3 Tips to Help Navigate Diet Talk as the Holidays Approach

Can you believe that it is already November, and the holiday season is upon us? This week is Thanksgiving, which means you’ll likely be surrounded by family, friends, food, and wine! The holiday season brings with it all types of emotions, some happy and some sad.

Add to these emotions the fact that you are surrounded by dieting messages at every turn.

Whether it be on the radio or the television or it can even be from your peers. There is constant pressure to change how you look to fit some societal expectations.

I’m here to tell you there is nothing wrong with you, just as you are now!

If you have achieved a peaceful relationship with food and your body, then you are in a place where these media messages are benign to you. They don’t affect you, except make you mad as hell that the diet industry is praying on those desperate to lose weight.

But thankfully, that is not you anymore. You appreciate your body, you are at peace with food, and you are enjoying the holiday meals without guilt. And I am so happy for you.

If you aren’t there yet, just know that I realize these next weeks may be challenging for you. If you are surrounded by family members who are dieting, you will hear comments at your holiday meal such as: “I shouldn’t be eating this, but…” “I can’t eat that dessert, you are?”

How you handle these comments will determine whether you slip back into a diet mentality or not.

Here are 3 Tips to Help You Navigate the Diet Talk at Your Holiday Meal:

1. Maintain Awareness

That word right there, awareness, will be the difference between you throwing in the towel or standing your ground. Stay present within your body and make purposeful food choices that honor you! If at any point you find yourself losing that awareness, that’s okay. Bring yourself back to the present moment with a pause and a few deep breaths.

2. Tune out the diet talk

When the family starts getting into all the diet talk, just tune them out. Start to sing your favorite song in your head, think about the good time you had on your last vacation, or excuse yourself from the table for a stretch and walk around the house.

3. Change the Topic

When the conversation goes to the food and should/shouldn’t, change the topic! Be the leader in moving the conversation to where you want it to go. A good idea is to have some conversation starters ready to go such as:

“If you won the lottery, what would you do with the money?”

“If you could have any superpower, what would it be?”

“What’s your biggest pet peeve?”

You have the power within you to resist falling back into a diet mentality. Keep reminding yourself of this, especially throughout this holiday season.