Tips to Navigating December Food Landmines

The holidays are upon us, and December is filled with landmines. As a professional woman it should be filled with excitement like planning goals and visions for the upcoming year. But what I found in myself and continue to find with my clients is that December becomes a time for navigating all kinds of personal landmines that can derail us big time. Those landmines come in the form of food and weight loss goals as well as emotional triggers called holiday gatherings. First the food!

I find that women fall into two categories this time of year. Which one are you?

1. Have you been “good” all year and don’t want to derail your diet progress by allowing all kinds of goodies into your life now? So, your December plan is already brewing – keep your diet restrictions in place come hell or high water. Even if it means saying no to some of the holiday celebrations you are invited to in so you avoid temptation.

2. You haven’t met your goal weight or really come close, so you have decided you are taking December off, throwing all diet caution to the wind. And to top it off you are already researching the best diet suggestions on the horizon for 2023.

Whichever category you find yourself in or leaning toward I want to share something with you that may (or may not) provide you a new and different option this holiday season.

Choose to participate

Be Social: Say yes even though inside you want to say no to avoid food temptations. Yes there will be food that you may have to navigate (more on that below) but we have been so socially starved the past 2 years that our human spirit is craving human interaction. By saying yes to those holiday parties, it will fill that part of you and the food will likely become secondary.

Be IN the family pictures instead of just taking them. Right now you may not

want to be "seen" on camera but a few years down the road when your kids are grown you will wish you had been in more pictures with them - trust me. And when you do choose to participate make a plan to evaluate your smile only and if your eyes are open or closed. No checking out the rolls, double chin, chubby cheeks, etc. That's not the importance of these photos.

Now back to the food

Give yourself grace to have a few treats WITHOUT the self-beat down that usually comes after an event like this. Perhaps give yourself a number – you can have 2 tasty treats, or you can have one tasty treat after talking in length to three different people. That will space out your trips to the food table.

Prepare yourself ahead of time so that the food table is a danger zone right now. You don't have to say no to all those nibbles of goodness that appear this time of year, so you give yourself permission to take the night off of your diet dos and don’ts and decide to enjoy yourself.

There is something about giving permission that tricks the mind. It no longer focuses on what you are NOT allowing it to do, and it becomes reverse psychology. You remember when you told that toddler NOT to eat her veggies LOL. The mind is similar. Indulge your mind and tell it that you can have whatever you really want tonight then see how much you really eat.

Quick story

The first time I did this was two years ago at New Year’s Eve. I decided I wasn’t going to put one restriction on myself. I was going to enjoy the time with friends. I knew there were going to be amazing food choices around me all night long and most years I end up going to bed at 2 am with a raging stomachache because I am either super full or I have once again eaten food that I KNOW will not agree with me.

But that year something amazing happened. I ate a little bit of everything but because I didn’t build in a forbidden food list – my mind didn’t focus solely on those foods I DIDN’T or COULDN’T have. Instead, I enjoyed the simplicity of eating what I wanted when I wanted. And I had MUCH less and CHOSE FOODS THAT AGREED WITH ME! I encourage you to try it – with this promise to you “if it doesn’t go well at this event, I will forgive me and try again at the next. It doesn’t mean that I am broken just that I need more practice at trusting myself in this moment.”

Bring Your Own Dish to Share

dYou may have heard that the best way to navigate food for the holidays is to eat before you go out or drink large quantities of water before a social event to make yourself feel full. I don’t know about you, but I cry BULLSHIT on those tools. That just makes you even more full when you eat the food you want AND take extra trips to the bathroom, missing moments with the people you really want to socialize with.

How about instead bring a dish of your own to share. Consider it polite to contribute to the holiday party that way you know that there is something that is going to be in your desired food lists. Now I say this carefully because I really don’t think anything should be totally restricted. However, we all have foods that serve our bodies better than others. Perhaps you are gluten sensitive like I am – I choose not to have gluten most of the time because it makes me feel bad. I know others that are sensitive to sugar as it gives them foggy brain. It is good to redirect your body to foods that make it feel great and believe me when you leave the party without the bloated belly or icky stomach you are going to celebrate!

Re-Assure Your Mind that Food Is Available All Year Long

The mind is tricky because you only get some of this food around the holidays, so the mind builds a lack story. The lack story says, “you have to eat a lot of this because it won’t be here in January.” Or “this is delicious we probably won’t get this again for another 3 years be sure to stock up.”

Just because your mind is saying something to you doesn't make it true. The mind is swayed by a lot of things you don't even realize are going on including all of the social media you view, magazines you read, ads you listen to. But the good news is - You have the power to navigate the direction your mind goes. True, it may be food that is only SERVED this time of year but you can still make it again in February. That is the truth your mind needs to follow.

Rehearse this ahead of time and be prepared to remind yourself at the social

event. “This food is easily made any time of the year. It’s ok if we don’t have all of it right now.” or acknowledge your body’s love for the food “I LOVE this food, I am just full right now. I can’t wait to have this the next time.” These are affirmations that affirm to your body that it is not WRONG to want the food, but the timing is just not right. It is a much different affirmation and does not produce the same type of restriction rebound that an affirmation like “this isn’t my food” or “nothing tastes as good as thin feels” produces in the mind – those are still lack statements and tend to work the opposite of what we truly want.

December is NOT the time to solve a year’s worth of weight loss goal gone wrong

Give yourself grace. You didn’t get to this weight in one month and even though the magazine covers spout “Lose 60 pounds in time for New Year's Eve” or other ridiculous statements like that, you aren’t going to be able to take it all off in one month either. And more importantly, focusing solely on food and exercise will NEVER get you to sustained weight loss.

So, where does that leave you? Enjoy the holidays, focus on experiences with people more than the food you can and can’t have. Want some tools to diffuse the emotional storm that may have developed during the holidays? Join me for a Masterclass where I will share tips and tools to go into 2023 with more peace, joy and calm than you have in years! DM me on Facebook or Instagram and say "Masterclass" to save your spot.