Hobgoblins! Ghosts! Monsters! Okay, not really very scary to anyone over six. Snickers! M&M’s! Skittles! (a hell of a lot more scary to those watching their weight this Halloween as the trick-or-treaters come to your door looking for chocolaty handouts). And Halloween is just the beginning of the frightening junk food journey with the holidays soon to follow filled with scrumptious high-calorie treats, big family dinners smothered in butter + gravy and cocktails that seem to refill frequently enough to lend to that holiday hangover. Dr. Michelle May, author of Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat: How to Break Your Eat-Repent-Repeat Cycle and mother of 2 retired trick-or-treaters, Tyler & Elyse, wants you to know that there are many ways to enjoy food this holiday season and that guilt should not be on the menu. 
Michelle, with a missionary’s zeal, believes that one can most definitely have one’s fruitcake and eat it too. Though she’s the first to admit that food and good nutrition – especially this time of year – once scared her to death. She’s a self-confessed yo-yo dieter who has dedicated her career to figuring out the mentality behind eating while not actually hungry. “If the holidays are so special, why ruin it by feeling stuffed and miserable all the time? Instead, whenever you feel like eating, ask yourself, “Am I hungry?” If you are, eat the foods you really love but love the foods you eat.” She continues, “In other words, sit down and savor every bite. Pay attention to your body’s natural signals of satisfaction. Remind yourself that it is only food.”
After many years in the clinical field she started a series of “Mindful Eating” workshops entitled “Am I Hungry?” also available on DVD. “Hunger is a physical feeling. It’s not the same thing as appetite, cravings, or just wanting to eat,” explains the doctor. She strongly believes that one
should be able to eat what one wants and that guilt only leads to the ups and downs of “dieting” leaving people frustrated, crestfallen and not particularly healthier or happier.
“It is natural to derive pleasure from eating and to love certain foods. When we make those favorite foods “bad” – the definition of which is constantly changing anyway – we put them on a pedestal and we crave those foods even more, giving them more power over us,” says Dr. May. “Instead of giving people a bunch of rules to follow—which don’t work anyway—I help people relearn how to recognize their body’s instinctive signals of hunger and satiety to guide their eating. They soon discover that when they don’t deprive themselves of the foods they love, food doesn’t have any power over them. When guilt is no longer a factor, common sense prevails.”
When asked what every woman should keep in her purse to help ward off bad eating habits Dr. May admits, “I carry a snack-size plastic bag with walnuts and dried cranberries in my purse. That way, I know I have something to eat when I’m hungry. Perhaps counter-intuitively, I also keep a piece or two of my favorite chocolate on hand. I could never have done that years ago, but now, I find that when I really, really, really, really want chocolate, I have it without having to settle for a full-sized bar that I won’t enjoy as much.”
Michelle states, “Many parents still teach outdated messages like ‘You have to eat dinner or you don’t get dessert.’ In other words, eat more than you really need and I’ll reward you with the special food!” She explains why this may have worked once but not any longer, “This backfires in a culture where the plates are as big as platters and dessert is no longer an occasional treat.”
With next week being Halloween, Michelle offers up these tips on how to avoid binging on that Halloween candy bowl:
- Minimize your exposure. Wait until the last minute to buy Halloween candy then buy only what you really think you’ll need for the big night. Get the stuff kids love rather than bags and bags of your favorites.
- Remember, it’s not your food. All too often we eat whatever shows up–Halloween candy, donuts in the break room, or samples in the grocery store. But you didn’t choose to put it there so stop mindlessly putting it in your mouth!
- Get your own. You’ll be less tempted to get into the kid’s holiday candy if you stop depriving yourself the rest of the year. Scary, I know.
- Share! If you really want some candy, ask your child to share a few pieces with you. Through observation, they learn that it is possible to balance eating for nourishment with eating for enjoyment.
- Eat what you love. Skip the sugary kid candy (unless that’s what you love) and instead choose a few that you really love. Set them aside to eat when you really want them
- Save room for dessert. If you’re going to eat Halloween candy (you know you are!), then adjust for it. After all, does it really make sense to eat all your dinner to earn dessert?
- If you love it that much, act like it! Enjoy those treats one at a time, mindfully without distractions.
- Just right! The fun-sized treats are the perfect size for a few mindful bites of heaven. And those first few bites are always the best, so think before you dive in for more.
- Eat fearlessly without guilt. We all know that guilt leads to more eating, not less, so let it go.
- Don’t torture yourself with exercise. Being physically active feels good and provides numerous benefits for your health; don’t turn it into punishment for eating.
- Pass it on. Halloween is a great time to teach your kids how to enjoy a little candy as part of a healthy and active lifestyle.
Michelle is a Board Certified Family Physician with 14 years of clinical experience in Phoenix, Arizona and married to her husband Owen for 25 years. He’s a professional chef and they love to cook healthy meals together. She is also the co-author of ‘H’ is for Healthy, ‘F’ is for Fitness, and three other books that inspire healthy positions and behaviors in young children. She has been featured on the Discovery Health Channel, Oprah and Friends Radio with Dr. Oz and has been quoted in Body Soul, CNN Health, Fitness, Fox News Radio, Glamour, Health, Parade, Parents, Self, TIME.com, USA Weekend, US News & World Report, Washington Post, WebMD, Weight Watchers, Woman’s Day, Woman’s World, and many more. Her personal story appears in Chicken Soup for the Dieter’s Soul. Needless to say she’s got the qualifications and the ear of the press as well as those interested in changing their eating habits.
So don’t let the hobgoblins or the chocolate bars scare you this Halloween – just remember some of these tips provided by Dr. Michelle May and you’ll be on the path to healthier, more mindful eating that’s guilt free!
Boo!
-Jono
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