Nutritional Sciences major analyzes Thanksgiving, food and fear

Hello everyone. For this article, I highly recommend everyone grab your favorite hot beverage and your comfiest blankets or sweaters while you open your heart. A friend asked me to speak on the topic “Thanksgiving Food Concerns” and as someone who has struggled with this for years, how could I say no? Given this, This article will contain topics on eating disorders, eating disorders, and negative thoughts about holiday foods.. So if that’s not your vibe, feel free to tune in another time.

When I was a kid, Thanksgiving began with the Macy’s Day Parade in Times Square. It was my sisters, my mom and I curled up together on the couch around 9am watching the live stream of the parade while my dad moved around the kitchen making coffee to share. I remember my brothers and I wondering which float or huge balloon character was our favorite (I was always a Charlie Brown or Snoopy lover).

We always talked about what was on the daily menu and who brought what. In particular, we always asked if my mom would make sweet potato casserole: a thick mashed sweet potato with a crispy baked marshmallow shell that soothed your soul in more ways than you thought possible. To this day, this dish is perhaps the only thing I look forward to on Turkey Day, although my aunt’s pecan pie, stuffing, and very generic box mix brownies are the runners-up.

So why do we end up fearing or stressing over these foods?

Well, there is this thing called “diet culture” and it is not the best. Throughout my life, I clearly remember as a child watching adults reject foods because they were high in sugar, too many carbohydrates, or some other reason that gave the food a negative connotation. While it is good to take care of your health (since each person is different and may have different needs), it is also important to take care of your soul.

If we had a diet culture Thanksgiving every year, imagine how many foods would be modified to become a “healthy” version. Cake with artificial sugar, keto bread, macaroni and cheese made with cottage cheese instead of cheddar cheese—how horrible would that be? (Especially that last one: baked cottage cheese sounds absolutely horrendous.) We don’t just consume food to stay alive; It is something we connect with people as it is a big part of our social, cultural and intrapersonal traditions. Thanksgiving is a time to share a meal with loved ones, catch up with family and friends, and laugh about the adventures you’ve had over the past few months, without worrying about how many calories or sugars you’re taking in. . in.

At the end of the day, the amount of food you eat in a day does not determine your health or happiness, but rather your mindset. If we lived every day in fear of what we eat, I think we’d all collectively lose our minds (or, at least, I’ve started to). Not to mention you feel horrible all the time. You would constantly think about what you have eaten, what you will eat, and so on. This is not how I want to live my life. I’m not going to be remembered for the size of my waist or whether I didn’t have cellulite.

I will be remembered for the art I made, for the number of people I met and how many of them I hugged, and for the way I looked when I laughed, for the stupid whistle of the teapot that came out of me followed by a laugh of pure delight. People will talk about what I did with my life, not what I ate during it because, honestly, that’s just weird.

Thanksgiving is one day a year to spend with the people you really care about. Or, at least, I hope that if you care about them, they will care about you even more. (I don’t know what everyone’s situation is, but I hope this Thanksgiving is as good as it can be because it’s what you deserve.) What Thanksgiving is not is a scary day. It’s a day of gratitude for all you have, and the food shared on the table is supposed to represent how we can all appreciate what we have and the people who are willing to share their lives with us.

One of the biggest compliments I have ever received was that I was welcoming and non-judgmental. If someone wanted me to judge them, they would have to do something absolutely horrible or ask me directly. This is my favorite compliment because he showed me that I was the person he wanted as a child. I’m the person she needed when there was no one else around when she was little. By being that person for others, I give that fulfillment to that past version of myself.

Alright, enough of the sap. How do we deal with scary foods during the holidays?

First of all, let’s start with the food itself. Is it the texture? How does it look? Are there any related memories that you don’t like? Did anyone comment? Once you’ve figured out why you’re afraid of food, we can work on how to accept and forgive that fear. Remember that our fear and anger are defensive mechanisms meant to protect us. While anger lashes out offensively, fear defends us from something we have identified as a physical, mental and/or emotional threat.

Secondly, how do we overcome this fear? This will vary for everyone, but the best advice I have to give is this:

• Little steps.
• you don’t need to eat all of the food of fear. Proving it is the first goal, as he demonstrates that it did not, in fact, spontaneously combust on the spot. Nobody is going to say anything. If you still don’t like the texture, well now you know for sure. Did that memory resurface? Will you allow yourself to make a new one?
• Exposure
• Similar to how you do reps in the gym and increase the weight over time, the same thing is done here. You can’t grow without pushing your limits a little. How much you push is determined solely by yourself. As long as you are aware that you are making an effort, you can do anything.
• Celebration of achievement
• Friend, you conquered fear. Even if he didn’t seem “super big” to you, you still did something to conquer him. Rome was not built in a day and it will not fall in a day either. By giving yourself positive affirmations, you allow positive things to come into and around your life. You can create new memories and leave old ones behind.

At the end of the day, it all comes down to mindset. If you believe that what you eat determines your happiness, then it will be that way because that is what you believe. But if you change that thought to something like, “I can enjoy the foods I love without feeling guilty and still listen to my body,” there’s a good chance a healthier relationship with food can be restored.

Either way, I hope this article was helpful as we enter the Thanksgiving season. With finals approaching, I can definitely understand the nervousness and stress that might be starting to arise right now. But take a deep breath and let it go: you’ve got it. And if you feel like no one else believes in you, know that a certain blogger does.

Have a great day everyone and feel free to contact BGlav1@unh.newhaven.edu or beatriceg2022@gmail.com with any questions, blog ideas, or comments.

Thank you all very much for reading and see you in the next one.
Peace, love and peanut butter,
Bea ❤️

Beatrice Glaviano ’26 is majoring in nutritional sciences at the University of New Haven.