This topic is coming up a lot because of the holiday season. I vividly remember when this time of year used to evoke anxiety for me. What if I overate at Christmas? What should I eat leading up to the holidays? Should I avoid certain foods? What should I change come January 1st?
I no longer have these anxious thoughts. The only reason I remembered that I used to worry about this was that I was watching YouTube, and the fitness channels I follow are putting out content about holiday eating.
I’m happy to say that now I practice moderation. One of my main reasons for doing this came years ago. I wanted to feel better. I wanted to feel energized. And being in medical school put things into perspective: anxiety about food was something I no longer had the head space for.
What I did took a long time, but it worked for me.
In this post, I’ll talk about a few things that I’ve really embraced when it come to my diet. I think these things can help you too. I’ll also write more about this topic in the future, since I think that maintaining a healthy weight is an incredibly helpful thing you can do to stay healthy, feel energized, and reduce the risk of chronic disease.
If you’re struggling with moderation around food, keep reading.
I Established My Why
In order to change any behaviour for the long term, it’s vital to determine why you want to do it in the first place.
My Why, when it comes to health, is to be able to play with my son. I want to be able to keep up with him as he grows. I want to play soccer in the backyard, build snow forts in the winter, and pick him up off the ground. I want to do all of this while being a good doctor. So, I definitely have to try to stay healthy.
Plus, I want to model good eating behaviours for him. I don’t want him to see his mom always being on a diet, or hear me speaking about food in a negative way. I want him to love family dinners, enjoy getting ice cream, and learn how to prepare nutritious meals.
I Eat What I Enjoy
I have a lot of privilege to be able to eat what I like on a regular basis. In general, I don’t make myself eat anything that I don’t enjoy.
For instance, I’ve finally accepted that I don’t like yogurt. I’ve tried it so many ways over the years. I like that it’s a healthy source of protein and calcium. I imagine having Greek yogurt with berries as a snack. But I just don’t like it. Instead, I’ll have cheddar cheese and an apple. I love a crispy apple with some sharp cheddar. This may sound unappealing to you, and that’s my point. It’s important to eat what YOU like.
Find something healthy that you enjoy, and then make it a part of your regular diet.
I Chill
It’s the habits we hone over years that make the difference in our health. If I mess up in some way, like eating to the point of feeling uncomfortable, I just chill. Eating in a way that isn’t in line with my goals isn’t the end of the world. And beating myself up over it would get me nowhere.
Nowadays, I realize that behaviour change takes time, and that we’re all human and make mistakes. If I eat in a way I normally wouldn’t, I just get back to my normal eating that same day.
These strategies apply to any time of the year, and I don’t think I modify anything around food for the holidays.
I’ll have more posts about my take on healthy eating in the future because this is a huge topic. But I hope this little article helps!
Stay well,
-Dr. Kuhnow
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