7 Tips for Navigating the Holidays After a Heart Event
Less energy but more commitments… piles of treats you feel you can’t have… friends and relatives bearing unsolicited advice… happy holidays!
A heart diagnosis might present new challenges during the holidays, but if you can be assertive, proactive, and most importantly, self-compassionate, you can enjoy the season and stay on track with your health.
Let’s take a look at how.
- Practice saying “no”. Congratulations, you now have a bulletproof excuse to say no to whatever doesn’t bring you happiness. “Can we skip the gift exchange? Since my heart attack I’ve been trying to take it easy.”
Leave yourself time and energy to breathe, relax, and enjoy whatever lifts you up in the holiday season.
- Instead of “I shouldn’t eat that” think “What can I eat that will make me feel my best?” You know yourself: Is it a hearty breakfast? A nourishing snack to hold you over until the party? A helping of salad with roasted chicken before you savour a few cookies?
Think about which foods are nourishing for you, rather than what to avoid.
- Prepare for food shamers. Commenting on other people’s food choices is never okay, but after a heart event, well-meaning people try to help:
“Can you still eat that?” “Don’t you have to be more careful about your diet now?”
You should never have to justify what you eat, but it might help to have a response prepared: “When I try to be too restrictive with my eating I crave sweets more than ever,” or “The tree is lovely isn’t it?”
Or just hit them with a menacing side eye.
- If you prefer to eat something lighter, bring it! Holiday get-togethers can be heavy on crispy appetizers and liquor, short on fruit and veggies. But hosts are usually happy to have you contribute a salad or bowl of fresh berries.
Consider a colourful bean or lentil salad. Fibre is usually in short supply during the holidays! Diced red bell pepper, snap peas, carrots, oranges, or pomegranate seeds add vibrant, appetizing colours.
- Don’t fall into the “all or nothing” trap. Tune up your eating habits if you like, but the quest for perfection isn’t necessary, and it can backfire.
No guideline says we must have ZERO salt, ZERO sugar, or ZERO saturated fat. It’s nearly impossible to hold yourself to that kind of extreme standard.
Instead, think in terms of the 80/20 principle. If around 80% of what you eat supports your health, brilliant.
The other 20% isn’t “bad,” it’s just food you chose for other perfectly good reasons. Maybe it was the only thing at the gathering and you were hungry. Maybe it reminds you of your grandmother. Maybe you simply enjoy it! All fine reasons to eat.
- Be a picky eater. Enjoy your favourites, but let’s be honest: Some “treats” that pop up in December aren’t all that special.
Chain-store donuts a vendor brought to the office, mass-produced chocolates we see every year, Aunt Mabel’s fruit cake? Always your choice, but maybe don’t eat it just because it’s there.
- Skip the guilt. Many people fall into a cycle of eating what feels like too much, followed by feelings of guilt, and then food restriction. That can leave you feeling so deprived that you snap and eat to what seems like excess again.
Cutting out the guilt can help break this so-called “eat-repent-repeat” cycle and make your holiday season more enjoyable.
If you do eat (or drink) in a way you regret the next day, no worries! Regular habits impact our health, but one indulgent day on a background of heart-healthy eating, not so much.
You survived. Celebrate!
Hopefully your heart scare leads you to a greater appreciation of what really matters to you at the holidays: Maybe it’s reconnecting with loved ones, or a quiet wintery walk alone. Maybe it’s baking and enjoying cookies.
Whatever it is for you, enjoy! Wishing you well during the season and beyond.
p.s. If you need more help with eating with heart health in mind, help yourself to my free e-book, The Sweet Spot Guide to Eating Well With Heart Concerns.
