Over the holidays, my eating got off track. It happens to me on an annual basis. Many people love Christmas, but I see it mostly as a melancholy time, longing that it was like it used to be.
Each one of us expresses our grief and sadness in different ways. We hide it as best as we can, especially if those around us are happy and enjoying the tidings of the season. We certainly don’t want to bring anyone down. I am actually happy to be working on Christmas, it gives someone else the chance to be off with their family. And it’s only for a few hours.
OK, that was a few weeks ago. So, why am I just now starting to get back on track?
I don’t have an answer. I only know that “the feels”, as the kids say, hit me hard this year. I did my best to hold it in, but nothing is really held inside of us. We humans are not machine and our emotions will make their way to the surface, regardless of how hard we try to suppress them. They’ll come out as anger, over drinking, drug abuse, or other forms of self-sabotage like over eating as I did.
Realizing what happened is the first step with putting a stop to that behavior is the second step. For now, I’m avoiding as many processed foods as I can, especially those with added sugar. I’m not cutting our all added sugar just yet, but I know that’s down the road. I’m also not eating red meat for a while, in an effort to cut back on my cholesterol for my pre-surgery blood test. We’ll see how that goes!
If you had the blues during the Holidays, you’re not alone! It happens to me every year, but just know, we’ll get through it together and start 2023 strong!