The onslaught has begun...
I'm not talking about the holiday shopping frenzy, the incessant Christmas music (Winter Wonderland is particularly annoying here in Phoenix), or even the delicious food everywhere (for that I'm grateful). I'm talking about the onslaught of "How to Prevent Holiday Weight Gain" stories. Perhaps you recognize their formula: Cheery opening & Fear mongering & Clever strategies = "Newsworthy" story to attract fearful/hopeful eyeballs I’ve already seen, read, and been interviewed for dozens of these stories this year. An online search for "prevent holiday weight gain" turned up 50 million entries. If you read one article every minute, it would take you 96 years to read them all - except that the number of articles would continue to explode while you were reading them! These stories pop up on a rotating basis: New Year's, Super Bowl Parties, Getting Ready for Swim Suit Season, etc., and most follow a similar formula. (A notable exception during the Thanksgiving onslaught was this Huffington Post article quoting my friend Evelyn Tribole, co-author of Intuitive Eating.) These stories must sell because they are often the teasers for the news (is this really NEWs?) and displayed prominently on the cover of magazines, ironically next to "Simple Sinfully Sumptuous Sugar Cookies." The stories go something like this (I couldn't resist reading between the lines): How to Prevent the Dreaded Holiday 7 It’s that time of year—holiday parties, family dinners, and fudge in the break room. (Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!) The average American gains seven pounds during the holidays. (When you see this stop reading; repeating this unsubstantiated statistic is a sure marker of lazy journalism. Watch my blog next week for a post about the truth!) To get a jump start on your New Year’s Resolutions (Never fear! There will be another article using the same formula on January 1st for all those who didn’t follow this holiday advice), follow these five simple rules (Did you ever notice that we often use odd numbers? Clever, isn't it?): - Eat before you go to a party so you won’t be tempted by all the goodies. (Really??? Do you also recommend maxing out your credit cards before you go Christmas shopping?)
- Wear tight clothing to the party to prevent yourself from overeating. (Feeling uncomfortable and self-conscious is a small price to pay to prevent yourself from enjoying your favorite food.)
- Drink seltzer water with a squeeze of lime in place of eggnog with rum. (I don’t know many people who love eggnog, but for those who do, this is like recommending crunching on carrots when you love potato chips.)
- Hold a glass and a plate so it’s impossible to eat. (You’ll look ridiculous trying to nibble off a rolling meatball or sneaking slurps from the side of your cheesecake.)
- Schedule a session with your personal trainer the next morning to burn off any extra calories that slipped by your radar. (The punishment must fit the crime.)
If It Doesn't Work, Stop Doing It That kind of advice leads to conflicted, calorie-focused party goers. While I confess that I've used similar titles myself in the past, like 15 Tips for Holiday Eating Without Weight Gain, I follow a different formula: Loving food more, not less = Balanced eating year round So let’s rewrite the story using this formula: How to Enjoy Holiday Food More and Eat Less It’s that time of year—holiday parties, family dinners, and fudge in the break room. There are so many opportunities to enjoy the foods you love, how will you decide when, what, and how much to eat? Here are five strategies to try while there are plenty of opportunities to experiment: - Trust your body wisdom. Tune into your signals of hunger and satiety to guide your eating before, during, and after the party. Being either famished or already full when you arrive sets you up for being uncomfortably full when you leave.
- Treat yourself to pleasures besides food. Choose clothing that is beautiful, flattering, and comfortable so you feel and project your best.
- Eat (and drink) what you really love. And skip anything that isn’t fabulous! The first few bites are for flavor, the rest are for fuel. (After the first few delicious bites, the flavor begins to fade anyway so you're just eating a memory.)
- Love what you eat. Sensuously savor one small bite at a time, appreciating the appearance, aromas, flavors, and textures of your favorite foods as you eat them.
- Practice extreme self-care. Choose activities that are the most meaningful to you, stay active and schedule down-time to relax and enjoy the holidays! (For one of my favorite articles on this topic, check out our new blog, Diabetesand MindfulEating.com)
And last but not least, stop reading those tired old articles and invest your time and energy in really celebrating the season, food and all! Eat Mindfully, Live Vibrantly!
Michelle May, M.D.
Marcia's Story... Like many women of 62, Marcia had been on various diets. "I had been down that path over and over: Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig...the usual. I even got thin a few times, but I always gained the weight back, plus more." She even became a personal trainer and a wellness coach but continued to struggle with her own eating - that is, until she learned about Am I Hungry? Read more about how Marcia learned to trust her wisdom to guide her toward freedom and health.
Select the perfect gift for someone you care about!
What about a gift for yourself?
Eat Mindfully, Live Vibrantly Retreat in Sedona Join us March 15-18, 2012 in Sedona, Arizona for this fun, relaxing, and life-changing retreat! Includes all this: - Four days, three nights at the lovely Amara Resort and Spa
- Am I Hungry?® Mindful Eating Workshops facilitated by Founder of Michelle May, M.D.
- Six delicious mindful meals
- Mindful movement - including special guests Dance Diva and yoga with Dawn Rutledge!
- Optional Wine Tasting and Sunset Jeep Tour
- Optional Red Rocks Hike
Visit our Retreat webpage to read more and download the complete Am I Hungry? Retreat Information Packet. You can also view the photos of our retreat site visit. This retreat is filling fast!
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