I had the immense pleasure of going to the Caribbean with my family last week.

I was genuinely grateful I could take a break from New England winter. However, it wasn't always a week I looked forward to—for as long as I can remember, the anxiety of dressing a body I hated always reared its head before and during the trip, followed by frustration and anger upon my return that I had spent most of the vacation focused on my body and my diet.

Can you relate to this?

What do you associate Thanksgiving with?  Food? Family? (Or maybe Black Friday shopping?) What feelings come up?  Excitement? Anxiety? Dread?  It’s true:  spending a day, weekend, or even an hour with family can elicit mixed emotions for many. Then add in food—well, now you’ve got a potential recipe for disaster!

But we never go into battle unprepared, right?  

So if this holiday is indeed one that brings fear, dread, and stress—let’s make sure you have a self-care plan so you walk away from this holiday unscathed (or at least not as scorched). 

Here are some ideas:

This week I am taking a question that came to me from someone who follows me on Instagram.

“Amanda, I have done really well with ditching the scale. I haven’t weighed myself in almost 7 months, down from weighing multiple times per week.  I was at the doctor for my physical and I told them I didn’t want to know my weight. They did a good job with that but when I went in to check my lab results a few days later in the online portal, I saw my weight listed right there front and center. And the number is MUCH higher than what I could have ever thought possible for me.  I was feeling so good before and now I just feel awful. How do I get back to where I was feeling so good now that I know my weight?”   

Did you know that this week is Weight Stigma Awareness Week?

“Weight stigma? What’s that? And why does it need its own week? I am too busy celebrating National Farm Animals Week and I am not sure if I can handle this much awareness!”

Ah, I’m so glad you asked those excellent questions, friends.

Yes, it is indeed the first ever Weight Stigma Awareness Week created by the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA).

I’d like to talk today about my Non-Diet Approach.

Non-diet approach? What the heck is that? Quite simply, it means that when we work together to attain your health goals we do so without a focus on what the scale tells you.

Does your story sound like mine? For over 20 years I was a slave to the quest for a perfect body. For perfection in all areas, really. For so long I thought that life would just be so. Much. Better if my thighs were thinner.

In the essence of full disclosure, I had a major pity party last night. I was procrastinating studying for an exam and I decided to engage in a completely random activity–look through old pictures on Facebook, as far back as 2007.