With Thanksgiving literally around the corner, we are fast approaching the holiday season. Typically, in the United States, the season starts with Thanksgiving and goes through New Year’s Eve.  And, as you know, the holiday season is filled with love, joy, giving, sharing, family, friends, and fun! (That’s the Hallmark card version, anyway.)

As you also know, it is exhaustively filled with food–much of it in the high fat and sugar category—and drink. The overwhelming amount of food that is offered and used as celebration during this next month and a half will probably be seen as both a delight and a saboteur by many. It’s a delight because we will have some of the foods that we’ve not eaten in a while, and they not only taste good but bring back fond memories of holidays past. But, this abundance of food can also be seen as a saboteur. The lure of food sitting around the office, at home, and in the parties you attend can seem irresistible, and you may eat it in amounts that leave you feeling too full, depleted, and discouraged.

Scenario One: By the time January gets here you feel heavy and run down.  You’re ready to start the next new diet that you’ve heard about. (Somehow new diets always seem to pop up at the end of the year!) You start it on January 1 and by the time January 30 gets here you’re ready to ditch it and go out an eat whatever you want. Because you’ve deprived yourself for a month, you’re ravenous and you eat too much, gaining back any weight you might have lost. This depresses you and you say, “screw it,” I might as well give up. These diets never really work (which is actually true!).

Scenario Two: When January arises, you feel great. You’ve gotten through the holidays enjoying a treat from time to time, but never really overdoing it. Because you know you can have a treat whenever you want one. So, even though food has been abundantly available, you’ve picked and chosen the treats that you know you will enjoy and savor and you’ve left the rest. You practiced mindful eating and honored your body and your taste buds. The gift you gave yourself this holiday season was one of respect and love for the body you treasure. You’ve made sure to continue your exercise routines so that you feel energized and productive.

If Scenario One describes you more than Scenario Two, I would like to invite you to join my next Eat for Life Class starting in late January 2019. Eat for Life is a mindful eating class that can teach you how to eat in a way that creates great enjoyment with food but also honors your body. You will learn how to eat when you’re physically hungry and take care of your emotional needs in other ways besides food. You will learn how to cultivate a kind and loving relationship with yourself, knowing that this is the first step for engaging in self-care. And so much more…

More information about the Eat for Life class starting in January, as well as dates and times, can be found on my website here. Join me and make all of your holidays bright!

If you want to get a jumpstart and learn more about  mindful eating now, pick up my book, The Mindfulness-Based Eating Solution: Proven Strategies to End Overeating, Satisfy Your Hunger, and Savor Your Life,  for yourself and for friends and family on your gift list.