Truth Time: Calorie Anxiety!

This past week at school, our students were honored at a "Volunteer Luncheon" to recognize the work they do with the younger students. As they were eating their pizza and drinking sprite, one thirteen year old female student said "I cannot believe how many calories I just ate. That's so disgusting."

It is so sad that young people are worried about being "fat" or how many calories are in pizza. Sure, it's fine that teens know that a pizza isn't high up on the list of nutritional foods, but they shouldn't be afraid of it. 

With this weekend being the primary holiday party weekend, I find myself identifying with that thirteen-year-old girl and having a lot anxiety over how much I'm consuming...sugar and alcohol and other empty calories...staying up until 2am so I'm too tired to workout the next day. The anxiety has officially set in. But I know this season is temporary and I will continue my regular habits once it's over, so why is an indulgent weekend so worrisome?

I know I've felt this pressure since I was in high school, and that makes me one of the lucky ones. Many girls (and some guys, too) feel pressure as young as eight years old to look a certain way.  And even though I am generally a straight-forward thinker and a logical person, there's something about food that isn't so logical. I grew up in a household with balanced meals and a healthy outlook on food and exercise. So why does there have to be anxiety?

In those moments of over-consumption, suddenly that extra piece of fudge or extra beer makes me feel less valuable...or I think that I clearly have no control over myself. I am well aware those thoughts are illogical, but that's how my brain categorizes those moments. So I'm currently doubly frustrated with myself...first, for eating and drinking in excess for the past few days, and second, for caring so much over silly things like a few extra holiday calories! It is a true cause of anxiety, but it is silly especially since I know a few days won't ruin the health I aim for. Maybe I'm worried that I won't go back to healthy habits? 

I read this blog post from em.powered wellness, and it made me rethink a lot of my holiday food anxiety. Emma, the creator of Em.Powered Wellness, writes about how she doesn't care that there may be some holiday weight gain because she feels "strong and capable." And so I'm going to try to go with her train of thought. It's not an easy switch since I've been working through some of these anxious thoughts for years, but it's worth putting forth the effort to try to rewire that initial guilty reaction. I am strong and capable, despite the extra sugar  :)

I had to get some of those thoughts off of my chest...thanks for reading!

Question: Are there any thoughts about the holidays you'd like to share?  :)