Often people who struggle with overeating and weight control find Easter to be a difficult holiday. The celebration often involves a family meal that brings with it two big stressors-family and food. We are often faced with many opportunities to be around food that may tempt us to waver from healthy eating, and this in combination with increased exposure to family can feel like a recipe for disaster.
We look at the reality of our families and often compare it with our imagination of the great families and holiday celebrations others are experiencing. We worry about our appearance and what people are thinking about us. We look at the tremendous amount of food and want to squash our anxiety and negative feelings with excess food.
Yet Easter is a holiday about renewal. If Easter is part of your tradition, look at this as an opportunity for a new beginning. If your habit in the past has been to focus on the food and overindulge, look at this holiday as an opportunity to do it differently.
Try to connect with people rather than focusing on food. This can be difficult because our family relationships are often so damaged that real connection isn't possible. It is easy to feel the disappointment about our relationships and stuff those feelings with food. The first thing to do is try to come with realistic expectations. Big family gathering are not necessarily the best places to have intimate conversations. Lower your expectations and try to keep the mood light. If you do start to feel sad or disappointed about the reality of your family connections, try to accept the feelings and allow yourself to feel and acknowledge them rather than eating over them. Before you go, try to think of ways that you can help make this a joyous occasion for the others who will be attending. Offer to bring a dish, help out during the meal, or clean up afterward. In that way you will be helping to relieve the host who is likely stressed and tired from all the preparation. You will also be taking some ownership of the celebration and knowing that you are influencing the mood of the event in a positive way. This can be gratifying. As you consider the way you are going to approach this holiday, think about who you want to be. In what ways do you want to celebrate this holiday differently from those of the past so that you can enjoy this as a new beginning?