We are in the midst of the holiday season. A time of fun, festivities, family, friends and of course food, which has left my patients asking,

“How are we to manage the holiday season without weight gain?”

Well, first let me say this. If you happen to gain weight during the holidays, it is not the end of the world. Food is so many things, it is fuel, but it is also connection, emotion, community, memories and it is ok to acknowledge these different facets of food and to enjoy them.

The goal is not to extract all these joyful connections from food but to be mindful.

But at the end of the day, we don’t want to slip back into old habits and patterns that can take us away from our health and wellness goals. On this week’s podcast I share some tips for the holidays and some practices that can help anchor us during a time when our routines are challenged and I want to start with this…

It doesn’t have to be all or nothing.

You can indulge without indulging every single meal.

If you chose to eat dessert the night before, you don’t have to adopt the “oh, I blew it” attitude and eat cake for breakfast 

Just because you ate excessively does not mean that you have to throw in the towel on your exercise routine or your commitment to limit alcohol.

You can split up your behaviors and your actions into buckets. Take each habit, each behavior, each ritual as its own independent variable. This practice allows for a mindset of choice not disempowerment.

Head over to HealthBite to hear concrete tips and tricks on how to keep from over eating at the table, how to keep yourself for going for seconds, or thirds  and the number one reason your hunger hormones go into disarray at this time of year!

Wishing you a happy, healthy and mindful week and I will be back in your inbox next week! See you then!!