Tips for Easter Eating
Filed Under: Holiday Eating
5 April 2023 | Written by Xenia Ayiotis
It’s hard to believe that the Easter Holidays are upon us, it feels like December was just the other day!
Whether it’s Easter, Eid or Pesach or any other festival, remember it’s a holiday and over the holidays we tend to eat more than usual and it’s quite normal. Even people with a “normal” relationship to food eat more over the holidays. So expect to eat more at some meals.
Some religions practice fasting or elimination of foods at this time of year, so we need to be mindful that when we restrict certain foods and after a period of elimination there can be a backlash of overeating those foods.
This is also a time of year when there is chocolate everywhere! Easter bunnies, chocolate covered marshmallows, Lindt bunnies! (If you haven’t yet tried the gold Lindt bunny with the green bow, do yourself a favour and try it – lots of crushed hazelnuts – very yummy!)
Let’s move onto the tips….
Create Meaning
What is important to you about this time of the year? It could be the meaning of Easter or Pesach. Perhaps it’s the people with whom you are spending time or perhaps it’s just a much-needed break! For those of us in South Africa, the past few weeks have been difficult for most of us… I caught myself eating mindlessly as I was reflecting on the effects of the downgrade of our country to junk status.
Pay attention to your hunger
Try not to let yourself get too hungry. Our brain goes into panic and famine thinking that will tend to trigger overeating later. If you are preparing for a function – remember to eat! We tend to neglect ourselves and just taste mindlessly as we cook. If you are feeling hungry and have a few hours until your meal – have something small to take the edge off.
Give yourself permission to eat what you want … without the guilt!
Yes, this includes chocolate and hot cross buns and teiglach! Restriction and elimination of foods just leads to craving and eventually we overeat or binge on these foods. So whatever it is you want, give yourself permission to have it!
Do not catastrophise your eating
Beware of “all or nothing” and judgmental thinking around food and eating. Just because you overate at a meal, had chocolate or potatoes or anything you think you shouldn’t have, does not mean you have blown it! You did not commit a crime, all you did was eat!
Have fun, relax and have a break
It’s time for a break. It’s time to rest and play. If we aren’t having fun and connecting with people we love, the chances are we will turn to chocolate or food for fun.
Eat as mindfully as you possibly can
It’s quite challenging to eat mindfully when there are lots of different foods and when there are lots of people and events. Often during the holidays our emotions can run high too!
- Before eating, take a few deep, slow breaths.
- Assess your hunger and how your stomach feels.
- Choose the food you love and leave the rest. Eat what you love first, don’t leave the best for last because you may feel too full at the end of the meal.
- Use your senses… see, smell, feel, taste the food.
- Eat sloooowly with your full awareness and attention.
- Remember to put your knife and fork down in-between bites and not to pick up your fork until you have swallowed the food in your mouth. Don’t forget to chew your food.
- Practice the pause. Pause in between mouthfuls and pause when you are halfway through your meal.
- Tune in. Tune into your belly. Are you half full? How full do you want to be?
- If you have reached a comfortable point in your body but your mind still wants more… remember you can have more later!
Whatever you do, whether you overeat or eat just enough or undereat, it’s okay. Don’t beat yourself up. Let it be… Let it go as best you can. Be kind to yourself. Feeling bad, ashamed or guilty about what or how much you are eating does not help to change the behaviour. It is more likely that you will end up eating to suppress those feelings.
No matter what happens, choose kindness, compassion and patience. As I often say to my clients: you cannot hate yourself into change.
This holiday…
May you be safe
May you be at peace
May you treat yourself with care
Be well!
Xen
Hello, I'm Xen. Welcome!
I help women all over the world drop the struggle with food and their bodies to create a life of peace and freedom.
Sign up for my FREE 21-day eCourse “The Mindful Eating Moments” and get started on your journey to feeling free around food.
I respect your privacy. Unsubscribe anytime.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google
Privacy Policy and
Terms of Service apply.
You might also be interested in blogs about:
“From our first meeting - two faces on Zoom across the world from each other, there was a sense of familiarity and comfort that was a healing balm for a lifetime of food struggles and dieting. Without realizing how much damage I had done to myself by adhering, for decades, to restrictive food plans and rigid diet programs, Xen had a way of redirecting the harsh and negative self-talk and sending me forth each week with compassion, mindfulness and a new way of seeing myself in the here and now. Gone are the maybe somedays, and if-only, and when-I’m-smaller thinking. Now I am committed to the imperfect and rocky path to listening to my body, accepting my perfect imperfections, and rejecting diet mentality. Those negative voices will revisit me from time to time, I know, but Xen has offered valuable tools for meeting each day as a fresh start - another choice, another chance. Her devotion to this work and her belief in her clients is a remarkable gift; I am so fortunate to have found her. It is never too late to let go of the drama and embrace joy, ease and self-acceptance.”
“I felt hopeless and helpless in my daily struggle with mindless eating for many years. Then I found Xen which is exactly what I needed! My decision to work with her helped me to finally repair my relationship with food. It's changing my life for the better, one day at a time. Now I have control over the food, instead of it having control over me, which is the way it should be. I highly recommend Xen to anyone who has a desire to overcome similar food struggles. Xen, thank you from the bottom of my heart!”
“I reached out to Xenia because 2021 started on a tumultuous note for me. Between deaths, businesses suffering, hospitalizations, and job losses in our personal circle, I felt depleted and found myself being available for everyone but myself. Then I was hit with an unexpected health diagnosis, which was the last straw as it meant giving up “healthy foods” and workouts that I leaned on for my well-being and stability. Despite working in wellness (Yes, coaches and healers are vulnerable too!), I found myself reaching out to desserts for comfort. I like to live a life of permissions (not labels or deprivation leading to bingeing), so I wanted to work with someone who approached healing from a place of mindful compassion. I didn’t want to be my own client. Xenia was great in reminding me to be kind to myself. Working with her, brought me peace and helped shift my mindset. I love how desserts and I look at each other now.”
“Working with Xenia was amazing. She armed me with a bunch of tools to help me through difficult times. Xenia is the kind of person who really cares for helping you in the long run. Her work will forever have an impact in my life.”
“Working with Xen was a game changer for me. After working together for a few months my relationship with food radically changed. I no longer felt like a failure. I now have the tools to nourish my body with foods that feel good in my body. I don’t feel guilty about eating cake or chocolate, I also don’t overeat cake and chocolate. I no longer feel the need to exercise to compensate for my eating. I feel much more free around eating and I am more accepting of my body. Xen has a nonjudgmental and compassionate approach to coaching and really supports you in the process.”
“Working with Xen has been very empowering. Her approach is so refreshing from the usual. I have learned that I am in charge and that I get to choose what I put in my body and how to move my body in a way that I like! I get to make my own choices. It’s so liberating. Once you get a taste of freedom with food, there is no turning back to old ways! Thanks Xen for guiding me along the way to freedom.”
“This is the answer for those of you that struggle with food and all that surrounds it. Xenia said that I could make peace with food and it seemed at the time like an impossible dream. Turns out it isn’t. I recommend Xen and the mindful eating / intuitive eating approach unreservedly. If you have any questions about my experience, please get in touch. Thank you Xen. My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐”
“Xenia was a walking, living, breathing example of what can be done. I laughed and cried my way through a short course in this fascinating and invigorating programme with her, and have gained a designer tote full of coping skills that go way beyond containing kilogrammes. I feel infinitely lighter. I am doing this for me and, yes, you can do this for you too! And believe me, I’m cynical!”
“I don’t obsess about food like I used to. I am thinking differently about food and feeling so much more relaxed around all types of food. It’s wonderful to have pleasure and satisfaction from eating.”
“I learned a new way of thinking about food. I have learned that food is not the enemy and that it can actually be enjoyed with no guilt.”
