When you think of the holidays and all the treats, chocolate, booze, and parties- how do you feel in regards to your body image and mental health?
From the messages I’ve been receiving lately I’ve been hearing that you’ve been feeling stressed, anxious, lazy, out of control with food, and generally just can’t wait for the holidays to be over to get back to your regular routine.
To this I want to scream NOOOOO!!!
I want you to feel STOKED on the holidays, empowered around food, working out to stay sane and balanced and overall excited about all the yummy & delicious food and holiday parties!
SO- How can we get you to that happy place? First is checking your THOUGHTS before you completely spiral into a pit of doom & gloom. If you are already thinking before hitting up that Christmas party that you are worried about over-eating, you want to avoid sugar, you feel icky in your cute little dress- well that is a recipe for disaster!
Before you go anywhere- check in with yourself. Are you feeding your mind negative thoughts about your appearance (for example: my hair is NOT working for me, this dress accentuates my stomach, and so on). You should be feeding your mind TONS of body positive, happy thoughts- so let’s flip that around to “Damn my make-up looks AWESOME, I love how my shoes go with this dress, I am going to rock the hell out of it and I can’t wait to visit with all my friends & family”. Stay in the positive!
In regards to food- STAY NEUTRAL. All food is just that, FOOD. It doesn’t have the power you make you rapidly gain or lose 5lbs. By eating “junk” food you aren’t going to “un-do” any work in the gym. Food is food. Enjoy it or leave it. Stop over-thinking every single little calorie, fat gram, or carb! I think we need to take all the emotions and overthinking out- just simply recognize “Am I Hungry?”
If the answer is yes: Well then eat up till you feel satisfied! If the answer is No, you don’t need to deprive yourself of that food, but perhaps check in with why you want it. Is it because it’s delicious and you only get it once a year? Is it because you are sad, angry, bored, emotional? Still give yourself all the freedom in the world to eat whatever you want- but know that food tastes so much better when you are hungry and not eating to just stuff away anxiety or feelings. (And that doesn’t work anyway!).
I just wanted to share this because I do remember feeling stressed over the holidays and my body, photo’s, and all the jazz. I would sit at the table and thinking “Just fill up on salad, skip the stuffing, too many carbs! No you shouldn’t have another glass of wine, and you should skip dessert”. Then I would feel anxious about skipping dessert and everything looking at me and wondering why, while I also REALLY wanted dessert so sat there miserably watching everyone else enjoy it. Never once did I actually check in with what I wanted to eat, or how my body felt.
Now, it’s “Let’s eat that because it looks delicious! Oohh, that salad is amazing. I don’t want a huge slice of dessert because I want to have energy after this meal to socialize, not end up in a food coma! I love this wine, let’s have another glass.” And so on. It’s paying attention to my bodies wants and needs– not what I’m trying to force myself to do from a ridiculous dieting standpoint.
Basically, I want you all to say FUCK THIS when the negative voices get in your head about food. Respect and LOVE your body. Keep your thoughts positive around your body image. BE CONFIDENT. You have all the power in the world to choose the foods that make you feel happy, confident, and joyful! Get rid of all the STUPID food rules (forever) and please please just enjoy the holidays and your life.
LOVE,
TARA
Training by Tara Brunet 