The 4th of July means backyard barbeques, parades, fireworks, and celebrating the country’s independence — often the biggest, loudest cookout of the whole summer. Holidays built around food and gathering can be hard for anyone managing an eating disorder, disordered eating, or body image concerns, and the 4th of July leans even further into food than most: burgers, hot dogs, potato salad, s’mores, and dessert that often stretches from lunch straight through the fireworks show. By this point in the summer, swimsuits have usually been in rotation for a few weeks already, but a big group pool or lake day still brings its own pressure. If that’s something you’re working through, our post on Swimsuit Season goes into more detail.
So how do you get through a full day of cookout-to-fireworks without feeling triggered? Plate your food once and include a variety of it — you don’t need to earn the burger or the s’more, and one long holiday won’t undo months of progress. Pay attention to hunger and fullness rather than the clock or what everyone else is doing. If part of you wants to skip the fireworks or the pool because of how you’ll look or what you’ll eat, that’s worth noticing — eating disorders get stronger the more they get to isolate you from things you’d otherwise enjoy. And if a swimsuit is part of the day, remember that everyone around you is far more wrapped up in their own day than in judging yours.
The 4th of July is meant to be enjoyed loudly — sparklers, cookouts, and staying up for the fireworks included. You’re allowed to eat what your body actually wants instead of what your eating disorder allows, and to enjoy the day the same way everyone else around that grill is. If you found some of this useful, our Memorial Day post, earlier in this holiday series, covers a lot of the same ground for that gathering too.
If noticing hunger and fullness during a big cookout feels harder than it sounds, that’s normal — practicing mindful eating in smaller, lower-pressure settings first can make it easier to stay connected to those cues on a day like this one. And if the day after brings an urge to “make up for it” with extra restriction, that’s worth paying attention to — swinging hard the other way is how the restrict-then-binge cycle gets started, not a sign that anything actually needs to be undone.
Authored by Emily Baum, M.S., RDN, LD
