The holidays always give us the warm-and-squishies — singing sweet nostalgic songs, feeling cool brisk air on our cheeks, and spending quality time with those we love. Unfortunately, they also give us the all-too-common bellyache that can come with holiday gorging. And with that, the food hangover and subsequent guilt that haunts us the next day. If that weren’t enough, these ugly feelings can lead to falling completely off our health and fitness path — until January 1 comes and we descend on our local gym, just like everybody else. 

Does this tedious turn of events sound all too familiar to you? Wanna break free from the unhealthy holiday hamster wheel? We’ve got you. 

But first, let’s give a little context. At Studio SWEAT onDemand, we’ve always been tried-and-true proponents of intuitive eating, as you can see through our countless blogs on the subject. But for the TL;DR crowd, here’s a little refresher. Intuitive eating is all about building a healthier relationship with food that doesn’t rely on willpower and restriction. It allows you to listen to your body, and give it exactly what it wants. If that sounds counter-intuitive, we can assure you it’s not. When deep-down you just really want a donut, and allow yourself to enjoy that donut, you might be surprised to hear that satisfying your craving can actually encourage healthier choices throughout the day. 

But sometimes the holidays enable us to eat beyond temptation. We find ourselves diving into dishes that we’re not even interested in, but sort of feel like we “should” eat because “tis the season.”

Well, forget that. 

There’s no reason why we can’t set healthy boundaries around the holidays — just as we do in other aspects of our lives. We all know that accepting what our bodies crave can be healthy, and so can avoiding foods that our bodies most certainly don’t need. So with that in mind, let’s talk about setting healthy holiday boundaries in the kitchen.

Step 1: Learning to Say No

The holidays can be tough for those with dieting difficulties, as well as others who are dedicated to maintaining healthy habits. It’s important to take accountability and practice saying “no” whenever food is placed in front of you. What do we mean exactly? Here are a few examples: 

• Here’s an easy one. Holiday office parties are known for perfectly average calorie-laden foods that you wouldn’t purchase any other time of year. So why feel compelled to take part now just because a coworker asks, “Aren’t you going to try this amazing store-bought pie?”
• Your friend yells, “Oh I’m so full but I just can’t stop. I’m going in for seconds, how about you?”. In this example, somebody close to you wants you to join them in their binge-eating spree. They might not be aware of it, but you can kindly let them know that you’re good with one serving. 
• Your grandmother says, “I made this dish just for you, aren’t you going to try it?”. Now here comes the guilt. If a sweet old grammy makes you a dish personally, rejecting them would be unkind, and sort of monstrous. But you also don’t have to annihilate the entire dish. Take a big bite in front of them, shower them with praise, but don’t feel the need to go in for seconds or thirds. 

Step 2: Prepare Yourself

Another tough situation during this season is spontaneity. You find yourself whisked to a holiday party, and then another, and another. People randomly come up with an idea to bake cookies, or somebody surprises you with a cake at work. These things happen. But what can you do when you’re heading into a potentially tempting situation? Prepare yourself in advance!

Go somewhere quiet and remind yourself why you want to stay on the path to health and fitness. Assure yourself that it’s ok to indulge in sweet treats and savory delicacies, but overeating never feels good. Remember that it’s ok to say no, to eat less, to go heavy on green and fresh things – it’s all ok. 

Step 3: Get Intuitive

Now, we know we said this wasn’t another intuitive eating diatribe…but just hear us out! Intuitive eating isn’t just about allowing yourself to eat things you really want. It’s also about listening to your body at all times. So our final recommendation on how to set healthy holiday food boundaries is to put your body’s needs (which might include indulging) above all others. When sitting down for a holiday meal, take note of how you’re feeling at the current moment. Are you feeling a little full? A little hungry? Maybe stressed? Possibly a little annoyed? All of these things are ok. But it’s important to understand and process your feelings and not just drown with yummy holiday goodness. Because after all, eating your feelings never ends well. 

Well, we hope we’ve armed you with some useful tips on setting healthy food boundaries. And we hope you can enjoy yourself, your friends and family, and yes, some food too — whilst not falling off the health wagon. But if you need a little extra encouragement, you can sign up for a 7-Day Free Trial with Studio SWEAT onDemand! We offer an extensive library of virtual fitness classes featuring motivating, world-class trainers that are filled with real people, just like you!

Sign up for a free trial today, and instead of unbuckling that belt at the Thanksgiving table…maybe you can tighten it a couple notches!