How to eat your fave holiday food without guilt or health concerns?
When festivity fills the air, the holiday spirit becomes contagious. Winter, as it is, brings with itself a lethargy and longing for warmth that is found in the most indulgent of foods. Bakeries start stocking up, there are pies on window sills, mugs are topped with hot cocoa. Caution goes out the window and we stop fighting against the holiday spirit and put on the notorious burden we regret as soon as the New Year dawns: holiday weight.
I had a funny, not so funny episode last weekend with a vegan tres leches cake. The picture of me in total bliss eating this succulent cake has been my most popular social media post in months…so I know you got it – because you’ve been there too. I went down the indulgence hole eating two pieces, then I had a total sugar high with crazy hectic energy and fast speech, just like children do! I had not had a piece of tres leches since becoming a plant-based eater. So I gave myself permission to experience it, but I did not put limits- I wasn’t mindful at that moment. The next day my tummy wasn’t happy, I was thirsty all day and I started craving carbs and more sweets. That in a nutshell is the blueprint for a ticket with no return to gaining weight this month. (here is that picture so you can laugh a little 🙂
But it does not need to be one or the other. You can indulge in some dessert and candy canes and emerge triumphant after the feast as much as anyone else. There are only a few technical tips and tricks that you must integrate into your lifestyle and you will never have to worry about making the holiday spirit your enemy again.
Be prepared to start out your New Year already feeling like the new Self you need to be, having already taken losing some weight off of your list of resolutions (Yep you can lose weight in December too!). Let your body and mind both get the best this holiday season.
- Plan Your Proportions
Our elementary school food pyramid has been cutting out portions for us from the time when we were learning our ABCs. It is time to take it into consideration a little more when it comes to picking from the dinner table. Yes, you can have that mug of eggnog (vegan for me please!) but do not skip out your portion of fruits and vegetables. The trick is to first get the good stuff and only then give yourself the permission to indulge. Life is no about forbidding yourself the heavenly holiday foods you crave all year, it is only a balance you must create between all the foods from the table. Remember your food pyramid (the widest part has always been veggies and fruit not eggnog and cake) and you will have no extra weight to worry about, just a healthy holiday glow from all the portions you make up.
- Have Rules
The way people let themselves go is quite literally by letting themselves “go”. Holiday weight is not unavoidable – in fact, it may result from people’s belief that there is no stopping holiday weight so they indulge with no stoppers. Basically, it is your choice and no one is going to stop you if you have made up your mid to overeat and let yourself go…this is a mindset thing. This is why rules matter and knowing your dangerous foods too. Have set quantities that you have allowed for certain foods, and have rewards and penalties for how well you abide by those limits. They may have laid an entire dish of creamy baked potatoes but that never means you are entitled to seconds and thirds. Remember the commitment you have made to yourself – complete abstinence may be required with some things so be honest. You know that one thing that you cannot have just one bite, that’s a trigger. Don’t pull it! – Here’s where my green drink saves the day for clients because it makes foods that are too rich or sweet taste, well, too rich or sweet. Have your emergency green drink before a feast and see how you just can’t have more then a little. It is simply not enjoyable when your taste buds are clean. In time you’ll learn that only a little of a good thing will do. This keeps the novelty factor running and keeps your body and mind happy.
- Fast everyday
Yes, I did say fast. This is a great way to balance weight and to keep your hormones, metabolism and many other functions running well. Your stomach and other organs involved in food absorption, detoxing, etc need a break. Commit not to eating too late. Ideally, you need 10 to 14 hours for it to be a real intermittent fast period. Go for 8 hours to start and get to at least 10 hours and see how the weight balances. Plan to stop eating at 8pm and don’t start eating until 8am. If you are starving in the early morning or late night – yes you guess it – have a green drink. If you have a crazy schedule or issues with emotional eating at night this may not be easy for you…just give yourself a set time when the eating must stop, or a time when you switch to liquids like broth, teas and veggie juices. This is a great way to ensure that you are eating during the day and not skipping meals to then overeat at night. Try it.
- Pace Yourself
Eating a lot does not make you put on weight. Accept this mantra. It is the how and what you eat that makes you gain the unwelcome weight. Space out your meals, let your tummy rest, you do not have to eat until the pants come unbuttoned at the dinner table, you can always come back for seconds just give your stomach the time to process and metabolize. Chew very slowly, put the fork down with each bite and wait until the food is liquid to swallow. Start eating slowly and you will enjoy it more. This will stop the the overeating tradition of before.
Maybe you want to try do some mindful and loving practices with me this year to help you stay on track. Remember my “Love Yourself to Healthy Challenge” starts December 16th. You only have to start following me on social media and post a picture of your challenge everyday with the tag #ommywellnesschallenge #ommywellness or tag me on my personal facebook. You can find me on facebook as Maria del Mar Marcano or Om my welness and instagram @ommywelness . The prize is so awesome! for every post you get entered to win a full scholarship for my January program…Can I get a kale yeah?!
Sign up HERE for the challenge
Maybe you are also ready to create a strategy for 2018, if so don’t wait love. To find out more about working with me, sign up HERE for a free strategy session.. Soon I’ll have all the juicy details about my New Year’s program too, the most popular program I have: The Sugar Craving Fix. Good thing are coming!
