The Eating Season Is Upon Us...
The eating season is upon us!
October – Halloween – chocolate!
November – the overeating begins – pies and foods glistening with melted butter!
December – we throw in the towel – we blew it in November anyway – might as well enjoy the holidays!
January comes and everybody has great intentions of starting anew – this time I’m really going to do it!
STOP THE MADNESS!!!!
Henry has a great saying, “It’s not what we eat between Thanksgiving and Christmas that causes the problems; it’s what we eat between Christmas and Thanksgiving.”
In other words, if we eat the way we should from Christmas of one year to Thanksgiving of the next, then we should be fine to splurge a bit during the holiday season.
But why don’t we learn to enjoy eating all year long?
Instead, October comes and we hand out delicious Reese’s peanut butter cups, Snicker’s bars and Twix to the kiddos on Halloween. We give them some, take one and sit back down to watch our scary movies while we wait for the next batch of goblins to ring the doorbell. Well, before you know it, one turns into ten. It’s perfectly fine to have one or two. Set out a few before you start and designate them as the only ones you’ll eat. For us, we log them into MyFitnessPal early in the day. We’re holding ourselves accountable by doing so.
Next, November comes and mom and grandma have baked their famous lemon meringue pie, pecan pie, mashed potatoes and sweet potato casserole. Have some but don’t go overboard. Have you finished eating on Thanksgiving and been absolutely miserable? I don’t need to tell you you’ve eaten way too much.
Overeating on Thanksgiving is common. We can’t control ourselves when we see all that food. Try filling half your plate with turkey, one-quarter of it with veggies and the last quarter with starchy carbs. When it’s time for dessert, choose the dessert(s) you really want, have a sliver of each and walk away. Drink water before and after you eat and you’ll be full but not so stuffed you’re uncomfortable.
Finally, December comes, no point stopping now, then the holidays pass and we feel horrible to say the least.
We blew it! All that work over the year and the weight we lost somehow found us.
It doesn’t have to be like that.
Do you know I eat dessert every night?
We can eat in moderation, set goals and enjoy the occasional earned treat. It might be some ice cream, a piece of chocolate or a Skinny Cow ice cream sandwich. Henry likes to have a few Sour Patch Kids. Sometimes we’ll go to Bruster’s and have a treat there. We plan what we eat and we enjoy it.
Learn to do that and we can hit the holidays ready to celebrate with family and friends. We can appreciate the food and the festivities and come out the other side without guilt – ready to continue with our workouts and enjoy our food – all year long. We can enjoy October, November and December. Christmas dinner can be just like Thanksgiving. We can move from Christmas to the New Year guilt-free and without having to start anew. We won’t have to make a resolution to get back in shape because we never got out of shape in the first place – and we enjoyed the holidays too!
January will come and we can set some goals for the New Year. They may or may not contain fitness objectives because we never lost our fitness.
The eating season, as I call it, doesn’t have to be stressful. It can be wonderful times spent with those you love.
Enjoy food – really – it’s nourishment to the soul!
Enjoy your eating season!
Eva
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