As we all know who celebrate Thanksgiving, it’s right around the corner. Thanksgiving should be a time to be thankful for the people and things in your life, and to spend that time with loved ones, but for a lot of us it has become something surround with angst. This feeling usually comes after (or during) having the big meal, and stuffing ourselves to the brim. In this post I am not going to tell you to make a super healthy meal or to avoid all your favorites. Because it is a such a problem for so many people to think they have to avoid food to feel good and healthy. When we try to fill up on tasteless, low-calorie food we deny ourselves of the singular, REAL, thing.

The key to having a Thanksgiving without guilt is to see food as the sacred thing which it is. It’s essential, not just for Thanksgiving, but all meals you eat, to savor each bite, eat slowly, and eat the real thing. Try eating a smaller portion of a substantial, truly nourishing meal of REAL food, REAL food that you actually want. See how you feel…see how you appreciate each bite so much more. See how you actually TASTE your food. See how you are not thinking about the meal but more so the conversation. See how your stomach doesn’t bloat and ache. See how YOU are in control of your body and how you feel.

Try taking a small bite, not a forkful of all the food on your plate-that will confuse and jumble your tastebuds, denying you from truly tasting your food. Chew that food slowly, and after you’ve swallowed pay attention to smell, texture, taste. Put down your fork. Have a drink of water. Talk to people, Listen.Ok, ok I know this may sound crazy to people or even seem like an aggravating way of eating to some of you. To us, this way of eating is so foreign, it is customary in many cultures, cultures where the population has a low obesity rate and longer-living citizens. When eating this way, you actually appreciate your food, you taste your food, you realize you don’t need as much substance to feel satisfied.

The last point I want to discuss is treating yourself, and eating what you want without guilt. So many of us feel GUILTY when we eat what we are craving, it could be pasta or a biscotti or a cookie. When you think about how “naughty” you’re being and how “bad” you’ll feel after you eat it, it COMPLETELY BLOCKS you from enjoying what you’re consuming. Why not try eating a small portion of what you really want and not feeling guilty. American women associate eating with sin and guilt. We should eat and prepare food with pleasure. But also not rely solely on food for pleasure.

This is your sign to feel enough- to know you are enough, to know you are in control, and to strive for balance.

Until next time,

Claire