Holiday pressures & emotional eating
A friend was asking on her journal how others deal with taking care of yourself and feeding yourself well during the holidays. I am reposting my thoughts here. I'd also be interested to know what you all do to take care of yourself and deal with pressure (internal or external) to eat emotionally or from social pressure during the holidays.
My comment:
I try to pare down to what is really essential and don't let myself get guilted into do too much or going too many places or eating food I don't want.
If I like a holiday tradition, I do it. If it feels like too much work, I don't. If I have the energy to travel, I do. If I don't have the energy, I don't.
I try to keep on the same food/exercise/sleep schedule that I'm usually on to minimize fatigue but don't beat myself up if my eating or exercise habits get a little out of whack.
I plan at least one day around the holidays where I can just chill and don't have ANY responsibilities.
In regard to food, I keep in mind that:
-I don't have to eat sweets that I don't care for just because they're there or to avoid hurting someone's feelings, but I DO eat any sweets that appeal to me without guilt so I don't feel deprived.
-I don't have to gobble all the holiday foods right this minute because if I really want them some other time, I can make them or buy them. It's not the law that you can only have pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving and candy canes at Christmas.
My comment:
I try to pare down to what is really essential and don't let myself get guilted into do too much or going too many places or eating food I don't want.
If I like a holiday tradition, I do it. If it feels like too much work, I don't. If I have the energy to travel, I do. If I don't have the energy, I don't.
I try to keep on the same food/exercise/sleep schedule that I'm usually on to minimize fatigue but don't beat myself up if my eating or exercise habits get a little out of whack.
I plan at least one day around the holidays where I can just chill and don't have ANY responsibilities.
In regard to food, I keep in mind that:
-I don't have to eat sweets that I don't care for just because they're there or to avoid hurting someone's feelings, but I DO eat any sweets that appeal to me without guilt so I don't feel deprived.
-I don't have to gobble all the holiday foods right this minute because if I really want them some other time, I can make them or buy them. It's not the law that you can only have pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving and candy canes at Christmas.