The myth of healthy holiday eating
It’s time to clear some things up…
Healthy eating is a lifestyle. Holiday eating involves a few weeks of gathering, socializing, and celebrating with (often times indulgent) food and drink. Without a firm foundation of healthy eating habits, there is no such thing as “healthy holiday eating”.
Healthy eating DURING the holiday season is the same as healthy eating throughout the year. It's a collection of habits, intentional choices, and focused efforts. As we head into the holiday season, we encourage you to release the pressure that comes with this idea of “healthy holiday eating”. Instead, if you’re serious about making changes to your eating habits 365 days a year, consider doing these two things, independently of each other –
Enjoy your holiday celebrations with food, friends, and family;
Begin to take an honest inventory of your everyday eating choices.
In one of our favorite books, Atomic Habits, author James Clear explains that to build new habits you have to envision the person you are hoping to become. Think of someone that you consider to be a healthy person. As you face various temptations and challenges to your health goals throughout the day, ask yourself – What would a healthy person do? Would a healthy person take home the leftover pizza and cookies from the office Christmas party? Your choices in these moments are so impactful over the long term.
It’s normal to cut loose a little bit around the holidays and to really, truly LOVE and enjoy gathering around delicious food and drink. The healthy eater does these things, too, with boundaries in place that protect their overall health goals.