Season’s overeatings

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 15/12/2017 (2335 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

For many of us, the holidays just aren’t the holidays without food. Whether it’s potato latkes dolloped with sour cream or apple sauce, or perogies and pickerel or a cherished family shortbread recipe handed down from generation to generation, eating at this time of year is rich in heritage, tradition and love.

But for some, food can be incredibly anxiety-provoking, especially people in recovery from an eating disorder. That’s why, every December, the Women’s Health Clinic offers a workshop called Coping with the Holidays.

The workshop, held earlier this month, allows participants to share their food-related stresses and feelings, as well as do some strategic planning.

“Not just so they can cope, but hopefully so they can have fun and make the holiday their own,” says Lisa Naylor, a counsellor in the Provincial Eating Disorder Prevention and Recovery Program at WHC.

“One of the challenges is the abundance,” Naylor says. Indeed, food is everywhere this time of year: from the tins of gingerbread in the break room to the hors d’oeuvres at the holiday mixers, not to mention all the sprawling family feasts — plus leftovers.

So, a plan for someone in recovery might include brainstorming festive activities with their friends and family that don’t revolve around food, or designating a support person, or deciding exactly how many holiday parties they want to attend and for how long. Naylor encourages her clients to focus mindfully on their own needs, and to be gentle with themselves.

Food is complicated for many people, including those who are not struggling with or in recovery from an eating disorder.

Most of us are familiar with the holiday paradox: being literally surrounded by indulgent, delicious food while listening to people talk about the diets and cleanses and challenges they’re starting Jan. 1.

“It’s often quite disordered talk,” Naylor says. “You have the contradiction of maybe being in an office environment where there’s all the extra snacks and baking and boxes of chocolate that are meant to be festive and celebratory or given as gifts of gratitude for work done, and then that goes side-by-side with an increase in diet talk and negative feelings about food.

“People who are trying to navigate their way to a more peaceful relationship with food, that’s just so hard to do.”

How we talk about food can directly impact other people, even if we don’t realize it.

“There’s probably someone at your table who is impacted by feelings of shame about food or body,” Naylor says. “Every time that diet talk comes up, it’s so counterintuitive to enjoying the food in front of you. We have to be aware that there’s another generation listening — the teenagers and the kids who are enjoying that food.

“The idea of food around the holidays comes out of a really positive thing,” she says. “Food is used in our culture to celebrate, and I would never advocate that it shouldn’t be. I think when we have a peaceful relationship with food, that is something we want to share with the people we love.”

A question Naylor often encounters is how to deal with older relatives who offer second helpings of homemade dishes, something they consider expressions of love.

“We encourage clients to just explain they’re full and to directly address it by saying, ‘Me not having a piece of pie doesn’t mean I don’t love you, Grandma, and I really appreciate that you made this for us,’” she says. “It’s OK for us to change that script.”

To that end, establishing clear boundaries is healthy for all of us. Naylor relays a metaphor she often uses in the workshops. When you light a candle, the flame will burn — but when you place a hurricane lamp around it to protect it, the flame will burn brighter.

“When you have boundaries, it’s a protective layer that allows your light to shine much brighter,” she says. “Boundaries can be that. It’s not a way of keeping people out. It’s a way of shining your best self.”

For those interested in pursuing good health in the new year, the Women’s Health Clinic is offering a workshop on Jan. 6 called Health at Every Size: A Focus on Wellness. Participants will learn why focusing on wellness, not weight, is key to finding peace with food and activity.

For more information, visit womenshealthclinic.org.

jen.zoratti@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @JenZoratti