How do you eat right through holidays, birthday parties or social functions? I get this question a lot.  Some people find themselves saying they can’t start a nutrition regimen until after the holidays or after this birthday party or vacation etc… excuse after excuse. They procrastinate their health until they wake up one day disgusted with how they feel and upset by all the weight they packed on. Then they jump on the Yo-Yo dieting crash bandwagon again.

The easiest way to stay on track is to realize that life is about balance, and healthy living is not something you will do for a short period of time.  It’s what you do 90% of the time that counts.  We must live life to the fullest and enjoy life not just exist.  This means if you are at a birthday party eat a piece of cake, if you’re out with your friends have a glass of wine, if it’s Christmas or the holidays have a treat every so often.  You will find you will be able to stick with a nutritional program if you do not deprive yourself all of the time.  Can you believe I just told you to eat the junk food?  You do need to remember to keep the portion sizes small, enjoy them and be done. 

If you are constantly telling yourself that you cannot ever have something, then that will be the only thing you are going to think about every time you run into an eating situation.  It is almost impossible to stay on track like this because the body and mind are not balanced and it will result to binging in a major way, making you feel and truly become sick.  What usually happens is people overeat because they tell themselves that next Monday they are going to start eating better so I better eat as much as I can before Monday gets here. They then will feel extremely guilty for eating all of that food.  Some even go into a food coma for a day, and most will never actually start their program on Monday, so all of their weight keeps piling up while they tell themselves the same story.    Can you relate to that?  Umm, totally!  I can too! 

My tips for when you’re going out to a function are:

• Be aware that there are going to be temptations and fuel your body beforehand with healthy food like a piece of fruit, a handful of nuts or have a high powered nutritionally balanced whole food meal replacement shake.  If you go to a party and you’re not starving, you will not eat as much and you will be so much happier because you got to enjoy the food not binging on everything in sight. 
• If you feel like you may have eaten a bit too much, the following day add in a walk to offset the extra food.  Don’t let it discourage you, and do your best to stay on track 90% of the time. Don’t beat yourself up and make a habit of creating balance in your life.
• Focus on the people at the party and the real reason you are there.  It is easy to feel like something is missing when you don’t indulge in a major way, but fill this with well thought out conversation and a genuine interest in the people around you.
• Have a healthy and fulfilling treat already made at your house for when the engagement is over.  This will put your mind at ease that you have an amazing treat already for you at home and your heart will be super proud to know that you are making the right choice for you ong-term health.  This is super empowering!  I love having oatmeal with sliced apples in it to make me feel fulfilled.

Take this mindset and the tips with you the next time you are heading into a "slippery treat-eating" situation and tell me how it goes.  I’d love to hear about your results  and your thoughts in the comments section below.

---

• 423
• |
• Share on Facebook
• Pin It