Healthy Eating During the Holidays?

One Tip:  Don’t Diet!

Written by: Marsha Vernoga, Registered Dietitian

Ah yes, the holidays are back again:  the celebration, the joy, the peace and, of course, the stress of it all.  Stress is definitely an emotional trigger for me to eat.  In addition, I tend to be lackadaisical towards my food consumption this time of year.  Every corner I turn, there are little scrumptious holiday goodies waiting to fill my belly.  Yes, it’s difficult to fight off those little temptations and not overindulge; this struggle is always exacerbated by the holidays. The voice in the back of my head whispers, “Eat all your treats now because after December 31st, the new diet program will begin!”  It’s a trap, I believe, we all fall into.

When I was given the opportunity to write this article, my first inclination was to produce a little quaint guide on “healthy eating tips during the holiday season.”  After deliberating a bit, I decided to toss that trite topic aside and address the real reasons why we gain weight.  It’s important that I give credit to my audience. Most of you have already been inundated with healthy eating strategies during your lifetime, and I’ll bet odds that you could educate me on this subject.   What it really comes down to is this:  we know what foods we should “avoid,” but we don’t WANT to hold back.  We don’t want to deprive ourselves, especially during the holidays!  After all, that’s what a New Year’s resolution is for: to start anew (diet)!   Hey, I completely understand this thought process.  Deprivation is the last thing one should practice during the holidays, and quite frankly, during any time of the year.  That’s right, you heard me.  My strategies may be the antithesis to what other nutritionists practice, but it’s what I believe truly works. As I tell my clients, I am a self-proclaimed “Anti-Diet Dietitian.”  So, let’s get down to the nitty-gritty and discuss what you can do now (to maintain your weight during the holiday season) and later (to achieve your natural weight…without dieting). 

The first topic on board:  emotional eating.  All of us have experienced emotional eating at one point, whether it’s on an occasional basis or a daily struggle.  Food, in its divine essence, can satisfy many kinds of hunger.   We may use food to love. We may use food to hate (ourselves). We may use food to numb out boredom, pain and hurt. We may use food in times of excitement and joy.  Here’s the simple truth:  our body tells us it needs nourishment through the physiological trigger we identify as hunger.  Sadly enough, many of us don’t even remember what it feels like to be hungry.  We don’t trust our bodies, let alone trust ourselves with food!  When I free my clients from the disastrous diet trap, often times they are scared to death.  “But Marsha!” they protest, “If I’m allowed to eat whatever I want, then I’ll devour the world…. I will eat everything in sight!”  I can understand this fear completely, for I too, was part of the deprivation-diet cycle.  I have broken free from this torture, and I truly believe you can, too. I hold onto a steadfast philosophy that if you honor your body’s signal to eat, and stop when satisfied, you will shed the excess pounds and achieve your natural weight.  So, without further ado, here are some insights I have gathered during my extensive research and personal battles with winning this weighty war.

1. Stop dieting.

Dieting is dangerous.  It sets you up for failure, emotionally and physically.  If dieting worked, we would all be “thin” and happy.  A diet may work for (a usually short) period of time, then the weight returns with dire revenge.  Starving yourself will only encourage your body to compensate for the losses.  Dieting decreases your lean body mass, slows down your metabolism, increases anxiety, depression, food preoccupation, and binge eating.   

2. Eat when physiologically hungry.

This may sound too simplistic, I know.  Many of you are probably rolling eyes at me by now.  Yes, I understand that this is the most challenging principle to practice.  You may experience discomfort when food is no longer used as a numbing agent.  This can be a painful process, but a very enlightening one as well. When you take the time to treat the cause (what is driving you to eat when not hungry), the symptoms (excess weight) will finally dissipate.  Treating only the symptoms (by going on a diet) will never release you from the wrath of food addiction.   In the end, you will attain confidence in yourself as you gain control over your eating.  I am so proud of my clients who are brave enough to take their emotional eating head on.   These people come to new levels in self-awareness; the personal growth they experience begins to outweigh the importance of losing weight.

3.      Eat what you want.

There are no “good” or “bad” foods.  However, one can’t underestimate the importance of incorporating nutritionally dense foods into a daily diet for optimal physical health. On the same note, we must consider emotional health and depriving ourselves of any type of food proves to be detrimental.  When legalizing all foods, you may experience a period of imbalance.  Excessive amounts of “forbidden” foods may be desired at this time. This is your emotional body rebalancing from all those years of deprivation.   This may go on for days, perhaps weeks.  Believe me, sooner or later your body will crave healthier foods in the end.  There was a time when I didn’t eat bread, potatoes or sweets, deeming them as the culprits of weight gain.  When I allowed myself to eat without restriction, I spent three months consuming only buttered bread, cookies, cake, and ice cream. The only criteria during this time period:  to eat when I was (physiologically) hungry and to stop eating when I was satisfied.  Believe it or not, there was a turning point; my desire to consume “healthier” foods emerged.   Presently, I may desire to eat cookies, cake and chocolate from time to time, but I no longer need to binge on these foods…one bite is usually enough to satisfy my cravings.

4.      Stop eating when satisfied and practice “conscious eating.”

The first step in identifying when it’s time to stop eating is to eat when hungry.  If the body isn’t hungry to begin with, it will not be able to give you the signal to stop.  The second step is to practice conscious eating.  This means you eat without distractions.  How many times have you plopped down in front of the T.V. and devoured a whole plate of food without notice?  You look down, your food is gone…and you feel unsatisfied because you didn’t give yourself the opportunity to fully engage in eating.  Turn off the television, don’t eat while driving or working or doing ANYTHING.  Sit down at a designated place and eat your food with full awareness.  This technique will allow you to check in with yourself.  Sometimes the cues are subtle, but listen closely, your body will tell you when it’s had enough.  At this point, push your plate away, take your leftovers home and know that you can have more when you are hungry. 

5.      Be physically active everyday.

One of the most important things you can do to remain healthy is to move your body.  You don’t have to run marathons, or lift weights hours upon hours.  A 30-45 minute walk will do wonders.  Do what you enjoy and do it regularly.  Exercise helps our body use the food we take in as fuel.  Exercise helps relieve stress, regulates appetite and it’s a perfect alternative to eating when you are not hungry.  When dinnertime rolls around, and I’m not quite hungry yet, a walk around the block usually ignites my hunger.

     I have to admit that this is a very brief guide to follow; there is an ocean of information and techniques to familiarize oneself with in order to heal and recover from food consumption abuse.  Controlling one’s weight is a multi-factorial dilemma.  We are constantly under stress; food is readily available to suit our needs and to provide an escape from our everyday hardships.  And, in all honesty, food tastes good; it’s enjoyable to eat.  Diets take the pleasure out of eating and continue to make food the “bad guy.”  It’s not necessary for people to deprive themselves.  My holiday wish to all:  enjoy your lives, eat with joy and gusto, and most importantly, be kind to yourselves.      

For more information about healthy eating contact Marsha Vernoga, Registered Dietitian at
Colusa Regional Medical Center (530) 458-5821 ext. 324.