Ahhh, the holidays are upon us and I can smell the sweetness all around me from sugar cookies to candy canes. How does one beat the bulge around this time of year? Just fighting off the cravings alone is a tricky concept for most! I know, I know its not easy at all and hopefully I can offer you with a few tips.
First of all, get rid of the guilt. Ever say to your self, Im going to be good today!
Then all of a sudden, there you are sitting at work while a colleague just decides to bring in their newly found recipe of the fudgiest brownies theyve ever seen. You attempt not to have one but as you are sitting there drooling over the smell alone, you hear everyone around you oohing and aahing over the moistest, fudgiest, most decadent brownies ones ever tried, how can you resist? OK so you break down and you have one. Immediately, the guilt starts to come over, as if you failed.
Wait, back up, failed what? You didnt fail, you honored yourself with a treat, and you gave in to your temptation. You know what happens when you set expectations for yourself and when you dont follow through, you look at it as failure! You berate yourself and punish yourself by taking on the mentality that since you failed once today, you might as well give up and keep on failing the rest of the day by indulging in more. Strange philosophy but we do, do it!
I say NO to that. Picture my finger waving at you RIGHT NOW!!
Instead, if you know you find it hard to resist temptation, set a different goal for yourself in the morning and say, Im going to allow myself ONE treat today. Maybe say I will allow myself two treats today so that if you only have one you went beyond your expectations rather than just meeting it. Play with it!
Being it is so hard to resist temptation around the holidays, allow yourself one indulgence a day. However, be cognizant of what you are indulging in and how much of it in relation to portion size. For instance, two small cookies would be your two indulgences. If you have a piece of cake, Id keep that as your one indulgence for the day, not two since they are larger portions.
If you find it hard to indulge in just one treat or if you surpassed your one treat, fill in those gaps by keeping healthier options on hand so you dont fall to the unhealthier option. Whether its a handful of cacao dusted nuts or a raw bar such as Larabars. They have great flavors and will cure your sweet tooth. There are so many other options out there. Pretty soon without indulging, you wont even crave the unhealthier sweets anymore.
Few other tips for you to implement in your every day" so that you can prevent these cravings in the first place:
- When our blood sugar is low, we crave sweets. Keep blood sugar stable by including protein at each meal with ¼ protein on your plate.
- Be sure to eat breakfast (with protein) to start your metabolism and to keep blood sugar stable.
- Add sweet vegetables to your meals such as sweet potato, beets, parsnips that will lessen your craving for sugar post meal.
- Add cinnamon to your meal or even tea. It will help stabilize blood sugar and can cure a sweet tooth.
- With the winter on its way and less natural sunlight, optimize your Vitamin D levels When we are low in D, the hormone that controls appetite, doesnt work anymore and then we tend feel hungry all the time.
- Optimize Omega 3 fatty acids by eating more fish or taking fish oil. When we have the right amount of healthy fats in our diet, we crave sugar less.
- Eliminate refined sugars, sodas, fruit juices and artificial sweeteners from diet as these can trigger cravings.
I dont necessarily believe in restrictions if you are one that can incorporate moderation. However, the more you can fight these temptations off, the better off youll be. Its like a chain reaction. The more we indulge, the more well crave. Sugar is addictive and can be so hazardous to our health by increasing inflammation, spiking blood sugar levels causing disease such as obesity, diabetes, arthritis to name a few.
So why not give YOURSELF a gift this holiday season, a gift of WELLNESS, VITALITY and OVERALL WELL-BEING!!!
Dana Pettit Canneto, Holistic Health Coach, AADPdana@rediscover-wellness.comwww.rediscover-wellness.com
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