‘Tis the Season to…Run away from Holiday Desserts

It’s upon us – the Holiday Season. If you check your social media feed even a few times in a day, you’ll be inundated with reminders that the Holidays are a mere few weeks away. The Holiday treats are beautiful to look at; definitely a feast for the eyes.

Trend magazines have predicted Holiday 2019 to be all about creative cookie recipes and crockpot desserts. They “sound” positively delicious but they are horrible for your health.

5 Tips to protect you and your family from sugar overindulgence

1. Don’t bring your favorite sweet treat into the house. I actually love this tip because it turns out that statistically, overeating sweets happen in your own home. Sugar is highly addictive; worse than cocaine. If you know you can’t resist Holiday fudge or those special Holiday cookies, don’t bring them home. While I’d love you to avoid them altogether, if that’s not possible, bring them as a gift to a holiday party at work or a friend’s house. Make a deal with yourself that you’ll restrict yourself to one. One cookie or one piece of fudge. If you’ve made a pact with yourself you’ll eat it slowly, savor it, and then walk away. And of course, since more isn’t waiting for you at home, that will help you win the temptation battle.

 

2. Watch out for hidden sugars in your drink, especially the colored ones. The Holidays are all about color: red, green, sparkle; it’s part of what makes it so enticing. Drinks, whether they’re energy drinks, Frappuccino’s, hot chocolate, or sodas are some of the biggest culprits. These drinks not only can pack on the pounds, but they can trigger a sugar “binge” that can be hard to shake. I can’t tell you how often patients are still trying to kick their Holiday sugar habit well into March the following year. Make it a habit to READ the ingredient label. Even coffee houses can provide you with ingredients and sugar content. Remember, you shouldn’t exceed 12 grams of sugar in a day. If you need a little help weaning off soda, try drinking 2/3 carbonated water and 1/3 100 percent juice, or even some pure lemon or lime juice with some added liquid stevia.

 

3. Eat fresh fruit – carry a piece with you for when a sweet craving strikes. Fresh fruit is quite sweet and is also rich in fiber and antioxidants. Some of the best high fiber, low sugar fruits are berries and citrus fruit. I am often asked by patients if the “sugar” in fruit isn’t just as bad as refined sugar. Nothing could be further from the truth. There is truly no comparison between refined sugar and fresh fruit sugar. Berries are my favorite, organic whenever possible.

 

4. Dark chocolate to the rescue! Sometimes only chocolate will do. We used to say get a high-quality dark chocolate, over 70% cacao with no added dairy. By the nature of the high cacao percentage, the sugar grams will below. Now there are some even better choices with companies like Lily’s that offer stevia-sweetened chocolate chips and chocolate bars. It’s all about enjoying the moment, almost like a ritual. I frequently think of a Japanese tea ceremony when I think of mindful consumption. What I mean is that you should sit and truly savor the moment of your chocolate indulgence. Don’t multi-task and don’t rush. Really enjoy it and you’ll find your cravings will be well satisfied with just a small amount.

 

5. Exercise Self-Control. There’s no getting around the fact it takes some discipline when avoiding bad food and choosing healthy options instead. It’s a decision to make it through the Holidays without sabotaging yourself. This is the time to decide. This is the time to focus on the bigger picture of what great health brings. Nothing tastes as good as great health feels. Have a strategy planned if the temptation gets too powerful. Have a good distraction planned. Maybe it’s a walk around the block, calling your best friend, or just watching a short video that makes you laugh – it’s all about a change of scene that shifts your focus.

We’re here for you

It takes a support system to get healthy and stay healthy. That’s what we do here.

Whether you’re ready to begin a program of regaining your health or you want to avoid the inevitable sabotage to your health the tends to happen during the Holiday Season, we’re happy to help you.

Statistically, we’ve seen that patients who are on active programs during the Holidays remain healthier, get sick less often and deal with the stress of the holidays much better than those who wait to start a program in the New Year.

Now is a great time to improve your health

I hope this was helpful.

We specialize in identifying the underlying reason why you have the symptoms which are bothering you.

We have great tools to really get the answers of not only “why” but what can be done about it.

You deserve to enjoy great health; please give me a call if you want some help.