Halloween just passed and we’re on the cusp of holiday season. There will be comfort foods, cakes, pies and all types of goodies being shoved in our faces all day long. From home to work to social gatherings, the holiday season has arrived but what does that mean if you’re on your weight loss journey or just trying not to over indulge.
Every year I post something similiar because every year I feel like I learn a little bit more about how tempting some foods can be and sometimes those are the foods you just can’t stay away from. The food I struggle with the most is bread. On the regular, I don’t eat a lot of bread but when there is bread on the table, it’s hard for me to just say no. You know why I have this problem? Because I’m didn’t let myself have it at all during the weight loss journey. I don’t really have a problem with it anymore but there was a time in the not too distant past that my bread eating became a problem. The act of moderation was hard because it was just there. Yes, this is me back in 2013 waiting on bread to come out of the oven!
Here are 5 of my tips to avoid food temptation:
- If you want something, then just have it. When I deprived myself of bread it was hard because when I did allow myself to have bread I would go crazy. I would want to eat all the bread. I hadn’t had bread in a while. My bread obsession came masked in a pancake obsession which becamse my post-race tradition. That’s a problem when I’m running a race EVERY week. I’m telling you my bread obsession story to show you that if I would have practiced moderation with bread I wouldn’t have gone super crazy about it all.
- Taste everything but eat nothing. If there are a couple of things you want to try, just have a taste. Don’t eat the whole thing. Have a bite and move on. It’s wasteful but it’s saving your waistline. I read something somehwere about how after the first few bites of something we are actually saciated but we continue to eat anyway. So after those first two bites, it’s just going down the system. Just have a bite and pass it on. Willie and I usually split a small sliver of cake at birthday parties and move on. That way we’ve tried it, liked it and don’t continue wishing we could eat it.
- Don’t buy it and bring it home. If you’re at a party, don’t bring home anything. Leave it at the party. If you’re practicing moderation, it will be too hard to pass up when you’re in your own space. Just leave it there. Don’t fight with yourself about should I or shouldn’t I?
- Watch out for your alcohol. Consuming your calories in liquid is a VERY quick way to pack on the pounds. Alchohol has a lot of sugars in it, and sometimes that makes you more hungry. If you know you’re in a situation where it’s going to be hard for you, stick to water!
- Sometimes you will just need to say “NO.” The holiday season is long which means it seems like it will never end. Remember these sweet things usually only come around once a year so you should enjoy them while the party is hot. BUT youd don’t need to enjoy them everyday. If you know you’ve been indulging too much, you need to learn when to tighten the reins a little bit. And yes, that does mean just having to say no. Create some distance between you and those things. Am I telling you not to be social? No! I’m telling you to work around it. Eat before going to a function so you’re not ravenous when you get there. I’ve also been known to carry my own snacks for when I do get hungry. Or stick to the fruit and veggie platters, but watch out for the dips. Socializing shouldn’t force you into eating things that will take you off track.
I hope today’s Five Things Friday was a helpful one. I really do help these tips help you make your way through the holiday season guilt free.
But I want to know what is one food you struggle with in moderation and how do you handle it?
