Nov 29, 2018
The holidays are fast approaching and the decisions you’ve made about sticking to healthy holiday eating habits will be tested. You know they will. So what are you going to do? How can you handle the conversations and pressures in a way that enriches your life instead of filling it with stress? This episode shares what we’ve learned in talking with family and friends about the things we eat, don’t eat, and why. We trust that you’ll find some helpful tips here to help you stick to your healthy holiday eating commitments.
It’s important to start at the beginning. Healthy holiday eating only happens because it comes from a deeper place, a place of identity out of which your resolve flows. You have to ask yourself the hard questions that reveal your true level of personal integrity. Are your actions congruent with who you are and the words you say to explain your decisions around eating? If you decide to gorge because “It’s the holidays,” your family will likely not take you seriously at all - and it’s not their fault.
Listen to learn how a focus on personal integrity has enabled us to decide on the things we will say and the way we will approach the push-back we could receive from family or friends during the holidays. And more importantly, learn how we’ve been able to grow in our commitment, little by little every year.
Too often we walk into the minefield of family gatherings during the holidays with no preparation. We know that people will look at us sideways when we don’t eat certain foods, or that Aunt Mabel might even say something about it - in front of everyone. Wouldn’t it be great if we knew exactly what to say and do when those things happened?
The good news is that you CAN know exactly what to say or do - because you can decide what those things are ahead of time. During this conversation, we discuss the things you can say to your family when they question your holiday eating decisions and explain a few strategies of how to avoid the conflicts that can so easily arise.
None of us like to be preached at by people who think they know better than we do. And though your convictions about healthy holiday eating may be best from a health perspective, the way you talk about it could come across as preaching to your family members and friends. Janell points out that if you don’t make a big deal about your decisions, nobody else will. Just be casual - play it cool.
When people bring up the fact that you refused the Grandma's legendary chocolate pie, just tell them that you’ve discovered that for right now, sugar and gluten are not the best for you. If they continue to question your decision, change the subject. Refuse to get into a contentious situation about the issue and you’ll find that everyone else follows suit. Listen to learn how we have handled this over the years.
The holidays can be hard when it comes to food. Especially if you are just starting out with new healthy holiday eating habits. You can make great gains if you’ll allow yourself to drop the fear about what others might say and adopt three simple, but magical words. “No, thank you.”
Say it genuinely, with a smile - the next time you’re offered something you don’t really want or know you shouldn’t have at this point in your journey. It’s disarming and it enables you to stick to your convictions without a lot of explanation that could open a can of worms. We’ve found this to be a very helpful tool in our toolbox. You can do it. It’s as simple as three easy words.