There are 5 Intuitive Eating principles to keep in mind during the holidays. These principles will help you to begin your intuitive eating journey on the right foot.
The holidays are a time for family, friends, food, and memories. Unfortunately, diet culture tends to permeate even deeper into our hearts and minds this time of year.
Whether we’re aware of it or not, thinking about being “good” or “cheating” because it’s the holidays are thoughts most of us will have.
Learning how to eat intuitively is truly the key to enjoying holiday foods without guilt. Ultimately, practicing intuitive eating can set you free from the external and internal guilt and shame system that plagues so many.
It is possible to enjoy food without guilt and shame.
The Problem With Diet Culture
When you think about food, a few thoughts may come to mind.
- “How many calories does this have?”
- “I guess I’ll just treat myself this one time.”
- “I’ll start dieting again on Monday.”
- “I’ll spend more time at the gym this week.”
These and many other similar thoughts, tend to be how we evaluate our food choices. But there’s a major flaw with this thinking. In fact, research supports that this thinking is futile and will ultimately get you nowhere good.
In her article on Psychology Today, Sophie S. Whynacht Ph.D. (2024) reports “When dieting becomes the measure of success, any deviation can feel like a personal failure, further eroding confidence and self-esteem” (para 2).
She goes on to explain the unseen costs of dieting and the diet mentality. How this mental shift negatively affects quality of life and can lead to the development of disordered eating.
Choosing to practice intuitive eating is about more than enjoying whatever foods you want, when you want them. It’s about changing the way you view yourself and food.
While this mindset shift may not be the key to weight-loss, it is the key to improved mental and physical health.
Many of us have suffered far too long from body image issues. We look in the mirror and we see an elephant instead of beautiful treasure, intricately designed by God Himself.
To allow food to hold such a power over us is not only detrimental to our overall health. It’s also another expression of our need for a savior.
What is Intuitive Eating?
Intuitive Eating is a framework that teaches individuals how to challenge diet culture and free themselves of the guilt and shame associated with food.
This life-changing framework has helped tens of thousands learn to love themselves just the way they are. I am one of those whose life has been positively affected by Intuitive Eating.
The framework has 10 core principles. You can read more about them here. Something to keep in mind, Intuitive Eating is NOT a diet. It’s a mindset shift designed to bring freedom to those enslaved by diet culture.
Top 5 Intuitive Eating Principles To Keep In Mind During The Holidays
Let’s jump into the Top 5 Intuitive Eating principles to keep in mind during the holidays. These principles were selected because they are thought to be the most helpful ones to adopt during this time of year.
1. Reject the Diet Mentality
No surprise that this will always be #1! Rejecting the diet mentality is the biggest step towards intuitive eating. It’s also the one that’s going to help you to enjoy your holidays without guilt and shame.
When you reject the diet mentality, you are telling diet culture and all its politicians that they no longer have a hold over you. You’re telling them that food is not the enemy, they are!
The diet mentality is what got you into trouble to begin with. That’s why we have to learn to reject it at all costs.
2. Honor Your Hunger
This is the next key principle to keep in mind, especially during the holidays. The holidays are stuffed with large, decadent meals. Foods that we’ve been avoiding all year will appear at every gathering.
That’s why so many people have developed the mindset that they should “save their appetites.” But there’s a huge flaw in this thinking. There’s no such thing as “saving your appetite,” only starving yourself.
The problem here is by the time you get to that coveted meal, you won’t just be hungry. You’ll be ravenous. Your hunger will feel so much larger than your true appetite.
This will inevitably result in overeating. And guess what? Overeating usually results in feelings of guilt and shame.
Then the cycle begins again. “Oh, I can’t eat again until I’m starving otherwise I’ll have eaten more calories than I should.” Thoughts like these prevent people from experiencing the wonders of gentle nutrition.
Allowing yourself to eat when you feel hungry is going to be the key to preventing deprivation fueled overeating. So, please, honor your hunger this holiday season.
Don’t force your body to go without. You won’t just feel physically uncomfortable, but the mental costs to starvation are high too.
3. Make Peace With Food
Making peace with food is a vital step towards becoming an Intuitive Eater. During the holidays, foods that have been “forbidden” throughout the year suddenly become “legal” to enjoy.
The primary issue that arises here is that foods have been deemed off-limits and not allowed.
Part of making peace with food requires that you take away the restrictions. No longer are there illegal foods. No more “cheat” meals or starting over on Monday.
If you hope to enjoy your holiday foods guilt-free, then recognizing that food is not the enemy is key.
4. Challenge the Food Police
This is one of my favorite principles because it teaches us that no one, not even our own negative self-talk, should have the power over our food choices. Let your body tell what it needs.
It’s how we survived as children, when told our parents all we wanted was crackers. It’s how babies grow strong and healthy. Demanding breast milk or high quality formula when hungry.
Challenging the food police encourages you to take back control over your eating. It gives you permission to kindly tell outside voices to keep their opinions to themselves.
The food police come in all shapes and sizes. They are out to question your every food choice. They’re going to give you the side eye when they see what you’ve put on your holiday plate.
The food police are going to whisper their little lies about how “bad” that slice of pie is for your thighs. But guess what? If you learn to push back.
If you tell the food police that they do not have the right to question your food choices. You’ll be so surprised at the freedom and empowerment you’ll begin to experience.
5. Feel Your Fullness
This one is huge, why? Because learning to respect when your body tells you it’s had enough is key to learning to listen to your body’s signals.
When we stop, feel the food landing, and allow ourselves to feel the fullness, we begin to notice a few things.
- Food stops tasting as good once you’re full.
- You begin to play with what’s left on your plate because you’re trying to decide whether or not to finish it.
- Your body begins to reject more food.
- You’re finally able to enjoy other activities outside of eating.
Now, those are just to name a few. But the thing to keep in mind here is that feeling your fullness is how you acknowledge to your body that it knows best.
Sometimes it’s hard to respect fullness because the food isn’t something you get all the time. One of the ways I recommend solving this dilemma is by removing the novelty from the food.
Instead of waiting all year for that coveted mac and cheese, ask for the recipe and make it at home.
This way you won’t be dying for it come Thanksgiving. You’ll be able to enjoy it and stop when full.
And who knows, you may even find that you want something else because you know you can have it anytime.
How To Get Started With Intuitive Eating During The Holidays
Getting started with Intuitive Eating requires a willingness to let go of everything you think you know about food and nutrition. Intuitive Eating isn’t about eating the “right” foods.
It’s about learning to listen to your body’s signals. Honoring those signals. And ultimately, experiencing the peace and freedom of guilt- and shame-free eating.
The number one way to begin your intuitive eating journey during the holidays is to reject the mentality and make peace with food. If you just start with those two principles, you’ll be well on your way to guilt- and shame-free eating.
Resources for Intuitive Eating During The Holiday
Without overwhelming you with resources, I’m going to just recommend one thing here. If you want to become an Intuitive Eater this holiday season, grab a copy of the Intuitive Eating book by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch.
It is with their book that I have been able to begin my personal journey toward Intuitive Eating.
This book is without a doubt a life-changing resource. If you’re ready to ditch diets for good and make peace with food, then do yourself the favor of grabbing a copy of the book.
Closing Thoughts
Becoming an Intuitive Eater doesn’t have to be a scary process. While there are a lot of things that can make it difficult to achieve, the results are certainly worth experiencing.
I ditched dieting 6-months ago and never looked back. I’m so much healthier now as a result. I’m proud to say that I’m on my way to securing my future as an Intuitive Eater.
No matter what, though, keeping those profound intuitive eating principles in mind during the holidays can be challenging. The holidays pose a lot of threats to new intuitive eaters.
Just know that you’re not alone here. I’m with you and so are all the other intuitive eaters out there. We’re on this journey together.
Feel free to email hello@daretothrive.co for Intuitive Eating support.
