Overdose of Holiday Treats?

         During the holidays we look forward to those delicious traditional good eats.  The forbidden foods shall I say that are prohibited all year long or maybe just not worth cooking unless it’s for a special occasion.   For me it’s all of the above.  I come from a huge family and it’s sort of like a pot- luck for my family.  We all bring something to contribute to the celebration, and if you are like my family you help yourself to more than just that so called one plate….yeah right, who are we feeding a 2 year old here?? It’s not until we have the infamous –itis or the politically correct term macajuel syndrome from overeating and we are feeling guilty.  Then thinking about a new year’s resolution in an attempt to counteract the heinous crime we committed to slaughter our health in the first degree.

  It’s no secret that holiday gatherings bring about happiness, family ties, togetherness, and STRESS.  .  When we are stressed we tend to eat more and it also produces the hormone called cortisol that’s linked to abdominal fat.  Eating and bonding with family and/or friends produces a hormone called oxytocin, which has been linked to creating those feelings of happiness and love.  Our brains are more sensitive to this hormone the more that’s produced, foods that are highest in fats seem to produce more, which in turn means that we find joy in those fatty foods around family and friends.  So what’s the point here? I think you get it and I would say the first step in creating something anew is being somewhat informed and also knowing the why(reason for doing something) first. 

  Here are a few tips to try and prevent holiday overeating….

Eat something healthy and satisfying before you get to the party that way you won’t be eating your guests out of a house and a home;).

 Pay attention to what you are eating and how much, its all about moderation, and if you are looking at a movie or TV while eating you will continue to eat and you will not even notice you are full. 
 Go easy on yourself, you may try to deny yourself those dirty dishes, but having a taste won’t kill you, it’s when you say “having a taste won’t kill me,” and end up eating 3 of the same kind of 300 calorie per brownie and 5 of those 115 calorie per cookie x-mas servings.

  If you are falling prey to social pressure of overeating, try showering your host with compliments on how delicious the food is and politely say you are stuffed!  Trust they won’t be upset.  If they are just fix you a plate to take home as a good gesture.  There you have a meal for tomorrow…leave the deserts on the table, you will be tempted to eat it all at once before it “goes bad”.

 You may also want to try to eat lower calorie meals throughout the week…I do not know how much of an advantage that may have because if you do this and overeat that one day it will just counter all of that work. 

If you are cooking you have a slight advantage…try to use 100% whole wheat  bread, brown sugar, natural sweeteners such as maple syrup or honey, try to use whole wheat flour, and brown rice, trans-fat free margarine, whipped butter in container or low fat butter.  If you aren’t sure how it will taste without it maybe you can experiment with these ingredients beforehand it’s always possible to make a small serving and try it.  Try to keep an open mind, because when you think about it too hard that you are subbing then you may make it up in your mind that it won’t taste as good…and then when you taste it voila! It’s not as good…

 The final of them all is EXERCISE!  We all know that new year’s resolutions are a JOKE! Instead of making it a new yrs resolution we could control how we eat during the holidays and could at least keep a simple workout regimen going its better than sitting on the couch and letting all of that fat and carbs accumulate and by mid year we have gained 2lbs a week instead of losing 2lbs a week. Okay, I’m done.  I hope this helps someone in 2012!

♥♥♥ Have a productive and creative day!! ♥♥♥