This year we’re taking no prisoners

If you’re a health professional who spends all year helping clients to break free of their restrictive eating cycles, challenge their food rules, and stop demonizing what’s on their plate, the last thing you want to do is sit through calorie commentary over Christmas ham.

And yet – every festive season, like clockwork – diet talk enters the chat.

So my gift to you to this year is 10 professionally unhinged ways to protect your peace, with added holiday sparkle. Disclaimer: use these at your own risk, results may vary 😉

Let’s go!

1. The grandma energy

Channel the wise elder who has lived through 14 food pyramids and simply… doesn’t care anymore.
“Darling, life is short. Eat the trifle.“
Then serve them some like it’s a public health intervention, because you are that rare breed of health professional who knows that adding food is often the real treatment plan.

2. The clinical precision

Someone starts talking about “being good this week”?
Take a slow sip of your drink and say:
“Hmm. And how long have you been outsourcing your hunger cues to TikTok trends?”
Therapist voice. Soft smile.
Unhinged, yet beautifully evidence-based.

3. The reflective listening trap

Nod with your most professional face:
“When you say you’re ‘being good’, what I’m hearing is: chronically under-fueling yourself then falling off the wagon later and overeating to compensate. Accurate?“
They will abandon the topic immediately.

4. The messy-CBT intervention

CBT… but make it festive.
“I’m curious – what’s the core belief underneath your urge to moralize potatoes?”
Then eat the potatoes, maintaining eye contact.

5. The research poster voice

Switch to conference-presenter mode:
“Preliminary findings suggest that diet talk at family meals increases stress load and reduces collective satisfaction by 87%. Happy to send the PDF.”
The silence that follows? Pure peace.

6. The clinical boundary queen

Fold your hands. Smile warmly.
“I’m off the clock, so I’m not available to collude with disordered eating today.”
Then return to your roast vegetables like the boundary queen you are.

7. The motivational interviewing uppercut

Tilt your head gently and ask:
“On a scale of 1 – 10, how important is it really for you to convince us carbs are dangerous?“
MI: holiday edition.

8. The trauma-informed detour

Use your gentlest, most grounding voice:
“I’m wondering if talking about dieting is helping you feel safe right now, or if it’s just familiar.”
Hits softly. Lands deeply. Ends the conversation.

9. The seasonal de-escalation

If someone starts listing what they “shouldn’t have eaten”, tilt your head like you’re about to share ancient wisdom:
“It’s okay. Your body can handle festive joy.”
Short. Sweet. Regulates the room instantly.

10. The silent protest

Make warm eye contact while slowly, intentionally eating dessert.
Say nothing.

Bonus: the family consult no one booked

There’s always that one relative who pulls you aside, lowers their voice, and says:
“So… what do you professionally think about the *new diet* I’m doing? I mean *insert food group* is bad for you, right? So it’s definitely good to cut it out, right?”

I know it’s suuuuuper annoying to be hit up for nutrition advice when you’re on holiday. But the thing is, underneath it all, that relative is hurting. They’re looking for you to validate their belief that this new diet is going to make them feel better about themselves. And you know it won’t.

So offer your warmest, most holiday-appropriate clinician smile and gently shut it down:
“I can hear you’re really hoping this is going to help you feel better in your body… but the truth is, cutting things out and labelling them as ‘bad’ only makes you crave them more, and you’re more likely to overeat them later on. Remember that there’s more to health than just what you eat.”

Then gently hand them a biscuit like you’re prescribing safety, whilst you firmly change the subject.

I hope you enjoyed this little holiday treat of a blog post – let me know what your fave way to shut down diet talk is!