avoiding the "all or nothing" eating mentality

Published: Mon, 12/23/13

Happy holiday !

We love the holidays. But we often have a love/hate relationship with holiday eating, don't we?

I remember when I was still very much in the crash dieting cycle (deprive-then-binge), I would get giddy about the holidays. Same way I felt about a week vacation. It was my excuse to "let loose" and give myself permission to eat to my heart's desire. Because, well ... it's the holidays! And everyone else is indulging, too! And look at all these 'special' treats! And come January first, all of these sweets and treats are off-limits so I better EAT ALL THE TREATS RIGHT NOW! And well, it's the holidays, dammit! ;)

I totally get it. And it feels good to get excited about food. Food is fun. It's relaxing. It's socializing. It's how we connect with loved ones during the holidays.

No problem. But of course, it's all a choice. I'm not saying you shouldn't eat treats and sweets. You're going to do what you're going to do, as am I. So I'm not judging. We all do this. This is the mindset of 99% of people during this time of year. Gosh, I did it for years!

And to be completely truthful--sometimes I miss it. The part I miss the most is the blissful resignation of eating blindly. The mindlessness of it. The indulgence without thought to consequence. But, I also know that when I do that, when I eat with abandon, without conscious awareness, I end up way worse off in the long run. I end up having to deprive myself later, feeling the need to bump cardio and go carb-free and "go on a competition diet."

Ugh. No thanks. 

Because it can't be both. We can't eat with abandon without physical and mental consequences. It's fine if you choose it, just know what you're doing. Stay mindful and enjoy the hell out of your sweets and treats, obviously! 

But also consider that there's an alternative. It doesn't need to be black-or-white, on-or-off, all-or-nothing. There's another alternative if you are brave enough to try it. And that is balance, moderation, awareness, eating with consciousness.

All of these words and phrases feel so esoteric sometimes. Like, what is moderation? It's not really hardcore enough. It's for my grandma. It's not good enough to get results. Is it? 

What if moderation was good enough? What if you could maintain your weight through the holidays, feel satisfied, not deprived and cruise into January ready to roll. No penance needed. No extreme measures. 

This approach can seem like an impossibility, if you've done the crash dieting thing for years. I get that. But remember, you'll never actually know if a moderate approach can work for you because you haven't tried it. 

And that's okay. But start to think about it. Start to stay conscious about your meals this week and next. Actually stay aware of the foods you're eating and the amounts in which you're eating them. Just try it. Have a courage to try a new way.

I like to describe it like this, this is how it feels to me to eat this way: I never reach the point of feeling completely deprived and I also don't eat everything I want. 

That's it. Could you find that balance? Could you try to stay mindful? Knowing that you don't have to be perfect; you only have to do your best. "Good" gets results too! :)

Have a great week and let me know how you do!
 
Ox, Jill

P.S. My 4-Week Fat Loss Jump Start online program begins January 6th. It's not a crazy crash diet (I think you know me better than that :)) but it's a 4 week nutrition and exercise coaching program, with me, every day, to help you create your unique fat loss formula. It's not about the 4 weeks. It's about the weeks after it. The months after. The years after. Eating for leanness effortlessly, and in order to do that, you need to start creating your own eating lifestyle for good. This is the aim of the program. Hope you can make it!