Eat Happily: Happily: Eat Guilt-Free Guilt-Free Holiday Feasting Feasting Holiday by Romane Lavandier
T
he holidays are often a time of year that are, in large part, celebrated by expressing love to friends and family. However, while we focus on showing affection towards others, we often forget to show love towards ourselves. Specifically, the holiday season is when we are harshest on our own bodies and how we are fueling them. Many of the traditions this time of year consist of food: cooking, baking, recipes, dinners, etc. The annual Thanksgiving dinner, for example, is personally one of those times when I wish I could never feel full. However, the initial joy I feel from the extensive food options is often encroached by a feeling of shame or regret for the amount of food I have just consumed. In a society where what we eat is constantly associated with how our bodies appear, it becomes increasingly difficult to separate eating from body image during a supposedly joyful time of year. It is easy to be hypercritical and to keep ourselves accountable for our food consumption that it can become overwhelming, leading us to be unnecessarily harsh to ourselves on occasions when we should be enjoying ourselves. While one of the holiday’s most significant attributes is family, our families can be even more guilt-inciting than ourselves in regards to eating and body image. In talking to Ejen, BC ’24, I
THE BULLETIN -
learned that for her, simply hearing loved ones talk about their own eating habits can make her feel uncomfortable. She explained that “Sometimes it’s them talking about what they’re eating that makes me feel self-conscious as well. If they’re eating something and say ‘oh I shouldn’t be eating this,’ and I’m eating twice as much, then I feel like I shouldn’t be eating as much.” We tend to constantly compare ourselves to others in every aspect of our lives. Eating habits, though, should be an individual part of our lives and adjusted to our own needs. During this time of year when comparing one’s eating habits to those of a loved one can be at an all-time high, it is important to remember that our bodies are all different and thus necessitate different kinds and amounts of food. Comparing our own food consumption to that of others is, therefore, a futile process given the fact that what is best for each individual varies. Family can also be tough to be around with the comments they make on our own eating. Parents may often feel they must let us know their opinions on every aspect of our lives, which may have unintended consequences. Let me set the scene: You sit down for Thanksgiving dinner with your family, excited for the mouthwatering food waiting on the table. As the meal progresses, you get
10 - nov/dec 2021
