Food, Diet and Holiday Self-Talk

Tempting, scrumptious, rich foods artfully arranged call to me like something shiny catching my eye.

And here we are the very time of the year where we have just feasted with friends and family over Thanksgiving and now more holidays are approaching. These holiday get togethers typically involve food. Lots and lots of food. And alcohol.

Many of us love to attend the parties and see friends, make new acquaintances but we don’t want to wake up the next morning regretting our food and beverage choices.

After two years of curtailed entertaining, there might be a tendency to over-indulge more than once.

That reminds me of an overheard conversation at a dessert table. One gal in line for a multitude of yummy treats was berating herself under her breath for being gluttonous…yes, she was overweight, but she didn’t load her plate with a variety of sugary sweets like other slimmer gals did. And, I did not see her return to that table for seconds.

Self-talk, especially denigrating self-talk is something we all do but at some point, we need to praise ourselves by turning the negative into a positive. Self-encouragement, rather than seeking it outside of ourselves, comes when we turn our thinking around and use positive affirmations to solidify our new way of thinking and self-talk.

Thinking, acting and walking serenely and positively, we learn to accept ourselves in a new way.

Rewarding yourself with food when you’ve carefully plotted an eating plan takes days to undo but remember, even if you splurge, eating something wildly indulgent, full of mind-blowing calories, don’t beat yourself up because in 5 days those three to five pounds that you gained will likely be forgotten.

Love yourself and allow new thoughts to permeate your being. Here’s a couple of affirmations to say throughout the day: “I love and accept myself” – “I am happy, I am healthy, I am beautiful!”  Can you say these words aloud in front of your mirror?