SubscribeHow Holidays With Family Can Make You Fat
Holidays are often a time of catching up with extended family. For some families - everything seems great - but underneath there are issues that - believe or not - may be connected to your overeating.
If you eat in response to emotional issues - here are some points to ponder these holidays.
- Do you compare yourself to others in the family. Do you end up feeling less important than others?
- Is there one person in the family that always steals the limelight?
- Are there some family members than make you feel insecure (perhaps due to past grievances)?
- Is your relationship status an issue? Or even your financial or material status?
- Are there people you simply would rather not see?
For many of us, the feelings invoked by the above situations can lead to overeating or even binging. Of course, at this time of year there also happens to be copious amounts of food available.
The answer is to have a plan in place to deal with the above issues ahead of time.
- Instead of holiday envy - try to keep a mental list of the things you are grateful for.
- Come up with a creative plan to deal with the person that always has the attention.
- When your self-esteem is vulnerable it makes you far more sensitive about other people's opinion of you. A healthy self-esteem means your happiness is not in another persons hands.
- You can't change the people in your family, but you can change the way you react and respond.
A short blog article is hardly going to resolve life's deeper issues. However an awareness of how your feelings and self-talk may be connected with your eating patterns is a start.
Make empowered decisions these holidays about how you choose to spend your time - with whom, and about what you choose to eat.
And for most of us Holidays are just about have fun by eating their favorite dishes, drinking lots of wine and beer by the time they are able to stand. So for some, holidays are about eating and drinking whether it's good for them or not
ReplyI'm so glad you said that a short blog article isn't going to solve your problems with your family or binge-eating.
I have been working on this for six years and I still slip up. I can eat healthy around my family, but I end up feeling deprived and bingeing alone.
Getting back to my healthy routine quickly has been the most helpful thing I've done for myself. If you slip up this holiday season, don't wait until January 1st to get back on track. Just pick yourself up and keep on keepin' on!
ReplyChristmas is nearly upon us and the temptation to overindulge on turkey, chocolates and minced pies and wash it all down with pints of beer and numerous glasses of champagne, not to mention the minced pies, is all too luring.
Can it be resisted?
I think so with some help and guidance. I been looking at some turkey dinner recipes and hopefully these will keep me on track. As for the alcohol. I'm planning on being the designated driver as many times as possible before and after Christmas day.
ReplyI think that we should also keep in mind that some family meetings in general are times that older family members have been 'coaching' younger family members in the art of overindulging for years. I remember the look of complete satisfaction on my mothers face as she unbuttoned her pants after many a Christmas or Thanksgiving dinner.
ReplyI have learned to "deal with" my family and all their idiosyncracies. I know that my mother's 6 dogs will drive me absolutely nuts, I know that my dad will inevitably hog my husband and tell him all about what's wrong with the car, I know that my mom will try to send home bucketloads of leftovers with us, I know that my sister will be trying to get the most attention from everyone because she's pregnant, etc. I've learned how to deal with my emotions without using food anymore. I've also learned how to put my own complaints on the back burner and enjoy the good aspects of my family.
ReplyI have several of these issues with my family. In addition, I'm triggered to eat like I did when I was a child whenever I am with my parents or my siblings. That means a lot of Pepsi and Mountain Dew, cookies, chips and fast food. I have changed my eating habits but most of them still eat this way. I find it comforting for some reason to get back into this way of eating, like maybe it takes me back to childhood or something, who knows? I spent Thanksgiving with them and was able to still exercise but the eating was once again out of control.
Replyholidays are about relaxing,so we should'nt be to hard on ourself.There are certain foods we can eat that will help us to shed the pounds,so we should just try to indulge in them.
Replycutebig is very right. you dont need to be very hard on you, it will be stupid to be on a diet, especially on the holidays. this time of year is always full of calories :)
ReplyI just read a great little booklet entitled "Your Reactions are Showing" by J. Allan Petersen - It was a hard read as I found that many of my difficulties were from how I reacted to others. It wasn't pretty; I was shocked at how I react and the chain of destruction it causes. Peace and blessings to all, Annamarie
ReplyYeah it gets really hard during the holidays to maintain your diet with all that yummy food. I suggest to try to fill your stomach up with veggies and try not to use too much butter.
ReplyThanks for the tips!
It's hard to no stress, over eat, and stay in shape during the holidays, but accepting your family and what really works for you will help you stay on track. There's a lot of buzz around Dr. Dean Ornish's new book the "Spectrum" that came out today. This book can help you find what will work for you. He provides you tools to customize a way of eating, managing stress, and exercising that is based on your own desires, needs, and genetic predispositions. Here's a link to an interesting discussion about it: http://www.wellsphere.com/viewGroup.s?id=110918
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