Sweetbread, cakes, and ham with a side of hot pepper sauce were the smells that overwhelmed my West Indian home as a child during the holidays. I could indulge in these delicacies without a second thought. As an adult, however, holiday eating can be a real challenge while trying to improve my health. There’s this battle between wanting to enjoy food, family and friends during the holiday but not blow the progress I’ve made with my health. Many of us face this challenge, and this can lead us on the cycle of chronic dieting followed by shame and blame.

To help us through the holiday eating maze I’ve brought in renowned dietician Camille Martin. Camille Martin is a registered dietitian, public health writer, and former chronic dieter. She’s dedicated to helping women quit dieting, set bigger and better goals, reclaim their excitement for life — and lose weight in the process.

Key Takeaways
1. Issues with food often become issues with mental health. When you’re worried about food and what it does to your body, you become over-critical of yourself and this can lead to eating disorders, depression, and sleep issues to name a few.
2. Allow yourself to enjoy the holidays! Don’t stress about eating too much. Allow yourself to have fun and enjoy a bit more food than you normally would. Focusing on how much you’re eating can lead you to eating too much or not enough.
3. It’s important to change the way you talk about yourself. What you think and feel will eventually translate into your physical appearance. Learn to be at peace with yourself and it will translate to your body in a positive way.

Episode Moments/Quotes
3:03 - Introduction of Camille Martin
13:23 - “When we allow ourselves to lose control in other areas we try to think we’re reclaiming it with food, but we are actually doing more damage to ourselves” -Dr. Neely
15:50 - Why and how Camille Martin broke her diet cycle
24: 48 - “The more you attend to your soul and your heart, your body will adjust to match” -Camille Martin
34:03 - "It's not about doing to get, it's about feeling to become."

Research on the Topic
Emotional eating, as described by Psychology today, is the combination of stress and hunger. They explain that hunger can be normal hunger or hunger based on feelings, and that feelings of stress are often associated with feelings of hunger. Combine this with the stress of the holiday and emotional eating can sometimes get out of hand. When it does, we shame ourselves for the food we’ve eaten and the weight we’ve gained and force ourselves to follow crazy diets. This can add more stress, which in turn creates a cycle of eating, shame, and diet. Check out the link below for more information about emotional eating!

Want More?
Check out episode 63: Emotional Eating w/ Dr. Shawn Hondorp. Dr. Neely and Dr. Hondorp dive into what emotional eating is and why diets don’t work!

Resources/ Things Mentioned During The Show:
Camille Martin https://camillemartinrd.com/
Drop The BS Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/dropthebspodcast/
Psychology Today https://www.psychologytoday.com/us