Eat When You're Hungry -- at Thanksgiving Too!

I can hardly believe Thanksgiving is already upon us, and my apologies for not posting sooner. I've been very busy to say the least. I've also noticed a recent increase in form submissions on my Web site and book sales. I don't have a magic crystal ball to tell me if this will continue through the holiday season, but I suspect it will. And, to be honest, it doesn't surprise me in the least. While the holiday season has reason to be depicted as warm and fuzzy in commercials – it is a wonderful time to spend with family and friends – it also brings with it loads of anxiety or even depression for some people.

Why? Well, let's count the reasons. Loss of loved ones, recent breakups, having a life that doesn't seem to "measure up" to what it's "supposed to be" at this time of year, and….food. For those of you currently in the midst of trying to make peace with food once and for all, the holidays bring with them, food. Lots of it, and lots of feelings about it.

I remember when I was in the throes of my very restrictive behavior around food, I used to do any number (and sometimes a combination) of the following:

- Worry if there'd be anything "for me to eat" at Thanksgiving dinner
- Feel guilty (or weird) that I wasn't starving myself all day for the big meal
- Worry about what people would think of me if I only ate the leanest of the turkey and the least "offending" of the vegetables and skipped dessert altogether
- Tried to figure out how I could pull off the above without anyone thinking I was doing anything differently than anyone else

As I write (and re-read) this now, it seems absolutely ludicrous to me that my mind used to operate this way. I say that not from a place of judgment, but actually from a place of gratitude that I really, truly, have overcome all of the issues I used to have with food. When I was in the throes of this mindset (and once I finally wanted to be free from it), I thought I would never FULLY recover from it. You read all over the place that, "once and eating disorder, always an eating disorder." And I guess what I've been astonished by is how untrue that has been for me. Yes, I still have times when I wish I could rely on food to create a sense of control in my life or to give me a feeling of a "fresh start," but after about 30 seconds of going down that route, I realize I couldn't make myself go there even if I tried. It's just not me anymore.

I've probably gotten off track with this post, but I've been struggling with blog content lately because I actually feel so far removed from my previous dieting mindset. I am still 100 percent committed to helping as many people as I possibly can to stop dieting and start living, though. So plan to come back to my site often. We'll see how it transforms in the new year.

In the meantime, I wish you a happy, healthy and delicious Thanksgiving filled with all of the things you want. And remember, it's okay to be a picky eater, even at Thanksgiving. I can't wait for my mom's chocolate walnut pie (which tastes like a giant chocolate chip cookie) and you can bet that I'll be skipping the sweet potato brulé (I don't like sweet potatoes or brulé, but particularly not together) to save room for my favorite part of the whole meal.

Happy Thanksgiving.