Monday, December 7, 2009

Holiday Treat Overload Survival Guide

They're everywhere... you can run but you can't hide! Red and green M&M's, chocolate Santas, bells, special edition peppermint ice cream, and caramel corn. The aroma of warm spiced nuts at the mall. Everyone's talking about their wonderful, special traditions and foods, and they keep bringing in all these treats to work and school! Eating a few of these is just fine. Eating too many and calling it lunch or dinner is not. If you do, your body will fight back and make your more tired, irritable, sluggish, and you'll be hungry sooner than if you had a healthy balance of food. Wrong fuel: car pings....and so it is with you!

Many of these foods only come around once a year, making us want to eat even more of them since we won't get them for another whole year. We are so tired and stressed out, it's even harder to choose wisely. Then, there are the sensory overloads: see the pretty fudge, smell the fudge, taste the fudge---we even hear the fudge call our name! It's time to make peace with the holiday foods.

So, here's a game plan for holiday treat overload survival:

1) Take a deep breath, and breathe out slowly. Repeat until relaxed.
2) Make eating your choice-- don't let someone else force you to eat it because they made it or brought it. Tell that evil food pusher that you are not hungry. If that doesn't work, throw out a medical excuse like a food allergy. I used that a few times while I was learning to say "no," and it worked like a charm. (It was partly true, I was going to break out in fat!) And try not to let the spiced nuts decide for you that you are going to eat them, if know what I mean. You stay in control of your decisions.
3) When you have that holiday treat have something healthy along with it-- milk or an apple to balance it out.
4) Sit down and treasure every bite. Don't grab, stand and pop it in your mouth.
5) The first bite tastes the same as the last! That line was golden for me as I learned not to deprive myself, and that I did have the ability to stop after one brownie. I didn't have to finish the entire pan so they wouldn't bother me anymore, like I used to. Amazing...

Remember, if you feel like you are being bombarded by masses of treats and you are starting to indulge weigh too much, you can stop the holiday food train and start making your own choices. Fire up you guys, you can do this!

3 comments:

  1. Boy did you read my mind (and, unfortunately, my actions) today! This couldn't have come at a better time.

    Thanks :-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Peppermint Ice Cream??? I just bought some
    yesterday????

    ReplyDelete
  3. Just go for a small serving, and sit down to enjoy the serving you choose...even when it's peppermint ice cream :)

    ReplyDelete

Please let me know if you liked this post, have a question, want to add a comment or two, or even if you'd just like to say, "Hi!" Taking a minute to write in can really help others out there and make this blog even more fun for everyone!