Holiday Eating: The Gift of Being Intentional
With the holidays just days away, many of us are already daydreaming about all the delicious food in our immediate future: turkey, ham, dressing, mac ‘n’ cheese, mashed potatoes, pecan pie — We can almost taste it.
Let us tell it, it’s the ‘one time’ of year where we indulge in these traditional and familiar comfort foods and we rightfully intend to enjoy them, even if we have to break out the spandex.
But are These Holiday Treats Really That Rare or That Different from Our Day-to-Day Diets?
Recent statistics would indicate that they’re not. In 2016, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) found that almost 40% of Americans (over 93 million) were obese, and today that number continues to rise.
While most people don’t break out the gravy and cornbread dressing on the daily, holiday indulgences are really just the standard American diet (SAD) on steroids - highly processed foods saturated with fat, sugar and salt that offer little, if any, nutritional value and that promote weight gain.
Truly, if these really were rare occasions, it wouldn’t make much of a difference to our health in the grand scheme of things.
But unfortunately, this seasonal fare can play a notable role in the advancement of an already negative health trajectory, since what we eat outside of the holidays sometimes bears a closer resemblance to these holiday meals than we’d like to admit — well, as far as the lack of nutritional benefit they afford.
The Average Person Gains 1 to 2 Pounds During the Holidays
In addition, studies show that the average person gains about one to two pounds during the holiday season. And while that may not sound like a lot, keep in mind that despite resolutions to the contrary the vast majority of people will not lose this extra fluff in the new year.
In fact, holiday weight gain has a cumulative effect as a pound or two is added over a number of years, not including other weight that may be gained during the rest of the year. This all contributes to the average person packing on ten to fifteen pounds of fat per decade.
Not surprisingly, the increased body weight causes and further exacerbates high rates of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke and hypertension - among other chronic but largely preventable illnesses - which disproportionately affect black and Hispanic communities.
So despite what our itching ears may want to hear, the fact is we simply cannot afford to just ‘wing it’ when it comes to holiday eating.
“Being intentional is the only way to both enjoy the season and stave off the negative long-term effects of overindulgence. ”
So here are some practical tips to be intentional about your holiday eating:
Eat beforehand. One way to guard against overindulgence is to eat a lighter, healthy meal before turkey time. For most people, the Thanksgiving or Christmas offering is served as a late lunch or a dinner, so there’s plenty of time to eat a healthier meal beforehand.
Even a serving of fruit and a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast or a well-apportioned salad loaded with lots of veggies for lunch will do the trick. That way you’re not hangry and wanting to eat everything in sight by the time the main event rolls around.
Slow down. Take time to savor the food. Put down your fork after every couple of bites. In my experience, there’s no prize for inhaling your food in the shortest amount of time (sadly), and God willing, the remaining food will not disappear in the time it takes you to finish your plate.
So, there’s no rush. And before you decide to go for that ill-advised but oh-so-tempting second plate, drink a glass of water and wait 20 minutes. This will give your stomach and brain time to assess whether you are already, in fact, satisfied.
Be like little children. When my son was young, I remember how we would almost have to glue him to his chair to get him to sit still long enough to eat. Why? Because he couldn’t wait to finish his meal so that he could play with his cousins or friends.
For him, it was all about connection and spending valuable time with those he was closest to. As adults, we often lose some of that motivation and the meal becomes all-encompassing.
And while we can and often do use food as a way to connect, we also use it to distract ourselves or to soothe us in uncomfortable situations, which, let’s face it, family gatherings tend to bring out in abundance. If that’s the case for you, don’t allow those awkward moments to cause you to overindulge; you’ll regret it later.
Instead, maybe it’s time to push the plate aside and find a way to forge a deeper connection and understanding with those sitting across the table. Like kids, treat the meal as just one component of this time of fellowship, not the whole.
Exercise. One of the best things we can do is be consistent in getting in some daily physical activity.
What may be surprising to some is that despite its numerous benefits, which include better sleep, promoting mental health, and fighting off disease, exercise is actually not helpful in losing excess weight, but it can be useful in maintaining our current weight, as demonstrated by numerous studies.
So it seems our best ally in the battle of the bulge is being deliberate about being active as well as what we put in our bodies.
With a little planning and a decision to be intentional, there’s no reason we can’t fully enjoy the holiday season, loving and being loved by those we are most thankful for.
By focusing on personal connection, taking time to truly appreciate our food, looking at the big picture, and making sure to fit in a little exercise, we can avoid adding to the cumulative effects of overindulgence down the road.