Holidays - the best time of the year. Literally - you’ve got food, maybe some days off, some extra sleep oh, and definitely more food.
Between Thanksgiving and the New Year humans tend to go into hibernation as winter break and vacations begin. You work all year and as it comes to a close you’re thankful to take some days and just chill out. However, as much as you want to relax and graze out on your couch with Netflix constantly asking you in you’re still watching, the holidays tend to ignore that. They’re pretty overwhelming, not always, buuuuut sometimes.
And when you throw food into it all you’ve got too many options which leads to too many plates, which then leads to too many questions as “why did I eat that?”, “did I need that last cookie?”, “when can I put my sweatpants on?”
THIS IS NORMAL IT IS INDEED THE HOLIDAY SEASON
It’s hard to not walk two feet without a chocolate box, a glazed ham, or your grandmother’s cookie tray. So, before we dive further into this - don’t read this and be like ah son-of-a-nutcracker I’m in trouble. This won’t punish you, it will help you.
My friend from college recently shared a podcast with me about intuitive eating. Honestly, I had heard of the phrase but it was not something we necessarily learned in school. The word intuitive simply describes being aware of what you are feeling without really thinking about it, like an instinct. Sounds like… psychology. Well, yeah. Why you think in a certain way and feel certain things was definitely taught in my Psych 101 course. This definitely does not make me a psychologist, or the expert for that matter. However, in my courses leading up to my Bachelors in Nutrition & Dietetics I did learn the hard, beautiful, collaboration of the brain and the stomach.
Meet ghrelin and leptin - two hormones that have a lot to do with that “I’m hangry” feeling you get before eating, and the “I need to unbutton my pants” feeling after Thanksgiving dinner.
The stomach is lined with cells that secrete ghrelin. Ghrelin increases before a meal or when someone is fasting. When ghrelin levels are elevated they send a quick message to the brain and say hey this person hasn’t eaten in a bit, it’s time to eat. You know, basically your body’s own lunch bell. That is the reason why you know when you’re hungry when 1pm hits. Ghrelin is keeping you on a strict schedule, initiating meal times based on your hunger level.
On the court against ghrelin is it’s competitor: leptin. Leptin is secreted from the body’s fat cells in adipose tissue. Leptin’s role is the exact opposite of ghrelin in that it’s the hormone that puts the breaks on after eating too much, aka that “omg, no I’m too full” feeling. You see, leptin isn’t as fast as ghrelin, it’s a slow acting hormone whereas ghrelin is fast acting. This is the reason why you’ve probably been told to eat slowly. If you eat too fast, you’re not allowing leptin to catch up, resulting in that uncomfortable feeling and maybe even a new food baby.
Here is where intuitive eating makes its big debut. Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch are two registered dietitians and authors of the book, Intuitive Eating Workbook: Ten Principles for Nourishing a Healthy Relationship with Food. Here in this you will find 10, very easy to understand, principles on what they believe will help you grasp the understanding to eat intuitively. I highly recommend looking further into this or listening to the podcast. For now I will focus on two of the ten principles.
HONOR YOUR HUNGER
A N D
RESPECT YOUR FULLNESS
Before, During, and After eating - your guide. With these two principles we want to be aware of what you’re feeling before, after, and throughout the meal.
Are you hungry? Or are you RAVENOUS? How are you feeling during the meal? Where are you? Your car? Your desk? Or your lunch table? How does the food taste? Yummy? Salty? How about after the meal? Are you content? Or stuffed to the brim of discomfort?
I find this to be the hardest part. In America, you do not get 2 hours to eat lunch and catch up with co-workers. It’s go time - all the time. There’s no break or even time to slow down and even eat a meal, let alone enjoy it. We’re forced to speed through drive-thrus and stuff our faces with a granola bar before our 7:30 am meeting. There’s no time, until you make it. So start small, can you eat one meal, once a week without doing anything? Yeah, do nothing but eat. No phone, no computer, no work. Just you and your food and your comfort. And listen to your body, while you're doing it. Craving something sweet? Don’t just eat your salad for lunch, grab a fruit or a cookie, as well. Yes, you read right, a cookie.
The holidays make this worse, but not necessarily. When you’re in front of the table of food with your empty plate in your hands and the options our endless - take 2 seconds - TWO SECONDS - and ask: How do I feel? Am I hungry or ravenous? What am I in the mood for, and go from there. You don’t have to grab everything on your first time up there, trust me you can go up for seconds. But pay attention to those cues. Your first plate may be enough, or you may have to get a second helping. But remember, leptin is a slow poke. So, as you sit around the table and chat with your aunt asking you about your non-existent significant other while your grandfather’s asking you about your yearly income, take.your.time. And listen to your body, … it may be nagging you, too.
After this holiday of cookies, hams and casseroles will be the next new year resolution persuading you to “detox” on a “juice cleanse”. So catch it early, and start here. There is no need for rules, but there is a need for reason. Why are you doing this? Why are you eating this? Each bite should bring comfort and happiness not regret and guilt. So, yes eat the cookie. If you’re feeling it then your body needs it. It’s more than just balance, it’s being aware. This will take time, and there are no rules, so go at your own pace. It’s not a diet, my friends, it will be a journey.