Make peace with food and weight for holidays

Written by Jenni Schaefer 

Source: http://www.tennessean.com/

It starts with Halloween — the candy. Next comes the smorgasbord at Thanksgiving. Then, more holiday food throughout December with a grand finale on New Year’s Eve. And, with the roll of the calendar to Jan. 1, resolutions to diet and lose weight begin across America.

People of all ages join in this crazy cycle. At age 4, even though I was a normal-sized child, I already believed that I was fat and was afraid to eat certain types of foods for fear of getting bigger.

Society tells us that to be thinner is to be happier. But when I reached my lowest weight at 22, I was far from happy. In fact, I was miserable and struggling with a life-threatening eating disorder.

I sought help, and after many years, I am fully recovered. Strangely, my eating disorder forced me to develop a healthier relationship with food and weight than I ever would have without it.

Wisdom about how to eat in a balanced way can actually be found by observing babies. They eat when hungry and stop when full — an approach known as intuitive eating. Unfortunately, as infants grow older, they stop responding to internal hunger and fullness cues and instead pay attention to external ones. Even young school-aged children will eat simply because the bell rings for lunchtime or as a result of watching a fast-food commercial. Society trains us to stop listening to our bodies.
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If you are struggling with an eating disorder, the holidays can be a particular stressful time.  What are ways that you reach out for support and encouragement during this time to make peace with food and your body?