Overcoming Food Anxiety During the Holidays

Do you get anxious about the holidays knowing you’re going to be surrounded by food?

Having that lingering fear of not being able to control yourself?

Or the nagging thoughts of food that never end & serve as annoying distractions from what truly matters?

Do you get overwhelmed trying to calculate & perfectly balance every morsel of food you long for in an effort to make others feel good or make sure that you don’t miss out?

More than anything do you tend to feel guilt & this intense urge to work off, earn, or even make up for all the food you ate?

It’s sad how for many people, holidays have been plagued with these overbearing thoughts & anxieties

Going into the holidays as a competitor can be tricky when our identity is rooted in that of ‘someone who doesn’t usually eat that stuff or needs to track everything or can’t indulge without going crazy’

At least, that’s the underlying identity many athletes attach themselves to

Of course, there is also the competitor who is on prep & might be worried about derailing their progress or not being able to hold themselves back from the temptations of the Christmas dessert table

I’ve done prep through holidays where I haven’t been given a meal, & it heightened my awareness of the other amazing parts of the holiday season

I’ve also had improvement seasons during the holidays where I could eat anything without worrying about my next show

But the fear & anxiety I had once been so familiar with, I could combat with a new identity & belief patterns

How?

I look at these meals as no different than any other meal

We have to take food off the pedestal in order to not fantasize or obsess over it to the point of creating a restricted mindset that then leads to the “get as much in as possible because I never get it” mentality

Another important key is that the thoughts you bring to the table are going to be more influential in your experiences & digestion than anything else. I’ve made posts on this before & would be happy to send them to you!

Lastly, it’s food. It provides great experiences, opportunities for connection, tradition, & nourishment

You don’t have to earn it or work it off or put it to good use. You just eat it

Doing so with gratitude & complete awareness of how your body will feel as well as where the choice is coming from

It’s not about the food, it’s about you, the thoughts, beliefs, experiences, identities, & all the inner workings that really influence the encounters you have with food

What are you missing out on by being consumed with these anxieties, thoughts, concerns, past experiences, & shortcomings?

It’s just no way to live

You deserve to happily enjoy the holidays and ALLLL that comes with it & ALLLL that it means for YOU without a serving of guilt, shame, worry, or swirling thoughts on the side

Apply for my food relationship healing program that’s helped women all over the world make peace with food and fully enjoy/mentally prepare for the holidays!

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