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7 Tips to Survive the Holidays Using Intuitive Eating
- Beth Conlon, PhD, RDN
- Dec 14, 2022
- 7 min read
Updated: Jan 28, 2023
Do you want to enjoy your favorite holiday indulgences without derailing your health goals? Learn how intuitive eating can help you survive the holidays while honoring your hunger and health.
I get many questions each week about Intuitive Eating, how it works, and how I practice it personally. With the holidays 🎁🎄 approaching, more recently I have been getting asked, “but if I eat intuitively during the holidays, won’t I end up eating TOO much [and gain weight?!]?”
That is a completely valid and normal concern. I love that you are curious and asking yourself questions like: How does intuitive eating work? Is intuitive eating right for me? Can intuitive eating help me lose weight? How do I get started with intuitive eating?
The holidays can be a difficult time for those trying to stick to their health goals and/or avoid getting stuck in a holiday guilt rut (which isn't very merry!). In this article, you'll learn seven tips to survive the holiday season using intuitive eating.
Disclosure: This post contains Amazon Affiliate links, which means that if you decide to purchase something, I will receive a small percentage of the sale, which will help cover the costs to operate this blog that provides you with free information and resources. Thank you!
1. Ditch Diet Culture
What does ditch diet culture mean?
First, diet culture is a set of beliefs and behaviors that equates thinness with health, imbalanced nutrition, moral worth, and beauty. It sets up certain body types as the ideal and shames those who don't fit into that standard. This pressures us to strive for unrealistic standards of beauty that are not only unattainable but also unhealthy. Second, diet culture encourages us to view food as the enemy instead of nourishment for our bodies. We are taught to fear certain foods or food groups because they will supposedly cause us to gain weight or be unhealthy. This can lead to anxiety around food which can further contribute to disordered eating behaviors. Ditch diet culture means to reject the diet mentality, and is the first principle of intuitive eating. Let go of these harmful beliefs and behaviors in order to make peace with your body and food.
The first step in letting go of diet culture is becoming aware of how it has impacted your life and beginning the process of unlearning these harmful beliefs and behaviors. The holidays are a perfect time to gain awareness of how diet culture has impacted your life. The next time you have a thought such as, "I can't have this [food I really love and want to devour] because it's [bad, unhealthy, will make me fat, etc.]. Then, challenge that thought by asking yourself questions, such as, "Is this thought true?" or, "What would I tell someone else if they were thinking this about themselves?"
Keep an informal journal or record of your thoughts, how you challenge those thoughts, and how you feel about this process - it can be very insightful and eye-opening!
2. Honor Your Hunger
This may sound like an obvious one, but it’s worth repeating—eat when you’re hungry! Don’t wait until food becomes available before deciding whether or not you want to eat. Pay attention to your body's hunger cues and decide ahead of time when you will be eating. If you don't feel like eating right away, that's okay—you don't have to! There's no need to rush yourself into eating if your body isn't telling you that it's ready just yet. Honor Your Hunger is the second principle of intuitive eating.
Another important part of honoring our hunger is asking yourself what you really need in the moment? Are you truly hungry, or are you something else? Are you bored? Are you stressed? Are you a little bit dehydrated and does your body really need a glass of water or other beverage?
The best way to start getting attuned with your hunger is using the Hunger & Fullness Scale! Get the one that I developed and use with my clients here:
If you give it a try, let me know how it goes!
Note: if you are currently undergoing treatment or are in the earlier stages of maintenance for an eating disorder, it is not advised to use the Hunger & Fullness Scale without consulting your care team.
3. Feel Your Fullness
In all the hustle and bustle, it can be easy to forget that you don’t have to eat until you feel uncomfortably full. Instead, this holiday season make space for your “fullness”—the feeling of contentment that comes when you stop eating before you reach a state of discomfort or fatigue. Feel Your Fullness is the sixth principle of intuitive eating.
It's easy to overindulge during the holiday season—but honor your fullness by only eating until you feel reasonably satisfied! If there are certain dishes that you don't particularly enjoy or don't have room for, don't feel obligated to eat them—it's okay to pass on food if it doesn't appeal to you. It's also perfectly normal not to finish everything on your plate; just because something is served doesn't mean that everyone has to eat it all! Remembering these simple tips will help keep your appetite in check during the holiday season.
My Hunger & Fullness Scale is also useful for learning more about what your fullness means! Get it here:
4. Savor the Flavors
Unlike sleeping and breathing, eating requires effort and intention on our part. We need to make decisions on what we gather, shop for and select. That's why mindful eating is so important - it allows us to make meaningful, clear choices about the food we're eating and why. Mindful eating can be a challenging topic for a lot of people, mainly because they are unsure of exactly what mindful eating means. The core principles of mindful eating are simple:
Bring awareness to nourishing properties of food through the process of food preparation and consumption
Select enjoyable and nutritious foods
Acknowledge food preferences non-judgmentally and give permission to enjoy fun foods
Recognize and honor physical hunger and satiety cues
Use wisdom to guide eating decisions
Mindful eating is an important tool used within the framework of intuitive eating. There are many opportunities to practice mindfulness this holiday season! Give this exercise a try:
Look at your food
Smell it and notice the colors
Chew 15-30 times before swallowing
Notice how the food feels in your mouth (texture)
Notice the flavor(s) you detect in your mouth
Swallow. Pause.
Put down fork between bites
Repeat this process with the next bite.
Use this as a fun activity in mindful eating. It's also a great way to 'check in' and connect with your own personal hunger and fullness cues!
5. Make Choices that Honor Your Health
Honor your Health is the second principle of intuitive eating. It is defined as, "keep your body biologically fed with adequate energy and carbohydrates." It is important to honor your health with both meal and snack timing, and meal and snack quality during the holidays. Skipping meals can throw off our blood sugar levels, which can make you feel ravenous and thus more likely to overindulge. When you skip meals and snacks and then overindulge, you may find yourself feeling more irritable, sluggish, and unfocused - and that certainly does not feel merry!
So make sure you take the time to give yourself adequate meals and snacks throughout the day regardless of how busy life may get—a few minutes here or there to eat, and eat with mindfulness, can go a long way!
6. Let go of Negativity
The holiday season is a wonderful time for indulging in our favorite foods, but sometimes it can be difficult to find the balance between enjoying your favorite treats and maintaining your health goals. Negative thoughts about food and eating can often backfire, leaving us feeling guilty or anxious after enjoying something we consider "bad." This form of restriction can actually make it easier to binge if we're not careful. Keep in mind that with Intuitive Eating, no foods are "bad." Food does not define our morality, and all foods provide some sort of value.
Fortunately, there are ways to let go of food and eating negativity this holiday season so that you can still enjoy your favorite holiday food traditions while staying on track with your health goals.
The first step in letting go of eating negativity is recognizing when it creeps up in our heads. When you start feeling guilty or anxious after eating something, take a moment and ask yourself what negative thought has come into play. Oftentimes, these thoughts have been influenced by diet culture telling us what's considered "good" or "bad" food; however, none of these foods are actually bad for us--we just need to learn how to view all food is morally equivalent. Once you recognize the thought, the next step is to challenge it by asking yourself why you believe this thought is true or valid. Is there any evidence that supports this belief? If not, then don't give it any more attention!
The last step in this process involves replacing the negative thought with one that is more empowering and realistic. Instead of declaring yourself “good” for eating minimal calories or “bad” because you ate a piece of chocolate cake, try shifting your mindset away from guilt-based thinking towards positive affirmations like, “I am enough” or “I made choices that honored my hunger and health, and am proud of myself."
7. Have Grace for Yourself (and Family + Friends!)
Practicing self-compassion helps break down the mental barriers which can prevent us from reaching our health goals without sacrificing our joy during the holiday season. Self-compassion involves being kind and understanding towards yourself when faced with personal shortcomings or difficult experiences. This includes viewing yourself in a non-judgmental way and allowing yourself to feel whatever feelings come up without feeling guilty or ashamed. It also involves recognizing that everyone makes mistakes and has moments of weakness—and that’s ok!
Approaching food with self-grace allows us to take a step back from our emotions and view the bigger picture. Instead of fixating on what we “should” or “shouldn't” be eating, taking an attitude of self-grace allows us to focus on what will make us feel best both physically and emotionally when faced with any situation involving food. We can then use this knowledge to make mindful decisions about what we do choose to eat—without guilt or shame.
Not only will this approach help you to stay mindful throughout the holidays—it will also encourage your family members and friends to have a more positive relationship with food and their own bodies as well.
Summary
This holiday season, empower yourself with principles of intuitive eating, such as ditching diet culture, honoring your hunger and fullness, engaging in mindful practices like savoring each bite, self-compassion and care. Taking these steps will help ensure that you enjoy delicious holiday foods and traditions without sacrificing your health, wellness, and simply feeling good! The holidays provide a lot of opportunity to make space for gaining attunement with your food and body. Remember--all foods fit if they fit within your overall lifestyle goals! So put away those unreasonable rules created by diet culture, relax, and enjoy everything life has to offer this holiday season!
If you are new to intuitive eating and curious to learn more, I highly recommend you start by reading the book Intuitive Eating, 4th Edition, by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch.
