Happy Wednesday! How is your week going so far? We went to one of my friends from high school’s wedding on Saturday and then church + celebrating Alec’s bday with my side of the family on Sunday. It also went from 60s/70s/sunny to 20s/30s/snowy/cold rain in the past week… I suppose it is goodbye to fall!

Can you believe it is already Thanksgiving next week? We have plans to spend the week in Iowa with Alec’s side of the family. I always enjoy getting away for a few days and seeing family (+ meeting our newest nephew!).

How do you feel about Thanksgiving? I know for some of my clients and for many people in general, Thanksgiving can be a source of stress, anxiety, and discomfort. For anyone struggling in their relationship with food, the holidays can be a tough time to navigate. (On top of any usual family and/or disruption of routine stressors!)

In the spirit of the upcoming holiday, I wanted to share a brief post today on some thoughts regarding FULLNESS. (Plus some fun Thanksgiving recipes!)

I think when many of us think of Thanksgiving, we associate it with being overly full and/or stuffed. This is not surprising given it is a holiday centered (in a lot of ways) around food! And I don’t think this is generally a bad thing, either.

If there is one thing I would love for you to take away from this post, it is this: FULLNESS IS NOT INHERENTLY BAD. A theme that often comes up in my client sessions and that I hear often in everyday conversation with others is that so many of us are afraid to feel full, or we think we did something “wrong” if we are feeling full.

Sure, there are various gradations of fullness. I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t love the sensation of feeling uncomfortably full. A couple of thoughts I’d like to mention here:

–> I consider it a NORMAL and HEALTHY part of life to feel uncomfortably full from time to time. Maybe times like Thanksgiving Day, going out for dinner and enjoying a fabulous meal + dessert, other celebrations, or simply accidentally overshooting your comfortable level of fullness from time to time. If we are constantly afraid of ever being overly full we will miss out on a lot of the more relational and emotional health aspects of life. Our bodies are generally quite resilient and can handle us not being “perfect” in our eating (whatever that means, anyway). When we are in the habit of listening to and regularly responding to our hunger signals, after overeating we can return to another new eating opportunity the next time we feel hungry or it’s been a while since we last ate. LET US AVOID CATASTROPHIZING ANY ONE EATING EVENT. The next time you find yourself overly full, how can you show yourself compassion, a non-judgmental attitude, and seek to move on with your day vs. letting it derail you into a negative thought, emotion, or eating spiral? An overly harsh, critical, and obsessive attitude regarding fullness is a sure way to feel even more chaotic around food going forward. However, if you are regularly overshooting comfortable fullness and/or struggling with binge eating, it could be a good idea to reach out for more help.

Fullness is not a sign that you are a bad person or did something wrong – it is a sign that you responded to your body’s need for food. Hunger is not a “badge of honor” and fullness is not an indicator of guilt that needs absolving. Hunger AND fullness can be neutral concepts and physical sensations – signs from your body, that you experience throughout the day, indicating that you are meeting your nutritional needs and may need more or less food accordingly.

Comfortable fullness = nutrition needs likely largely met + satisfied.

Uncomfortable fullness = nutrition needs also likely largely met + satisfied PLUS an opportunity to practice greater awareness, compassion, and non-catastrophizing. Seeking to acknowledge the sensation and then move on to the next meal and snack without obsessing or fretting. Overly obsessing and fretting will only lead to greater difficulties experiencing comfortable levels of fullness (most of the time) in the future.

How can you show yourself grace this Thanksgiving regarding any uncomfortable sensations of fullness that may come up?

Ideas for Thanksgiving week recipes that look + sound delish!

apps:
Maple glazed carrots w/ goat cheese + pistachios
Garlic olive oil dip
Baked honey + goat cheese pears
Butternut squash + mushroom tart
Cranberry brie pull apart bread

sides + more:
Roasted sweet potato, pear, and pomegranate salad
Brown butter sage dinner rolls
Sausage and sweet potato stuffing
Cauliflower stuffing w/ apples and sage
Balsamic roasted brussels sprouts w/ cranberries + pecans
Cinnamon roasted butternut squash
Cheddar broccoli cauliflower gratin
Leftover turkey soup

desserts + drinks:
Pumpkin swirl cheesecake
Spiced chai pumpkin meringue pie
Dark chocolate pecan pie
Pumpkin spice hot chocolate 
Harvest apple ginger spritz
Vanilla pear holiday punch

What are you looking forward to making this Thanksgiving?!