by MJ Beatty

Created on: July 31, 2008   Last Updated: June 29, 2009

The most important strategy for healthy holiday eating is "don't worry about it." Second and third are "mindfulness" and "balance." I have tried the calorie counting approach, the low-fat-substitute approach, the only-eat-carrots-from-the-snack-table approach, and (most shamefully, in my teen years) the binge and fast approach. None of those worked. Not only did I still gain the inevitable "holiday 5" each time, I also gained guilt, disappointment, frustration, and a belly full of fake processed "diet" food I didn't want in the first place. Once I ditched the food scale and the little "don't eat that" voice, and enjoyed the holidays in all their culinary splendor, I never gained another holiday pound.

1) Don't worry about it. My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving: juicy warm turkey, savory sage stuffing, buttery garlic mashed potatoes, sweet-tart cranberry sauce, melt-in-your-mouth brown sugar yams, crisp spinach salad with crunchy candied walnuts, creamy bountiful pumpkin pie with cool vanilla ice cream, rich roasty black coffee, ripe velvet merlot, glowing candles, crisp November air, warm kitchen, hearty appetites, laughter, reunion, communion, generosity, abundance, and sincere gratitude for everything good in my life. When else is an entire nation compelled at once to take time out from making a living and just live? If I am celebrating in the way that's healthiest for my body and my mind and soul, there is no room for restricting or keeping track.

2) Mindfulness. That said, there is nothing celebratory or joyful in high-fructose corn syrup, aspartame, processed cheese food, or yellow #5. These aren't the bounty of the earth, these are the cancer that is killing America (but that's an entirely different article). There is also no joy in watching everyone else indulge while chewing plain celery and counting bites of a rice cake, only to sneak into the kitchen at midnight and shove spoonfuls of cold stuffing and gravy into your face, numb and alone. Mindfulness is the art of living in the moment. Listen to your body: eat what you crave, and stop when you're full. Give yourself permission to enjoy the meal. Savor every aspect of it and you will be fully satisfied. There will be no danger of a late-night binge.

3) Balance. Obviously if you ate like this every day, you would gain weight. A holiday is called that for a reason: it is a special day. Don't wake up the day after Thanksgiving and fall into the trap of "Well, now November is blown, I may as well eat everything I want until December." Follow your usual healthy eating plan as many days during the holiday months as possible. And plan other celebratory activities that counter the feast. In my family, we go on a Thanksgiving Morning Bike Ride. The chilled air filling our lungs while our blood pumps and warms us is an exhilarating way to build an appetite for the meal to come.

Keep these three principles throughout the holiday season and you will greet the New Year healthy, satisfied and not a pound heavier.

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