We can do this; we can have a great time through the holiday season, enjoy some goodies and even over indulge a bit but still not feel guilt-ridden, or do the downward spiral of diminishing willpower and unhealthy, unwanted pounds. Most important, don’t panic or feel guilty if your diet seems to have gotten out of hand! Get over it and get back to normal. If you ate a bit too much, forget about it and resume a regular healthy diet. Skipping the next meal will not help you. It will actually hurt you. Your body does not understand the idea of banking calories or skipping meals for the sake of losing weight. Your body only knows that it must be fed every few hours or else it is not receiving the proper nutrients and glucose necessary for normal functioning. Eating every few hours keeps your blood sugar levels in check. Skipping a meal because you over indulged earlier in the day is not a smart idea and besides that, it doesn’t work. On the reverse, if you know you are going to your holiday party and plan to eat until the cows come home, do not skip meals before hand. This is also considered banking calories and works against your metabolism. Once we set ourselves up for failure, we can only fail. As soon as you begin to think about skipping meals so you can eat more later you are thinking about calories and weight, not nutrition and health. You are also mentally preparing yourself to eat a lot and lose control. Think the other way about it, visualize success. Imagine how you want to behave at that holiday pot luck, (just those words can get the digestive juices going). See yourself making the right choices, enjoying how you feel in that beautiful holiday outfit and enjoying the company of those you love.
The holiday season is just that, a season. So plan ahead. The secret is balance over a several day period and if you blow it guess what, like my dear husband Mike likes to say, “it won’t be the last time!” Pick yourself up out of bed the next morning and get back in the health game.