It’s really not worth feeling guilty about a little overindulgence during the holidays.
Like clockwork, the pre-Thanksgiving articles and TV segments on how to stick to a diet, how to avoid overeating, and how to “detox” after you’ve overindulged have arrived.
Tips include replacing potatoes with cauliflower, filling up on salad instead of stuffing, and doing everything you can to tune out the siren call of creamy pumpkin pie.
I say: Ignore this miserable advice. Just eat your damn pie this Thanksgiving.
Here’s what’s wrong with obsessing about a slice or two of pie this week: It’s a distraction from what really matters for health. Much more important in the long run is creating an environment and habits that foster healthy eating for the other 364 days of the year.
Now, there is some evidence that holidays can lead to modest amounts of weight gain. But a few rich meals this time of year aren’t going to relegate you to a life of ill health if you have a healthy diet most days. And the energy spent fighting temptation or scolding yourself will only make you feel bad.
So what does healthy eating look like? It’s actually not that complicated. Check out this recent consensus statement from a very diverse group of nutrition researchers, who got together to discuss what they all agree on about nutrition and health:
A healthy dietary pattern is higher in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, low- or non-fat dairy, seafood, legumes, and nuts; moderate in alcohol (among adults); lower in red and processed meats; and low in sugar-sweetened foods and drinks and refined grains.
Additional strong evidence shows that it is not necessary to eliminate food groups or conform to a single dietary pattern to achieve healthy dietary patterns. Rather, individuals can combine foods in a variety of flexible ways to achieve healthy dietary patterns, and these strategies should be tailored to meet the individual’s health needs, dietary preferences and cultural traditions.
More fruits and vegetables. Less ultra-processed junk food. But there is no food boogeyman, not even pie. Anyone who tells you there’s one food to fear — one food that will make all the difference in your health — is probably trying to sell you something.
“Thanksgiving is not the time to begin a diet, nor is it the right time to get serious about [dieting],” food policy and nutrition researcher Marion Nestle summed up. “The objective should be to relax and take pleasure in family, friends, and food.”
Even more simply, obesity doctor Yoni Freedhoff says: “Just live the healthiest life you can enjoy.”
Also remember: If the pie is already in front of you, your ability to resist it will be quite low, as Vox’s Brian Resnick has explained in his story on the myth of self-control. Research shows that “trying to teach people to resist temptation either only has short-term gains or can be an outright failure,” he writes. In short, the pie has already won.
Healthy eating is more about surrounding yourself with healthy options — not about how virtuous or strong a person you are. So, again, the focus should be on creating an environment that makes foods like fresh fruits and vegetables the default — at least most of the time.
To be clear: That’s easier said than done for many people. We know that America’s food landscape is more obesity-promoting than health-promoting, and that fresh produce is more expensive than the salty, sugary, and fatty junk that is for sale everywhere. Right now, fewer than 3 percent of Americans manage to incorporate one or two of the very basics of a healthy lifestyle — more fruits and vegetables or going on walks — into their routines.
These challenges abound all year round, not just during pie-rich holidays. “Thanksgiving is not the cause of [being] overweight,” Nestle explained. “It’s the other 364 days of living in a relentless food marketing environment — food sold everywhere, 24/7, in huge portions — that makes weight control so difficult.” In that context, pie on Thanksgiving is the least of our worries.
