The Diet I Follow During The Holidays
The diet I'm going to follow this holiday season to stay on track with my health goals as a registered dietitian and female athlete…
None.
I am an athlete, and diets were not designed for me.
Diets are centered around restriction, and I prefer to focus on nutrition by addition.
If I want to be strong on my skis, I have to focus on what I can add instead of focusing on eating less.
I didn't always think this way.
When I was a college softball player, our team holiday party used to bring me so much anxiety. There was just so much food, including foods I told myself I wasn't allowed to eat as an athlete, and I worried about having to burn it off the next day or I'd “save up” by barely eating anything until the team dinner… which just made me feel even more out of control around my favorite holiday foods.
I also remember coming home for Thanksgiving in 2009, the year my disordered eating was at its worst, and someone said to me at Thanksgiving dinner, “Wow, how is someone as skinny as you able to eat that much?”
I don't fault that person for saying that, but what they didn't realize is I was starving myself before holiday meals and then basically binge eating in front of them. And then I'd feel so much shame after the meal on top of feeling physically uncomfortable from being overly full.
It was this vicious cycle.
Under-eat throughout the day, overexercise, only eat a snack after workouts… and then feel completely out of control at dinner and when I was left alone at home with trigger foods in the house (I ate an entire bag of cookies one of my roommates brought home from her team Christmas party, and I had to tell her what happened… I was so embarrassed and so ashamed… I didn’t know how to tell her that when I had one bite, I couldn’t stop…)
It went on and on like this for far too long! For years, I was stuck in this mindset: “I have to be good. I have to look a certain way as an athlete. I can't eat that. Processed foods are so bad for me, which is why I should stick to the perimeter of the grocery store.” You name a food rule created by diet culture, and I believed it and practiced it.
In 2012, when my left foot was in a boot with 3 stress fractures and my period had finally returned after being absent for 3 years, I realized food wasn't the issue.
It was so much bigger than food.
It was my horrible relationship with food that stemmed from restricting it for so long.
My relationship with my body had been total shit since I was in middle school.
It was all the damaging messages I'd internalized from women’s magazines, movies, celebrities, women in my family, etc.
It was my loneliness. It was the depression I hid from the world since I was supposed to be so grateful for my status as a college athlete.
It was me not being myself with other people because I was afraid they wouldn't like me and all of my quirks I hid from them.
And I realized if I wanted something different,
I had to do something different.
As an athlete.
As a woman.
As a human.
This holiday season, what if instead of feeling out of control around holiday foods, worrying about your body changing, not setting boundaries with family members or friends when they make unsolicited comments about your weight, food choices, or relationship status…
You learned how to quiet your mind and enjoy those foods you love at holiday occasions, accepted your body and dressed it in clothes you love, and finally helped your family members recognize you're more than a body, your relationship status, and/or what you're eating?
You don't have to wait until January 1st or any other arbitrary time of the year to start showing up as your most authentic, confident self. You don't have to wait until you're a certain weight or clothing size to live the life you want.
If you want something different, if you want to feel more at peace with food, if you want that confidence that radiates from within, if you want to feel relaxed in your body instead of always tearing it apart…
You have to do something different…and you can start literally today!
Especially if you've spent literally decades believing the lie that to accept and love yourself you need to lose weight to be worthy of acceptance and respect in this world.
You don't have to navigate the holidays alone. What if you had a registered dietitian you could reach out to when you're feeling anxious about holiday events? What if you had the support of others who will encourage you to show up as you are today?
That's what's waiting for you inside Fearlessly Fueled Society, my private support group for people just like you. It includes a monthly class on a specific nutrition topic, a monthly Q&A call with me, 24/7 access to me via a private messaging app, and discounts on 1:1 sessions with me that you can book anytime during the holiday season.
Bonus: You'll also have access to all of the previous masterclasses I've taught this year (The 3 Body Image Break-ups, Nutrition for Injury Recovery & Prevention, Supplements 101, etc) AND you'll get access to my upcoming monthly masterclasses including this month's class which is all about immunity!
This membership is my favorite way to work with clients, and I will show up and support you daily. If you've been waiting to work with me, NOW is your chance!
Click here to join me inside Fearlessly Fueled Society for the months of November, December, and January.
Here's to dismantling diet culture in the name of health!
-Eden
