🖊 WRITE 🖊

Spring 2026 this year, I started setting my summer body goals.

For me, that meant adjusting my portions while keeping up with dancing at home and my regular workout routine, my workout routine that I’ve been tweaking and adapting for years now.

Winter tends to challenge my perspective on my portion goals.

I’m trying to be gentle with myself and give myself permission to push next year’s summer body goals to spring 2027.

This fluctuation in my portions and appearance activates my toxic parent mode, which I’m trying to stop.

On top of this seasonal shift, being in survival mode often causes my body to conserve resources, which directly impacts my appetite.

This morning, however, I felt physically safe enough to enjoy food, so I had pancakes for breakfast 🙃.

A similar appetite and a pleasure in cooking that I have cultivated over recent years.

So although I feel pressure, I’m simultaneously becoming aware of how many wonderful dishes autumn and winter bring 🤩. I would almost forget the nostalgia and atmosphere that festive meals can bring because of it.

Almost 😌.

I intend to make room for the enjoyment of autumn and winter festive meals 🎉: getting ready to repeat favorites, reading about and watching new recipes to discover—since I’m visually oriented.

Usually, I just wing my winter menu, but now I want to mentally and practically prepare for it (even if it’s just one step toward a healthier self-image),

maybe even with some Sinterklaas or Xmas music playing…