It's that time of year again - the throes of holiday food gluttony! You will be finding yourself in front of food EVERYWHERE because let's face it, food and celebrations are like yin and yang, and it's almost impossible to avoid partaking in any of the tasty festivities.
I also think that forcing yourself to not eat any of the holiday yumminess is really an unnecessary battle in deprivation. Remember, we're about balanced eating here not perfect eating.
Being food jolly, however, doesn't mean that you have to end up jiggly. As soon as you start feeling deprived, that's just going to trigger your cravings even more, so it's better to appease the cravings versus taking a Nada approach.
I'm of the belief that a bunch of smaller actions over time will reap you higher long term success because you've made changes that are virtually undetectable to your Inner Resistance Monster. And, doing something tiny like eating one less piece of cheese, or taking the stairs versus the elevator is better than doing zero.
One thing that can help you enjoy some of your favorite foods is to take slivers versus slices.
See the pie chart of pie. Having a sliver of pumpkin pie will give you the opportunity to enjoy some of the pie without breaking your caloric bank account for the day. You get to bite without feeling bloated. The sliver approach is also very helpful in buffet type scenarios because we know just how quickly a plate can fill up and stack up.
So, take some pleasure and feel guilt free. Even if you over do it a bit, that's okay. Tomorrow is another day and you can cut back on that day or go exercise a little bit longer. The key is balance and being kind to yourself; the best gift you can give yourself this holiday season.
Do you find that the sliver approach has helped you to enjoy yet avoid over indulging?
