Posted by Cedric on January 2, 2011
Don’t Binge – Try Natural Holiday Eating
If you look forward to the holidays with feelings of anxiety in the pit of your stomach at the thought of the food and the many opportunities to overeat that will be presented to you in the weeks to come, don’t fear and don’t binge – try natural holiday eating instead.
If you eat naturally, you have no genuine cause for concern about gaining weight or being a weight that is higher than your natural body weight at any time of year. If you’re a natural eater, you feel safe being around any kind of food in any quantity anytime because you know that you will:
- Eat when you’re hungry;
- Stop when you’re full;
- Make honoring choices the majority of the time (choices that enhance your health and overall wellbeing);
- And make choices to have the processed and refined treats that abound at this time of year in moderation.
That’s the natural eater’s experience of the holidays, they’re no big deal. Food is a fun, tasty part of the holiday package not some horrific peer-pressure test looming in the distance.
So, here’s how to get to the fun, peaceful side of food and the holidays.
1. Invite yourself to ask yourself before you eat anything: Am i truly hungry? yes? Then eat. No? Then ask yourself: What might just have happened or what might I be thinking about that is making me feel anxious or unsettled and therefore triggering me to want to eat or focus on food and my weight to distract, numb or soothe myself?
2. What is one thing I can do to take action towards resolving that stressor and to feel more peaceful in this moment?
Let’s say you’re thinking about going home for the holidays and seeing Uncle Jim who is a complete, mysoginistic ass and always has a snide comment to direct your way. And you’re naturally feeling anxious anticipating being the same room with him, let alone speaking to him.
What can you do to feel more peaceful now?
You could reassure yourself that you’ll simply ask him, whenever he lays his line on you: “What is your intention in saying that?”; or “I’m not sure I understand what you mean can you say that again?” – Make him repeat himself – make him explain himself – don’t just absorb it – make him do his work and in so doing make him look like an ass! Ahhh, I feel better already!
Of you could reassure yourself that he’s really just a dick and it doesn’t matter what he says – everyone thinks he’s a jerk, no one has the courage to say anything but no one takes anything he says to heart either. So, maybe we steer clear of him and if he does happen to catch up with you we lay our line on him and let him know that things have changed.
You could also just choose not to go if there isn’t enough in the way of warm, loving encounters to be had to warrant putting up with Uncle Jim. That is a great act of self-care and will make you feel peaceful right away.
If you choose this option you’ve got to call the host and let them know right away – don’t make excuses – just say you’re not feeling up to the social event at this time and you’re going to take some time out for yourself and just rest.
Binging happens because you’re stressed and not handling it well. End of story. Learn how to respond appropriately to stress and how to diminish it in your life and the binging disappears and you lose weight naturally – without effort – without diets.
I’ve been there and I’ve done it and so have many clients I’ve counselled over the past 20 years. Let me show you how. Love Michelle
mmorand@cedriccentre.com
Well, it is February after all, so, I thought I’d make this next series of articles dedicated to the top of how to have a great relationship.
I am guessing that you have at least one relationship in your life? And I’m guessing that you might like to know how to feel more confident, secure, trusting, open and intimate in that relationship?? And maybe you want to be able to know the difference between what is your “stuff,” i.e. what you have responsibility for and what you have control over, and what has nothing to do with you at all?
What about learning how to discuss sensitive issues with the greatest ease and to the highest possible resolution? That would be a good thing, no?
What about learning how to know when you’ve truly done your best and how to let go of relationships that can never meet your needs without feeling guilty, bad, like a failure, responsible, ashamed or at all uncertain that you’re doing the right thing?
Yes, it’s possible. In fact, when you follow these basic steps that we’re going to explore over the next few weeks, you’ll see how there is a method to being successful in relationships. It’s not a secret. You didn’t miss the class where everyone else got shown how to do relationships. We all need to be shown this one way or another. And there’s no time like the present, right? Right!
We’ll tackle each of the above core relationship issues as we go through the next month or so, and by the end of it all, you’ll know exactly how to create and maintain the relationships you seek in all areas of your life. It may take a little practice but you’ll at least have a lay of the land, know what you’re shooting for, and what to do to reach your goals.
And in case you haven’t put this together for yourself yet, let me reassure you that when you begin to work with these tools you will also naturally be building your self-esteem and sense of equality with others as well as naturally loosening the stranglehold that food and harmful all-or-nothing thinking has on you.
For this week we’re going all the way back to the beginning of any relationship, back before there were two, to just you.
Now, I realize that you’ve already likely got a couple of connections in your life if not many, and I’m not suggesting that you abandon them and start from scratch. I’m suggesting that until you step back from your connections for a moment and get very clear with yourself about what it is that you are looking for from others and what it is that you bring to the table, you can’t even truly begin to assess the quality of the connections you’ve got now, let alone begin to do your part to make them as strong and healthy as they can possibly be and hold others accountable in the same way.
So, for this week, to make the best use out of this series and start creating the relationships you desire, there is a little time and energy required of you. It will pay you off in spades, I guarantee you.
