Holiday "Tips"- No Thank You

If I see one more article about how to "survive" holiday eating, I might go insane. I am talking about the articles in "health" magazines that give tips on how to get through Thanksgiving without gaining weight. These tips include (but are not limited to) exercising before and after your Thanksgiving meal, only eating one bite of dessert, wearing tight fitting clothing ("you will be too busy holding in your stomach to overeat"), only putting two things on your plate at a time, steering clear of additions such as butter and whipped cream, and weighing yourself daily.

Not only are these "tips" unhealthy (weighing yourself daily is never a good idea-fluctuations are normal, my friends) they are ruining these special holiday meals! Wearing tight fitting clothes to make sure you hold in your tummy and do not overeat? Is that what you want your mind to be focused on during the entirety of your holiday meal? Making sure you only eat one bite of pumpkin pie without any whipped cream (even though pumpkin pie isn't even good without whipped cream) and getting in that workout after the big meal? If you follow these tips you probably can survive a holiday without gaining a single ounce. You can also guarantee that you will be preoccupied with what you cannot eat, and unable to be present, engaged, unable to experience the life going on around you.

The holidays are special. A special time for food, family, friends, memories and experiences. Listen to your body. If you want more than one bite of pumpkin pie-have it. Have it with whipped cream. Enjoy the holiday meal, don't settle for simply surviving it.