It’s time for the end-of-the-year holidays celebrate with loved ones—and to enjoy rich and delicious food. But for many people, these special meals bring anxiety and guilt. in one last survey According to Orlando Health, 39 percent of U.S. respondents report worrying about how much they eat on vacation. And a quarter agreed they should skip meals to “save” calories before a feast like Thanksgiving dinner.
Messages we receive health and holidays-especially the surroundings diets and weight loss, is often wrong, says Sara Riehm, a registered dietitian at Orlando Health. Riehm guides clients through a six-week lifestyle program to achieve their health goals. He sees firsthand how counterintuitive our mindsets about health and weight loss can be, especially during the holidays. This time of year she spends a lot of time helping people come up with more effective and healthier ways to deal with situations where they are surrounded by delicious foods that are not optimal for nourishing their bodies.
“You don’t have to cut back or eliminate all of these foods,” she says. “A balance is being created so that we can enjoy our holidays, but let’s take our health into account.”
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American scientific She spoke with Riehm about how some diet misconceptions can be harmful, tips to help us navigate the holidays, and what to do when it’s time for a New Year’s resolution.
(An edited transcript of the interview follows.)
Why do so many people feel anxious about what they eat on vacation?
I think a lot of people feel very uncertain and nervous because in the past the holidays included a lot of excess. I have many clients who are trying to learn how to improve their health, but then when a special event like this comes along, they don’t know how to handle it because it’s a special situation. And, in particular, a situation where you are almost encouraged to overindulge and overindulge. This is a time when many people feel out of control. But I personally love starting this time of year with clients, teaching them and helping them navigate this holiday season in real time.
Why might this focus on—or anxiety about—holiday eating be counterproductive?
Stress can definitely contribute to weight gain in itself. When we have higher levels of cortisol (the stress response hormone) in our bodies for longer periods of time, such as during the holiday season, this can contribute to weight gain. So in the context of weight management, that might be the opposite of what we’re trying to achieve.
Then, focusing so much on food affects our mental health. There are many other things that we should experience or think about during the holiday season. At its core, the holidays should be a joyful time of celebration: gathering, giving thanks, giving gifts, and celebrating our loved ones. What I try to emphasize with my clients is to focus on what they want to prioritize during the holiday season: “What are the things that are really important this time of year?”
What if health goals are one of those important things?
I recommend trying to create a balanced dish by leaning on the vegetables on the table. Often there is also some kind of salad or a roasted vegetable or a bean casserole; these are some of the denser foods we can consume. They are nourishing our bodies, but still leave room for other delicious foods we crave. Trust me, I’m still making room on my plate for mashed potatoes and macadamia cheese. But I am also thinking about how I should feed my body in this situation.
Another way to stay on track with your health goals is to get some exercise. I don’t necessarily suggest going to the gym or doing the Turkey Trot as a family. But studies have shown that going for a two- to five-minute walk immediately after eating can improve insulin sensitivity, which can be really beneficial for anyone managing insulin resistance.
I also recommend thinking about what foods you want to prioritize. For me, I know I can get maca cheese and mashed potatoes year round, but my grandma only makes derby pie on major holidays. So, since I know I’m trying to focus on certain health goals, I might cut back on the mac and cheese and mashed potatoes to save some extra room for derby pie. And that’s how we still create that balance.
If it’s important to me to create healthy eating habits, but also not miss out on enjoying grandma’s pie, how can I prevent these “special occasions” from stalling my progress?
Everything is very individual; it depends on where you are in your health journey. Ideally, you’ll have this baseline that you’ve created with healthy habits, so having a slice of cake or a cookie won’t change much. Without that foundation, however, it can be very difficult to get back to it. I encourage my clients to engage in a “plan, act, reflect” cycle. As much as you can, try to plan for the unexpected as we head into this holiday season. Reflect on what went well and what didn’t over the past few years. If we’ve indulged in excess in the past, which didn’t make us feel the best in our bodies or maybe we weren’t happy with the higher lab values, then we can plan how we want to handle this upcoming holiday season. “What can we do differently this time?” Then we can implement this plan as best as possible for the next year.
Continuing to engage in this “plan, act, reflect” cycle of those less-than-ideal situations or decisions is not, for lack of a better word, a “reset” where we completely revert to our habits. I’ve found this to be one of the most powerful strategies in working with clients to release our subconscious judgments and still move forward in a positive and productive way.
Many people think they have to skip meals before the big holiday dinners to “save calories.” Why don’t you recommend it?
When we cut back on this kind of food, it is very counterproductive to our health goals. very it’s hard to make healthy decisions when we’re hungry. It will be difficult to make those balancing decisions that we mentioned earlier. Also, when we restrict, we also tend to binge. How many times have we been in a situation where we got a little hungry, and then we ate a little too much, and then we don’t eat a little bit, and the cycle is perpetuated? We enter this cycle of cuts and binges, and for some people, this can become a very serious problem.
So I don’t recommend it. It’s not healthy. It is not a way to balance your diet. What I would recommend is to go ahead and have a few small meals or snacks until the main meal. Make room for your favorite foods at Thanksgiving, Christmas, and holiday meals. But don’t starve yourself, right? Don’t create a situation that sets you up for failure when you try to maintain these health goals.
According to the survey, one in three respondents believed they needed a “detox” or “cleanse” after the holidays. Why don’t you recommend this?
The best way to move forward, if you feel like you’ve over-judged or made a decision that wasn’t the right one or that you don’t like, is to acknowledge it and reflect on the factors that contributed to it, then make a plan for the next time. time and then forward. That’s the biggest tip I have. Don’t stop there. Compensatory behaviors, such as juice cleanses and excessive exercise—or even going as far as purging with vomiting or laxative pills—are closely related to disordered eating behavior. If you engage in this type of behavior, please be very honest with yourself and maybe get some help. Evaluate why you feel you have to do these things, because these types of behaviors can be dangerous if you continue to engage in them.
But you have to admit that we don’t have to do all that. We can enjoy a meal that comes once a year and then continue with the rest of our journey. I say it so many times: a healthy meal won’t change your life in the same way that an unhealthy or “less than a large” meal won’t either. So break free. That’s my biggest tip: admit it, and let it go. In the same way that people say, “New year, new me,” also narrow it down to “new day, new me” or “new meal, new me.” Work on why you made that decision (you’re not happy) so it doesn’t happen, but then move on.
How do you help people reframe their relationship with food so that it is less adversarial and punitive and more accepting and flexible?
I don’t think I can answer that succinctly, to be honest, because that’s more than six weeks I spend giving advice to people. These are heavy things. It’s the relationship people have with food. It’s the psychology behind nutrition. (At its core), it’s a diet culture that values thinness above all else. When we break this down and think about why we think of foods with morally charged words—good, bad, clean, dirty, cheating—it’s because of diet culture. This is how we, as a society, have been conditioned to think. As someone in my position, I’m trying every day to try and undo it. Because it’s not true. I try desperately to get my clients to think about food in a neutral way, to give them freedom, to take the power away from food—because in the end, it’s just food. It’s just a way to fuel your body.
One of the concepts I like to teach is the food spectrum. I try to get people to think of foods as “always” foods, “sometimes” foods, and “rarely” foods. “Rarely” foods are what we treat as treats. Maybe they’re high in saturated fat, sodium, sugar, inflammatory nutrients that are not good for our health and may be linked to some of these cardiometabolic diseases we’re trying to avoid. Then, in the middle we have “sometimes” foods. They may not have these health risks associated with them, but they are also not the best way to nourish our bodies. Most of our foods will fall into that category. Then the “always” foods are the most nutrient dense: fruits, vegetables, whole grains, plant proteins such as beans, peas and lentils. Such things are very rich in nutrients, so we want to have them all the time.
If we lean more towards the “sometimes” and “always” side of the spectrum as often as possible, we’re fine. So when we think about Thanksgiving and the holidays, think about where your food will fall on your spectrum and try to lean more towards those foods sometimes and always. And you can rarely eat because it’s the holidays and they rarely happen!
Last, very important question: what is derby pie?
Oh, I tell you. Derby pie is a Kentucky delicacy made by my grandmother from Louisville. It’s basically pecan pie, but with chocolate and bourbon in it. There’s also a lot of corn syrup in there, which is nice. And it’s really good, and he only does it twice a year, Thanksgiving and Christmas. My thing is to always make room.
If you or someone you know struggles with an eating disorder, please get in touch National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Related Disorders Help by calling (888) 375-7767.
