Confession time, Reader.

I used to have a lustful affair with food.

My 20s were fraught with food rules and conditions. My healthy eating habits were more about not eating and less about health.

During the holidays, I gave myself seasonal permission to eat chocolate, baked goods, and other high-calorie foods sworn off-limits for the rest of the year.

From Thanksgiving to New Year's, I'd sneak chocolate toffee bars (recipe below), mini-pecan pies, and chocolate peanut butter balls. I ate beyond physical comfort, and then hated myself for it.

You too?

Here's why this seasonal lust affair with food happens each year.

When you spend 11 months restricting food (sweets, carbs, salty snacks) based on food rules, and then let yourself taste one of your forbidden foods (i.e., pie at Thanksgiving), the pleasure center of your brain goes haywire in the "where have you been all my life" sort of way.

You enter into a relationship with food, similar to a new romance, wanting to be with it 24/7.

The attraction is stronger if your reputation as a healthy eater is on the line. What will people say if they find out about your seasonal romance?

What I'm describing is a seasonal version of the diet cycle...

Restrained eating for 11 months - triggering event, the holidays - a taste of foods you didn't allow yourself to eat all year - turns into fuckit eating - you feel guilty - make a plan to get back on track with new food rules (aka New Year's diet/lifestyle resolutions). How do you break this cycle?

There’s only 1 strategy to break diet cycling.

Variety.

Simple. Straightforward.

And guaranteed to keep you from feeling like you want to throw any holiday-related food in the garbage on January 2, sworn off until Thanksgiving 2026.

Variety is an essential part of the gentle nutrition framework.

It’s a no-brainer. You need a variety of foods to get a variety of nutrients. But that’s not what I’m talking about.

Breaking the diet cycle requires a variety of nutrient-dense AND pleasure-dense foods.

Here’s how it works - holiday style.

• Eat adequately before going to holiday gatherings - especially breakfast!
  • Include protein and fiber when possible. Add holiday flair.
  • Oatmeal with hemp seeds, fruit, Greek yogurt, or Soy milk...add dark chocolate chips
  • Whole-grain toast with pesto, 2 scrambled or fried eggs...add a mug of hot chocolate or your favorite holiday cookie
• Enjoy your favorite holiday foods alongside foods that give you balanced energy, moods, and increase your capacity to deal with holiday chaos. When you're more stress resilient, it's easier to practice variety without food guilt creeping in.
  • Add holiday candy to your afternoon snack with a handful of nuts
  • Make a meal out of appetizers if you like them better than the main course

Use the recipe below to practice!

Recipe Share

Easy Dark Chocolate Toffee

This recipe was a gift from one of my Mom's friends. It's perfect for the last-minute holiday gathering, cookie exchange, or a moment of self-nourishment with your coffee in the morning.

15 full-size graham crackers

1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

1 cup unsalted butter

6 oz dark chocolate chips (I love the 70% chips from Trader Joe's!)

¼ cup chopped nuts

Heat oven to 400F

Line a 13x9-inch pan or baking sheet with parchment paper, lightly buttered

Arrange graham crackers in the prepared pan or baking sheet. It's ok to break some of the crackers to cover the pan.

In a medium saucepan, combine sugar and butter. Bring to a boil, stir to avoid burning the sugar. Remove from heat. Pour the mixture over the graham crackers.

Bake in the oven for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle the chocolate chips over the entire pan. As the chocolate chips melt, start spreading them across the pan with a metal or rubber spatula.

Sprinkle nuts over the chocolate. Chill in the fridge (or outside if you live in winter temperatures!) for 30 minutes until the chocolate sets.

Break the toffee into rough 2-bite-sized pieces.

I hope you have a delicious holiday season. I'll be back in your inbox the first week of January.

Until then, take care of YOU and best wishes for savoring food and your body!

XX

Amanda

PS: The seasonal diet cycle. Restrained eating for 11 months - triggering event, the holidays - a taste of foods you didn't allow yourself to eat all year - turns into fuckit eating - you feel guilty - make a plan to get back on track with new food rules (aka New Year's diet/lifestyle resolutions). How do you break this cycle? There’s only 1 strategy to break diet cycling. Scroll up to learn more + get a recipe to practice the strategy with!