A week ago, I walked into a room beautifully decorated in silver, white, and a light winter blue to celebrate the season at the yearly office "goodie day." All of the staff came together to mingle and share dishes we specially crafted at home or picked up from the helpful professionals at our local grocery stores.

On entering the room, you would have seen two sets of tables lined up along the right and left sides of the room. The right side tables, loaded with dishes, were marked as "sweet" and the left side tables, lined with offerings, were marked as "savory." I'm sure that you will not be surprised to read that the savory side of the room was more sparse than the sweet side!

After, I selected items from both sides of the room, I heard a comment that made me thankful that I had created an "eating strategy" before entering that room. I heard a woman comment to herself with some distress in her voice, "This is just too much food!" In my mind, I totally agreed. We had a lot of food to choose from and an overabundance of food choices can feel very overwhelming.

A couple of months earlier, the company hosted the first annual Fall luncheon. Again, on that day, staff were invited to bring dishes to share. In addition, the company hired a caterer to ensure that there would be enough food for everyone. Being my first time attending the fall luncheon, I didn't know what to expect. As I started walking alongside the food tables to select what I would eat, many items looked good to me. So, I spooned a bit of this, forked a bit of that, and cut a piece of this, until my plate was full.

I didn't truly notice that I could no longer see the actual plate that the food was piled on, until I got to my table. After enjoying my sampling of the different dishes, I noticed that I was a bit overfull. More importantly, I realized that there were certain items on my plate that I could have passed on as I was in the selection process. On reflection, I realized that I had unconsciously responded to a pressure to eat that goes something like: when you have access to food that looks good or interesting, try it!

As I'm preparing my own meals or eating out at a restaurant, my intuitive eating self typically does an excellent job with helping me select food and respect my fullness. At the same time, I'm not confronted with 30-40 dishes in front of me at one time! When I heard the announcement for goodie day, my planning mind went into action. I knew that I needed to boost my mindfulness on goodie day or I might end up overfed and slightly frustrated about my eating again.

I decided to get "present" as I walked into that room on goodie day and to select enough items to feel satisfied and help me maintain balance. I needed to give myself permission not to feel pressured to sample everything that looked good. I didn't know about the "sweet" versus "savory" sides of the room before I arrived. With awareness, I decided to visit the savory side first. I'm glad that I did. The food that I most enjoyed during the entire goodie day was a mixed green salad with a vinagrette! I also left that room feeling happily satisfied that I successfully navigated a proverbial food minefield!

Creating a simple holiday eating strategy is an act of self-care. I recognize that my ability to maintain balance with food can be shaken when I'm confronted with an overabundance of choices. I wonder if that woman, whom I heard, recognized that she felt overwhelmed by the vast selection on goodie day. I also wonder, if she will put a plan into place to prevent feeling troubled by the amount of food presented at future office functions.

During the holiday season, each us will inevitably encounter eating situations where our ability to maintain balance with food will be shaken.

How are you learning from those experiences and creating strategies to help strengthen yourself?