Eat Drink & Be Merry or Problems May Result!
Posted by Rachel on:
Yeah, the holidays suck! Wait, I sound like a 12 year old boy yelling at his parents because he has to sit next his grandma at Thanksgiving. The kind of grandma who tends to play with her food a little too much at the dinner table. Those darn sweet potatoes try so hard to escape the corners of her mouth, but never find refuge back on her plate. Needless to say we all have that person in the family that takes a little extra patience.
Of course I'm not here to talk about family dynamics (or am I?). I guess what I'm trying to say, and failing miserably, is that it's difficult resisting all the tempting foods durning the holidays. In my family, we have the usual fattening temptations; turkey, stuffing, potatoes, pumpkin pie, custards - and darn near everything else you can think of (and no, I wasn't meaning to channel Sarah Palin's voice there, sorry about that, it just came out.). Anyway, I'm sure you know these temptations all too well and perhaps fear the holidays because of it.
So I'm just going to say it. Eat whatever you want this holiday season. And don't feel guilty about it. Strange logic, I know, but sometimes it's healthier to avoid the emotional stress of eating well.
When you're stressing about food, you're essentially feeling fear. Fear of getting fat, fear of a heart attack or whatever. Fear triggers a chemical rush of adrenaline, which is good for when you need that flight-or-fight response to avoid a large predator (like those T-Rex's we have here in Santa Barbara), or a speeding motorcycle. But when your body undergoes stress as a constant part of our everyday life, it's not really good for our overall health. Our thoughts are powerful, and well connected to the body. Too much adrenaline can result in many symptoms and diseases. I know people who get insomnia from worrying that they don't do enough for their family, or diarrhea from worrying about a job interview.
There are a million thoughts that effect us mentally, physically, and spiritually everyday, so it is important to keep a healthy attitude towards those stressors. And sometimes, that means letting your hair down and just enjoying Thanksgiving.
Obviously, I'm not saying go ahead and eat unhealthily all the time, but if you are going to have something that you know is not nutritious for you, is it not better to really enjoy it and not feel guilty? Tell yourself you will do better tomorrow. I say, enjoy the holidays and be kind to yourself. Or a healthy looking Santa Claus will come a put your least favorite veggie in your stockings. Ho, ho, ho!
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