Holidays are an important time of the year. They offer the promise of seeing friends and family and of having time off to ourselves. This is a time of indulgence! There is so much to feel thankful for! Ok, even I didn’t buy all of that. My therapist did a good job of inspiring my positivity today, but the hour did little as I got back into traffic, waiting in lines to buy things with money I don’t have. I feel bombarded by the push toward consumption – eat bird, drink plenty, sleep early and awake before dawn to shop, shop, and shop! Thanksgiving feels like a pressure cooker. And then, it hit me…

Holidays present a challenge to healthy ways of eating and living. It is my belief that - yes, holidays are an important time of the year. The rituals and the consumption can have meaning too.

An MSN Health and Fitness report claims that the average person gains 7 to 10 pounds between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. People – this means a clothing size! Drinking and driving fatalities climb, suicide rates soar. Yes, it’s a wonderful time! I also love that the cover image of the MSN report on holiday weight gain features a thin, blond woman nibbling devilishly on a cookie. Alongside are headlines like “road worriers” with millions facing travel delays, and of course, an advertisement whose call-to-action is that you “race” to Target’s 2-Day sale. Sure, with all of the drive toward consumption it is no wonder that the average person gains weight during this time of the year. I just wonder what amount of this weight is a result of stress and not second helpings; there is a lot of research to support this assumption.

The grim statistics on suicide, driving under the influence, and of course – weight gain – should alert us all to the bigger picture. Sadly, holidays often dictate a focus on the things that we do not have. Why else does the biggest shopping day of the year follow our day of gratitude for all that we do have? Understanding our own triggers toward consumption, as well as those that surround us can be difficult, but the abundance of triggers that exist during the holidays persist during the year. Taking the time to understand what drives you to that second helping allows you to be thankful and appreciative of the first.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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