O.K. we know it, we can’t change it nor deny it, the holidays are here. Once again we find ourselves overwhelmed with the list of things to do. And in the throes of all the chaos and obligations comes a little something called your health. Now more than ever our physical and mental health is challenged and we need to do what we can to reduce our stress and take a little better care of ourselves.

Over the years I have found that September is the month many use to “get in shape before the holidays.” It’s prepping the body so that the excess of food you eat doesn’t do any real damage. But many people find that once the seasons start to turn, appetites increase, activity levels decrease and the mantra, “I’ll wait til after the holidays are over” ensues and once again we look to January as the month of redemption.

So I thought I’d throw out a different way to think during this holiday season, think real. What I mean by that is we typically find ourselves letting go of any effort at all to eat well. we figure, “Oh well, what’s the point, I’ve overdone already. Besides, it’s the holidays, what better time to overdo, right? January is right around the corner.” The thing is that holidays come every year and so does January, so how do you ever get past that thought process of, “go nuts now, pay later!” It starts with changing the way you think about the holidays and food.

Let’s see if I can be brief and to the point here. Typically, when folks think about eating well, immediately it goes to diet or weight loss. Therefore, if we’re not dieting or intentionally focusing on weight loss, we throw any effort to eat well out the window. The all or nothing syndrome. In other words, if you’re not dieting you’re eating anything that doesn’t move and if you’re dieting you can move because you’ve lost every ounce of energy due to starvation! That is why January is simply a “wishful” month and February is the reality month. But instead of folks saying to themselves, “O.K. this isn’t working, I need to try something else.” They say, “This isn’t working, I’m done.” And done often means, “I don’t care what I put in my mouth.”

So, in my ongoing effort to shift your mindset and get you away from the “diet head” and in to the “healthy head” I want you to think about eating well, period. Eating well can be a nice piece of pie, or a serving of stuffing. Being “good” means eating a veggie and 4 oz. meat. Which at the end of the day gets old really fast.

Eating well means adding variety to your daily nutrition and experimenting with new foods. It means certainly being mindful of portions so few foods are off limits. Think about it, eating well means eating sound and simply paying attention to variety and moderation, period.

I have never turned away from anything I really wanted, I just was mindful of the amount that I was eating. Because we binge at the holidays in the belief that we’ll NEVER eat another piece of pie or mashed potato again, you eat like there’s no tomorrow. However, if you know you may have a piece of pie and you may have potatoes you don’t eat them like there’s no tomorrow rather you eat like there is a tomorrow and you want to feel good, not bloated or guilty or the other feelings that come from a serious binge.

Holidays are meant to be enjoyed, as much as possible, they’re not about feeling “guilty” because you ate the wrong thing. Nor should it be about feeling “undisciplined” if you allow yourself the things you enjoy, in moderation. Moderation oftens means you’ll be less likely to overdo while feeling significantly better about your choices. I don’t know about you, but when I used to binge, it’s took me 3 weeks and a serious bout of therapy to get past the fact that I had eaten something that was “bad.”

Life is too short, your life and health are worth too much. It is my hope that you embrace your family, friends and loved ones during this amazing, reflective time. This is not a time to obsess about eating simply to choose well and that my friends is the start to eating for health and you can’t go wrong with that approach.

For those of you celebrating Thanksgiving, Happy Thanksgiving.

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