Holiday Season and Who is Your Food Police?

Athletes (and most everyone else) tend to run hurriedly away from dietitians during the holiday season. At a 50 meter dash type of speed.

There’s a preconceived notion that we dietitians are secretly assessing all the food on your holiday dinner plate(s) and thinking “Geesh, that is a LOT of crappy-carby-sugary-so-called-food on that person’s plate(s)… I should give them my business card.”

Well, I don’t know what dietitians you’ve been around or what experiences you’ve had, but this is not my M.O. In fact, it gets my blood pressure elevated when I’m out socially (holiday season or not) and friends preemptively comment on their plate of food with comments such as “Dina’s looking at all the greasy cheese-covered fries on my plate and calculating when my heart attack will occur!” or “Hey, hey… nothing like being ballsy enough to order the all you can eat pizza in front of the dietitian!!”

So, the scoop is…. I’m off the clock when I’m not directly working with a client who has hired me for professional guidance. It doesn’t mean I am oblivious to food around me or how I choose to nourish myself. But to be frank (and risk disappointing you), it ain’t my business, nor my style, to be the Food Police.

Perhaps the Food Police comes from within YOU? Meaning, it is your (negative) self-talk that is getting the best of you in social settings or elsewhere. Especially if you have a history of dieting or beliefs that food is inherently “good” or “bad”. Are you possibly feeding into your own story that what you choose to eat makes YOU a “good” or “bad” person?

As you go forward this holiday season, take note of the “Food Police element” in your food life. Is it internally driven and if so, what are the beliefs you have? How do you physically and mentally treat yourself before, during, and after food-related situations? I’m not asking for judgments, criticisms, or specific black and white labels. I’m asking for observation and awareness… to see what you see.

Once we start to get a handle on this layer of our food life, we can make enormous strides forward in health, longevity…and ultimately, our happiness.

-Dina