Healthy Holiday Eating - Holiday Diet Plan

Skip navigation!

The holidays are a notorious time of overindulgence, which can make even the most sane woman go absolutely bonkers thinking about the rich, calorie-laden food they're consuming in what feels like an endless, gluttonous loop. But what about those ladies who struggle with food and eating issues? What kind of hell does this unleash on them?

Margaret Wheeler Johnson over at
Huffington Post
explores this topic with a thoughtful, heartwrenchingly honest piece about what it's like to deal with a food obsession during the season of indulgence. "There are enormous meals with relatives who leave me questioning all of my food and life choices," she writes. "There are little black dresses and glittery miniskirts that do not look like I hoped they would, and there are multiple opportunities, also known as holiday parties, to feel sized up by everyone in the room." Our hearts are breaking reading this — and to some degree, we're relating, too.

AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT

It's one thing to be conscious about the foods you eat, but something else entirely to obsess over what (and how much) you're eating. While many experts recommend caution and making "smart" choices during this time of year, when do you cross that line between being a healthy eater and having an issue with food and weight? In our image- and weight-obsessed society, that line is not often clear.

We're impressed by just how candid Johnson is in her essay, not only owning up to her struggle with eating issues, but also offering a slew of real-world, no-BS, truly useful tips on how to cope and not let her food issues get the better of us.

Even if you don't share her specific struggle, we think this is a must-read for all women — because who among us doesn't get hyper-focused on food and calories around this time of year? We hear it every day in the office: "Why did I eat that? Ugh, I feel so fat now! I'm eating like a pig." Many of us do this, and it's neither healthy nor productive. Johnson reveals some valuable lessons on how you can not only be healthier, but also dig yourself out of the shame spiral that comes with indulging your cravings. Bookmark this, print it out, and share it with your friends — it's something we're going to reference every time those f'ed up thoughts of guilt or not being good enough start creeping into our brains. (
Huffington Post
)