Body Wise*

*The information contained herein is not intended to diagnose or treat ANY medical condition.

Feeling Good When You’re Feeling Full

By Kate Fischer and Ian Rubin

The holidays are upon us. How would you like this year to be different? Would you like to find balance between family, food, and health? Would you like less stress and guilt surrounding what or how much you or your guests eat?

Community meals during the holidays are an opportunity to re-connect with family and friends through sharing and enjoying food. Yet often, food can bring guilt and shame regarding what and how much one eats. Food and enjoyment of good food also become a mere background to the social interaction of the holidays. We want you to find balance between social interaction and a guilt-free enjoyment of the food prepared and served.

What good is a community meal if afterwards people feel more negative than before it? Real food, prepared with loving intention, and eaten in a stress-free and guilt-free environment, is healthiest for the whole person and is what we wish for you.

Kate, in her work as a dietitian, finds that eating “real food” in a mindful manner helps her clients eat less, lose weight, and find greater satisfaction from food. Ian, in his Healing Meals, sees that practicing mindful, embodied eating in a group is a great environment to develop skills that can be applied year long. Based on our work, we share several recommendations to consider this holiday season:

Enjoy good taste and good health. Look for recipes that maximize flavor by using genuine ingredients over processed ingredients. A small, portioned amount of real butter or cream goes a long way to flavor potatoes versus loads of low-fat milk, or margarine that may contain trans fats. The lack of flavor from the latter often necessitates a moat of gravy, and the bite of freshly whipped potatoes is long gone.

Take advantage of fresh herbs, good broth, sea-salt, pure extracts, and other flavor boosters over extra fat, preservatives, and salt in processed foods.

Whenever possible, think FLOSS.
Fresh
Local
Organic
Sustainable
Seasonal

Choosing foods with a FLOSS mentality ensures wonderful flavors and nutrition. Why choose foods shipped from thousands of miles away when the Pacific Northwest provides a bounty of foods from local farms, often operated in a sustainable manner? It’s better for you, the earth, and the local economy.

In good taste, enjoy smaller portions. By choosing fresh, local, and genuine ingredients, you will find smaller portions more satisfying than the heaping helpings so typical of the holidays. Like smelling a good wine and swirling it ‘round the glass, savor the bite! Mindful and embodied, you’ll find greater pleasure, less guilt, and heightened satisfaction with smaller portions of good food.

Be mindful and aware. Conversations during meals can increase the connectivity that a shared meal provides or distract from the enjoyment of food, leading to overeating and a lack of awareness of what you are eating. Try talking with your fork on the table, and pick it up only to take another bite. With the fork on the table between bites, you may limit mindless eating and maximize enjoyment.

Be thoughtful of dietary restrictions. Take into consideration that some guests have particular dietary needs. Determine ahead of time what they are and be creative so that they may fully engage and enjoy the meal without feeling singled out. Wheat or gluten intolerance is prevalent, but nowadays, recipes using wheat-free ingredients are readily accessible. You can use non-wheat flour to thicken gravy, bake corn muffins, or make a piecrust from nuts.

Likewise, dairy-free alternatives abound, and soy, rice, and oat milks can be blended into foods undetected. In some instances they may add a nuance of flavor appealingly different from those we are accustomed to. Allow yourself to be creative, ask the guest to offer suggestions, or invite them to bring a dish to share with the group.

Refrain from negative table talk. Avoid saying “Are you eating that?” “Are you eating another slice of pie?” or “Wow, that’s a lot of potatoes.” Let your actions speak for your beliefs and allow others to act on theirs. Even though you care for your guests and want what’s best for them, such comments can have an opposite effect, causing more guilt and leading to poorer eating habits. The old adage applies: If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.

By taking these ideas and others out there, truly enjoy and savor this holiday season. Sharing a meal in our busy lives should add enjoyment of the holidays rather than stress regarding health and weight issues, or guilt surrounding food.

Good luck and bon appétit.

Kate Fischer, MS, RD, LD, is the co-owner of Alameda Fitness Center in Portland, OR. Kate can be reached at katefischer23@gmail.com or 503-548-4011.

Ian Rubin, MA, CPT, is a wellness coach and certified personal trainer. His practice serves groups and individuals wanting to improve their relationships with food, fitness, and body image. Call Ian at 503-260-0473.