December. It‘s a month full of magic and joy for many of us. We can experience all the gifts of the season while keeping our carefully won healthy weight, if we stay mindful. Here’s how.
Let’s consciously appreciate what we have. For our family, instead of dinner with our whole family, we’ll once again experience two different holiday visits and meals with two different sets of grandkids and their parents. To resist their enthusiastic offers of second or third helpings, I aim to mindfully enjoy each single forkful of my first and only serving.
Let’s try to stay calm. Some of my past holidays have set records for stress. And stress can lead to mindlessly noshing on whatever is in front of us. So, let’s work some destressing times into the holidays.
We can “Deck the halls.” Though surrounded by a forest of evergreens, we can still bring a tree, large or small, indoors to celebrate nature’s beauty, and each ornament we hang will elicit a memory. We’ll share our memories and express hopes for the coming year. We’ll tell stories of other times, places, and friends, including those no longer with us. We can repeat the Mayne tradition of Honouring a Life, where two Japanese Garden trees were hung with the names of departed people and pets. Perhaps this year we’ll celebrate our own ritual. No need for snacks as we hang the names of those precious friends on our own trees and tell stories that stir up memories.
We can let music lift our mood. In December, CDs of seasonal music fill our home with sounds we love. We always listen to a certain poem that recalls a childhood in Wales. Listening and singing along can substitute for mindlessly eating chocolates, nuts, and cookies. I used to unconsciously consume these because they were there, but I feel a lot better after a dozen carols than I did after a dozen chocolates. (And I stopped getting migraines.)
We need to socialize, and we still can, maybe at a distance. Games like Clue and Monopoly (or Mayneopoly), and massive jigsaw puzzles were always brought out over the holidays, when adults had a few days off work and children had a week or two at home. We can still enjoy playing games with friends and family, but now they’re also online. I’ve learned a lot of engaging, delightful online board games from our game-savvy grandchildren. When our hands and mind are busy with the game, there’s no time for snacking!
We can still celebrate with a feast. Let’s bring out colourful tablecloths and candles, and add a poinsettia, or whatever each one of us feels makes our table seasonally beautiful. There is something so comforting about dining on classic holiday dishes each year. I hope they bring back happy memories for you. But along with these traditional foods, with our mindful approach, can’t we serve some of the more nutritious dishes that we have come to enjoy? At our house this year we’ll be trying Jamie Oliver’s recipes.
We can take a refreshing December walk. After our feast, we can go for a stroll outside, to shake out the cobwebs and stretch our legs. The wintry weather feels so invigorating, especially if it’s a bright, sunny day. You’ll look rosy with your pink cheeks, and of course you can show off those beautiful woolly mittens, hat, and scarf someone made just for you. And you just might run into a few friends and neighbours to wave to or chat with who are out for their walk, maybe down to the beach or along some winding forest trail.
This is a time to experience the lively conversation, the old anecdotes, the new stories, the laughter, the warmth of friendship. I hope you enjoy your holiday celebrations, safely and mindfully, whatever they are.
Join us at TOPS. Make it a plan for the New Year. Bring a buddy if you like (first session is free.) We’d love to see you at our meetings. We gather every Wednesday morning at the Community Centre, from 9:00 to 10:00. We wear masks and social distance. We’re a low-cost, enjoyable, international self-help program that welcomes everyone. If you want to Take Off Pounds Sensibly with us, please call..
Reference: A Child’s Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas (reading by author, and a movie version often aired by CBC - both on YouTube)
Submitted by Amber Harvey