I Do It Too!

by | Jan 13, 2025 | Healthy Bites

As we look ahead into the new year. We might be evaluating the last year and looking at ways we can be more supportive of our goals and maybe even more true to ourselves. I found myself in a similar situation as many of my clients do. Where they can feel stuck. Where they feel that they can not stop eating or where they feel that they can not walk away….let me explain. 

 

This holiday season for myself, was already one that was a bit heavier and different than other years. My father had recently passed away in November and we had just said goodbye to him in his celebration of life a week before thanksgiving. At the same time, my mother who had been helping my father till the very end, ended up fracturing her spine and pelvis and was in severe pain and having a difficult time walking.  The stress of change and grief was already in the air and the last thing on our minds was celebrating, food, gifts and hoopla. We certainly made the best of the situation, as we always do and decided to have a much lower key holiday gathering.   

 

As we are hanging out around the table talking, dessert at hand, including a tin of Trader Joes Holiday Mix (this stuff is incredible by the way). While I’m trying to enjoy the conversation and I’m just having a few bites of this mix, questions start popping up around diets. Typically, I can bi-pass these conversations relatively smoothly, but this year, as my heart was already tender, my guard was down and my energy not as “together” as it usually is, I was feeling the stress and anxiety at the start of the questioning. 

As the questions began flying a mile a minute; what they should do, what they think they need to do … .yaddi, yaddi, yadda…, I found myself eating that holiday mix faster and faster…

 

See, I can get wrapped up in my own feelings too…..

However, the awareness was there for me.I absolutely noticed that as the dietitian interrogation was taking place, my anxiety and feelings of being trapped in a space I did not want to be in were growing. And my actions were matching my anxiety by grabbing that holiday mix faster and faster. That is, until I just STOPPED! 

 

While the family was talking, and I was nodding my head, I could still take care of myself.  To tune them out for a minute. Long enough to take a breath.  To sit back and recognize that I was feeling incredibly violated. That I didn’t want to be “on duty”. That the best thing for myself right now, was to excuse myself from the table and take a break. And, in the middle of the questioning, I did just that. I just said, “excuse me for a minute, I just don’t think I can talk about this right now.”  And I just walked away. 

 

That whole process of having the awareness, the feelings and the desire to do something about it, happened in a mili-second. It doesn’t actually take time, it’s just there. So many people think, I can’t do that. I can’t act like I’m listening when I am not. I can’t get myself out of it. I have to endure. Nope. We never have to endure. 

 

Was it a big deal to my family? No. It wasn’t. They just continued talking amongst themselves until the conversation turned into something else, which is when I returned. And there weren’t any odd feelings or tension or anything. No one cared. That’s the point….no one cares that you are choosing to take care of yourself. No one cares that you are not taking care of them as they are imposing their needs onto you. It just really doesn’t matter. 

 

Remember, that you get to take care of you. You get to walk away. You get to recognize in yourself what isn’t feeling right for you at the moment. So often people will find themselves in these same situations and will continue to drown themselves in the food. Numb out the discomfort versus just acknowledging it and then caring for it and themselves. You deserve more and you deserve to just walk away. 

 

As you enter the new year and as you become aware of patterns or behaviors or attitudes around food. What comes up for you? What makes you uncomfortable, in a constricted sort of way, not in an exciting and expansive way? What behaviors are keeping you in the self-sabotage loop? Take the bold step to start to walk away. Just try it. See how it feels. It might feel scary, you may want to run right back to the old behavior. And if you do, just know it’s ok. That you get to experiment and you get to expand your sense of safety around change. You can always go back to the old ways, but see if you can allow yourself to experience things differently this year. 

 

Feel free to reach out should you want to change your relationship around nutrition, food in general, and yourself! I’d love to be a part of your own transformation! 

To work with Nicole:

Meet and Greet Before You Book – chat with Nicole K,RD,CD,CSSD to see how we can meet your needs and choose the appt that would fit you best! 

 In-Person Consult with Nicole K, RD,CD,CSSD

Virtual Consult with Nicole K,RD,CD,CSSD

Lets Chat! – 30min Q&A session – this 30 min session helps get any and all of your questions answered about nutrition and exercise. Should you choose to work with me and get a personal plan developed with regular coaching, a portion of the cost of this session will be applied to your next! 

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

 

 

 

Meet Nicole

Registered Dietitian Nutritionist

Nicole is recognized state-wide and nationally as a Registered Dietitian and is also a Certified dietitian through the state of Wisconsin. She is also a Board Certified Sports Dietitian and a Certified Personal Trainer and Physical Fitness Instructor.

Nicole’s areas of expertise include: Wellness and lifestyle coaching, weight management, behavior modification, eating disorders, vegetarian lifestyles, gluten-free living, sports nutrition, recipe and menu design and development.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Subscribe for More Great Articles!

Subscribe via email to be notified of new articles, healthy recipes and helpful tips.