Practicing Grace Over The Holiday Season
Well, it’s that time of year folks! November and December bring a lot of holiday parties and family functions. This means a lot of food, desserts, and stress. I’m one of the lucky ones and I don’t have to host any particular meal. However, I work for a construction company which means vendors shower us with food throughout the month and there’s multiple company luncheons that I get invited to. I’m a huge believer in practicing grace over the holiday season.
Most of the time, I decline solely because I live way too far from the corporate office or the vendors don’t bring food I particularly care for. Although, I will be the first to admit that once Tex-Mex gets brought to the office, I’m usually the first in line!
This past week, I saw so many people working out “extra” and limiting their food so they can “enjoy” their Thanksgiving feast. I myself participated in a Turkey Burn spin class but I honestly did it for fun. After Thanksgiving, my Instagram feed was flooded with posts about getting back on track and “flushing out all the bad food”. Juice cleanses and workout programs JUST HAPPENED to go on sale on Black Friday.
Related: Should I Have That Treat?
Y’all, that’s such a piece of crap. Honestly, who cares what you ate?! If you eat well and workout regularly, Thanksgiving wouldn’t have affected you that much anyways. The same thing is probably going to happen for Christmas, so it’s probably best to prepare yourself for that! During the holidays, I make an effort to be present. That means, I’ll enjoy food that I really like and don’t get down on myself. I may have overdone it on the dairy but this week, I got back to my routine. The bloating is gone and I feel fine!
The holidays shouldn’t bring body shaming and food anxieties but it does. My one big tip in not getting caught up in all the BS is to get off social media. You may not be able to stay off completely but if you know certain profiles will make you feel awful about enjoying holidays parties, then stay off of them for a while. Be present and enjoy the people around you. Make memories with your loved ones. Those will stay with you for a life time. A little app letting you know that you hit your macros won’t.
Enjoy time with your family and loved ones. When you start to feel anxious about meal time, just remind yourself that one day will not ruin months of work. Enjoy your food and you may even find that you eat less than you thought you would because you’re not stressed out about it. Get back in your routine and it will be like that meal never happened! Allow yourself some grace during the holidays. You’ll be so glad you did!
