feed yourself as well as you can, it is so much more than the gas in the tank.
It’s sitting around a Thanksgiving table with the people you love and enjoy, trading stories, catching up, and reminiscing about your fondest (and most devilish) memories.
It’s laughing with old friends at a Christmas party, wearing the ugliest sweaters you can find, insisting as you part ways that you need to get together more often (no, seriously, you really mean it this time).
It’s the sounds of Emmet Otter’s Jugband Christmas and Rankin Bass Christmas specials while spicy pumpkin bread taunts you from the oven.
And it’s flour and sugar covering your countertops while the little people you love decorate cookies that look more like a frazzled Sasquatch wearing red diapers than Santa Claus (but who’s keeping track).
The food we eat not only nourishes our bodies — it nourishes the very core of who we are. It is tightly bound to who we are, what we love & what we never want to forget.
Rather than demonizing food at the holidays – or any time of year – let’s embrace and acknowledge that it is an integral part of our lives. One that we are privileged to enjoy when we are blessed with sufficient resources to keep our bodies well-fed.
Though you are often encouraged to believe otherwise, always remember that you are in control. You can choose to eat mindfully and strategically, just as you do every other day of the year. And if you make an active decision to indulge in some of your favorites, that’s okay. Adjusting your activity & other eating can easily accommodate some occasional puff pastry, crescent rolls, or magic cookie bars.
And if – horror of horrors – you find that you have gained a couple of pounds after the holiday season, remember that you did so building memories and living a rich life. Or perhaps you were under a great deal of stress, which is common during the holidays. Treat yourself with compassion, remember that all is not lost, and simply get yourself back on track.
And if you choose not to indulge, or to indulge in a different way because your palate, preferences, or medical needs have shifted, that’s okay, too. You are not obligated to eat every chocolate truffle, piece of fudge, or bite of stuffing simply because they are available. You are allowed to consume the foods that are most meaningful to you, and to avoid the foods that you don’t like or no longer enjoy.
Despite marketing to the contrary, you don’t have to be shamed into the relentless cycle of sin, repent, repeat that is so common in our culture. These messages do nothing but reinforce our disordered relationship with our bodies & the very things that keep them alive.
So as the holidays come and go, remember that you don’t have to choose between a life full of salads & cauliflower or one with cookies & creamy mashed potatoes.
A balanced life – & a life well-lived – means that you can have them both.