On the Coast – Families Issue 103 I December 19/January 20 | Page 16

How to eat healthier these
Holidays
BY CLARE MARCANGELO
W
hen thinking about the new
year and what goals we may
have, a healthier lifestyle
may be top of the list for many of us.
We all know that one of the biggest
issues with implementing a new health
strategy (I refuse to say diet) is fitting it in
with an already busy life.
How can we possibly add another
change, another thing to plan and think
about to our week when we are barely
scraping by as it is? This is part of the
reason we defer to everything “starting
Monday” or even in the new year. 2020
has such a momentous ring to it, almost
everybody has already begun to assign
new plans and new beginnings to it.
But we know the danger. How many
of us actually stick to a new year’s
resolution? This is why I believe we need
to meet in the middle. We need time off,
time to reflect, look inward and time to
plan first in order for any new routine
to work. So a holiday period would be
perfect, right?
So this year, rather than paying no
mind to our poor bodies, and eating
everything at every Christmas party
table, regardless of whether we actually
fancy it, why don’t we start eating
mindfully in December?
I know we have this idea that we
need to wait, as we will be presented
with far too much that doesn’t fit our
idea of a diet, but once we throw out
that old antiquated “diet” concept, we
start to look at things differently. Rather
than completely changing what we eat,
assigning guilt and rules and a time
frame that will expire, we can just aim
to eat mindfully. Eating mindfully a
concept that sounds terribly new age
and complicated but in fact the way that
we as humans used to eat before we let
life get in the way. In essence, eating
mindfully is just re-connecting our
brains to the act of consuming food.
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O N T H E C OA S T – FA M ILIES
Rather than eating whatever we can
reach whilst carrying out another task,
we need to consider if we truly feel like
eating that particular something, if it will
serve our body well, and how much do
we really need to eat of it. Then slowing
down and enjoying it, appreciating the
flavours, giving our bodies time to digest,
and enjoying the company around us.
This experience leads us to a feeling of
gratitude and joy, rather than a pang of
guilt or remorse, or of course, a stomach-
ache.
Another argument we put forward
and view as a hurdle is that Christmas
food is all too naughty. We can’t possibly
try to eat well during this time. But is it?
Christmas day itself would typically be
filled with either gorgeously roasted
meats, vegetables and sides or fresh
seafood and salads. Granted, there may
be dips and crackers and French cheeses,
but now that we are eating mindfully,
there’s nothing wrong with a little bit of
snacking at a party, as long as we do it for
positive reasons.
So what changes could we add in over
this period on top of beginning to move
away from any negative relationship we
may have food, or indeed ourselves?
Why not make more meals from
scratch? If we have more time off, and
are feeling less stressed, now is the time
to make things we really love.
We could get in the habit of making
double portions and freezing some, so
even when life gets back to a hectic
schedule we have options we feel good
about. This has the knock on effect of not
resorting to fast food when we are tired
or working late.
This way we can carry this new way
of thinking right through our lives,
So this year, rather
than paying no mind
to our poor bodies, and
eating everything at
every Christmas party
table, regardless of
whether we actually
fancy it, why don’t we
start eating mindfully
in December?
rather than seeing it as a quick fix or
short term diet. If you find yourself
reading this in January, don’t despair, a
realistic goal is to not do what many of
us do and “wait until school goes back”
in February. That will be busy and full of
everything else that school years bring.
Start now, start today, and you will have
one less thing to do in February.
This also means we can start 2020
fresh and positive. By not building up
the person we think we should become
magically on January 1st, and starting
our journey early, when we have time,
and don’t feel pressure, we stand a
chance of gently moving into that
positive space we dream about.
The one where we wake up energised,
eat without guilt and love who we see
when we look in the mirror. That is
an amazing gift to give yourself this
Christmas and one that you deserve.
Clare Marcangelo is a local registered Nutritionist and former Early Childhood practitioner who
specialises in children’s health. As a mum herself, she knows how hard it can be to make even the
smallest of changes to a family diet.