How to Have a Healthy and Happy Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving, a holiday that was intended for us to give thanks for what we have in our lives, has morphed into a day revolving around food. Navigating family relationships can already be stressful enough, but add on the layer of diet culture that surrounds Thanksgiving, it can be an overwhelming day.
Here are a few ways to make celebrating this day much more enjoyable.
Conscious pauses
The allure of certain foods that only get made on Thanksgiving or having a day where you feel like you can break all your food rules can set you up for a binge. It’s nice to have the nostalgia of recipes that are cooked during this holiday. However, it’s important to remember that these foods can be made at other times or you can set aside some leftovers.
Restricting food earlier in the day in anticipation of your Thanksgiving dinner is actually counterproductive. You will be overly hungry and won’t be able to enjoy your grandmother’s stuffing. Instead take some of each of the dishes that look good to you. Take some mindful breaks between some of the bites to make sure you are appreciating the tastes and textures of each food.
These breaks can also help gage your fullness level. But with food freedom you are allowed to eat until you are satisfied which can feel like being overly full. Just know that will pass and you were able to completely savor your dinner.
Change the conversation
Your friends and family might mean well when they comment on your body or don’t understand the harm of labeling food “good” or “bad,” but this is all too common during Thanksgiving. Living in a culture steeped in diet culture promotes a lot of black and white thinking about what foods we “should” or “shouldn’t” eat or that we need to compensate for a meal that might be larger than a normal dinner.
When these comments are made, you can try a few different strategies for removing “diet talk” from a festive Thanksgiving dinner.
“I have found that an ‘all-foods-fit’ approach to eating suits me better than thinking of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ foods.”
“You should only feel guilty about food if you stole it.”
“I’d rather not talk about diets. Have you seen [insert tv show/movie/cute puppy vid].”
“Someone’s body is the least interesting thing about them.” Then ask them about one of their passions or hobbies.
Or you can completely ignore it and change the topic. “Oh look at that football score!”
Non-food related tradition
Instead of having an entire day wrapped around food prep and eating, find something else your family can incorporate into the day. Maybe you take a break after dinner to play some board games then have some pie later. You could always DVR the Macy’s Day Parade or Westminster Dog Show and watch it as a family. Or make a game out of all the Black Friday sales and find the most ridiculous item under $50. If you love moving right on to Christmas after Thanksgiving, you could start your decorating or watch your favorite holiday movie.
Reframe the holiday
Set aside some time to share or think about the gifts in your life. Expressing a bit of gratitude can help with an upward spiral of positivity. Before you fill your plate with all the delicious food, each person can share something they are thankful for this year. Or once everyone has sat down at the table, go around and share one thing each of you is grateful for. If you want to plan ahead of time, let each of your guests know to bring in a small item that shows what they are grateful for. No matter if you have something big or small, there are plenty of things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.
Prioritize yourself
A full day (or weekend) with family can be a lot. And adding on diet talk and food, that can make it even harder. Have a plan going into the day or holiday events for how to prioritize your mental health, such as stepping outside for 5 minutes, pulling a trusted relative aside to chat, taking some deep breathes or going into a different room for some alone time. It’s normal to need some space to reset, so give yourself the freedom to do just that!
This year bring gratitude and your favorite recipe to Thanksgiving and leave the diet talk out of the holiday.
