Health Tips for the Holidays
Since Thanksgiving, I’ve been thinking about how we interact around the holidays. For some reason, food is always the sun, and we just orbit around it. Thanksgiving is always terrible for people struggling with eating issues, because the entire day revolves around over-eating as if this is actually a normal thing to do. Some people starve all day (not healthy) to prepare themselves for the feast, others eat and eat and eat and eat until they literally pass out (also really not healthy.) This Thanksgiving, I was with a few of my aunties and they wouldn’t stop bringing up the following topics: getting back on their diet and exercise routines the next week, how guilty and fat they felt, and how much better they used to look.
When I mentioned that they were all beautiful and this was such a waste of conversation (insert me eye rolling with a glass of wine in my hand), they apologized saying: “Oh I’m sorry Lauren we really shouldn’t talk about these things around YOU.” While I appreciate that given my history, I am wondering WHY is it acceptable conversation around anyone else? Why do we have the automatic inclination to discuss our bodies, weight, and how guilty we feel for eating what we JUST ATE after we do it????
It’s so weird. There’s no other way to say it, just really fucking weird. So this holiday, I’m imploring everyone to think about their “food talk.” Could you turn the conversation from food to something a little more interesting? Because really, it’s so boring and shallow to discuss appearances. Instead of telling a family member how good they look (or do not look— @critical moms everywhere) why don’t you shift the topic to your family members’ careers, their hobbies, the latest book you read or the Netflix show you can’t stop watching. I think that conversation will bring about a little more joy and laughter.
I know food can be really difficult for people who struggle with their weight in any way, and I’m not trying to minimize your pain by saying to quit it with the negative food talk. I’m simply suggesting that you will not explode like a balloon from having one too many cookies at this time of year. Try to live each holiday like it’s just a normal day in your life, and give yourself permission to indulge (in a slightly larger-than-average portion) of something great, and then snap the focus back to spending time with your loved ones.