Merry Christmas, have some sugar! This is the season for everything sweet. Peppermint bark, ginger cookies, chocolates, pies, cookies and how can we forget fruitcake. There is more sugar around the Christmas holidays than there is at Halloween. We want to join in the celebration and enjoy the holidays, and besides, we are at the party, at our desk, at a restaurant, in our cars with leftovers, and after all, we are going to hit the gym, start eating better, start running and shed any unwanted pounds by January 31! So, let me give you some liberating advice.
There are people that stay on a strict eating plan and won’t deviate, even for ol’ St. Nickolos. Then there are others who could care less about sweets. (.000001% of Americans) Then there are those who could care less if they gain 20 pounds in December through early January. Then there is the rest of us. What to do? Not join group 3!
Most of us don’t even like all of the sweet stuff. It is just there so we eat it. Christmas cookies are a waste of calories and carbs. Seriously! (Maybe you are saying, “I do like all of it.” Welcome to serious addiction. The sugar industry did to you what the tobacco industry did to people in the 40’s and 50’s. Never fear, I can help.) What do you really like? I mean really like? Maybe even delight in? Have some!
Enjoy it and eat it slow.
Enjoy it instead of gulp it like my dog does with a piece of fatty steak, (in mouth for .05 seconds and then swallowed). Put it on the pallet of your tongue. Let it roll to the roof of your mouth. Get all of your tongue involved. Chew it slowly. Enjoy the juices. Yes I am serious.
Don’t hover. Take what you decide and don’t go back.
Decide how many you will eat. Take that and sit down and don’t go back. Move away from the table. And the desert table. And the hors d’oeuvres table. Sit in the other room if you need to.
Eat smaller portions.
Fill up on good food. It is tough to eat 1000 calories of dessert when you are full. Take a slice of pie that you can eat in 4-5 moderate bites. Savor it.
Concentrate of what you are eating.
When you eat, don’t be an empty minded consumer. Stop what you are doing. Sit down. Rid yourself of distractions. (Don’t be rude to people). Be in the moment. Overkill? If you are talking and working or playing, you will eat three times as many of whatever.
See, that wasn’t as bad as you thought. I could have said have zero sugar, eat 18 servings of veggies at every party and meal and you won’t have room for sugar. But then you would…, what would you do? I would love to hear from you. Have fun, enjoy life, delight yourself a little and always remember, you are not a victim. You are in full control. You get to decide what to eat and what not to eat.
Comment with your favorite holiday dessert.