It's hard to believe that another November is almost over. Even though this year has felt overwhelmingly long in some ways, it also feels like it's flown by! And here we are, yet again, at another holiday season.
If you are familiar at all with diet culture mentality, holiday's can feel like a difficult time for many when it comes to eating and making food choices. We're so often inundated with "bad" food messaging, fear of weight gain, and feelings of guilt when we "give in" to a special treat or "bad" food, especially around the holidays and when with family.
And I'm here to say... no more of that! We're ditching the diet culture dogma this holiday season because HOW we eat is amazingly impactful to how our bodies RECEIVE what we eat!
Enter the Thanksgiving/Holiday “menu”:
What the above "menu" highlights is the HOW of our holiday eating, rather than the WHAT... and how this is in fact often the missing key to having a happy and healthy meal!
Our bodies thrive when we eat in a restful and relaxed state; this is when our metabolism works best, our digestion functions more smoothly, and our cells are more receptive to the nutrients we consume.
By opening yourself into a space of acceptance, compassion and gratitude when you eat, you are directly impacting your metabolic physiology. Because being in this nervous state helps to bring you calm and relaxation, your metabolism is better able to function and utilize the foods you are consuming.
How cool is that?
Compare this to when you're eating with rigid rules/restrictions, feeling deprived and subsequently riddled with guilt and shame for eating a "no no" food... what is happening here? You're stressing yourself out! This stress actually shuts down your metabolic functioning and reduces your ability to efficiently use what you're eating for your energy, function, and bodily needs.
I'll definitely be sharing more about how this works in future content, but for now try to keep this in mind while eating during this holiday season... because a stress-free meal = better energy, function and a happier you!
Too often we hyper focus on the WHAT of eating while forgetting to embrace the overall experience as it is. This year let's change it up and practice non-judgmental holiday eating during this holiday season.
With the above "menu" in mind, I wish you all a very happy and nourishing holiday season!
