A Dietitian’s Top Tips for Navigating Family Meals this Thanksgiving

Well friends, we are officially half way through September!

Soon enough many of us will be gathered around the dining table with our families to celebrate thanksgiving.

And while this time of year may be filled with feelings of warmth and gratitude for many, this isn’t the case for everyone.

For many, these gatherings bring a wealth of unwelcome comments about food choices and body image. These conversations can be really challenging to navigate for many individuals. In anticipation, I wanted to share four responses that you can try if you find yourself in these situations.

Ready to dig in?

Important Reminder

Before we get into things, there’s something that’s really important to keep in mind.

Though comments made about your food choices or body feel like a direct attack, the people making these comments are usually struggling with their own relationship with food or body image. They project these feelings onto others around them without realizing that what they said is incredibly hurtful.

I am not saying that this makes their behaviour justified in any way, but it can be helpful just to keep this little tidbit in the back of your mind.

4 Ways to Respond to Negative Comments

1. Set a boundary: Everyone has the right to make food choices that work best for them, and this is what works best for me. Can we talk about something else?

2. Ask them to stop: I’m happy with what I have on my plate. I’m not sure if you realize, but comments like that are hurtful and I’d appreciate if you could stop making them.

3. Redirect: While we are talking about food, I had an amazing meal with/at ____. Have you ever been there before/tried that food?

4. Exit the situation: I’m glad that works for you. I’ve got to go _____.

These responses may not always work, and you may have to repeat them or try a few different approaches before figuring out what works best, but they are a great place to start.

Can you think back to some examples of comments from previous meals with family or friends that made you uncomfortable? Which if any of these responses might have been helpful in that situation? Are there any other responses you’ve used at meals that have worked really well?

I’d love for you to share in the comments.

Wrapping Up

If there is anything that you take away from this, I hope at the bare minimum it’s that we can’t control the words and actions of others, but we can control how we respond!

Please be kind to yourself this holiday season and remember that is 100% ok to set boundaries in order to protect your mental health.

If you found this blog post helpful, be sure to check back again next week. I am going to dive deeper into food guilt around the holidays and provide some tips to help you get more enjoyment while consuming your favourite foods.