Wednesday, November 10th 2004 | |
Keeping A Low Carb Attitude During the Holidays! It’s hard to believe that a year has nearly past and the holidays are just around the corner. Since the holidays are close at hand, I am here to offer you some sound advice that will certainly make a difference. Here are a few tips to get you through the holidays without having to deal with the weight gain and disappointment that follows: How to Avoid the Gift of Holiday Weight Gain. 1. Do not try to lose weight during the holidays. Simply staying the same weight will be a great accomplishment. 2. Expect the holidays to be a challenge. The Holidays are filled with opportunities to break your diet and gain weight. Sometimes this will create tremendous pressure on you. Prepare for it and you will win. 3. Get support for eating properly. Find a support partner and speak with them daily. This really makes a difference. If you resist this suggestion, then you will probably gain Holiday weight. Weight loss is best done with the help of a support system, particularly during a stressful time. If you attempt to go it alone, you may fail. 4. Pay attention to emotional family issues. Holidays usually mean time with family, and this means that any unresolved family issues will emerge and create strong emotions in you. You may self-medicate with food to get through these emotions thus resulting in weight gain. If you identify these issues prior to family gatherings, you will be better prepared to manage the feelings they generate. Almost all overeating is related to intense emotions. This is particularly true about holiday eating. Holidays bring up feelings of loneliness, family conflict, past hurts and resentments, anger and many other painful emotions. If we combine these stressors with an abundance of comfort food, then we have the perfect weight gaining situation. If you identify these stressors, you can make productive decisions about how to manage them. If you simply walk into family gatherings unaware of the emotional pitfalls, you can count on having your diet fall apart. Everyone has family issues that are intense and unresolved. Don’t think you are a happy exception if you are weight challenged. A dose of self-reflection and inner honesty will go a long way towards helping you stay on your diet during the coming season. 5. Let family members know that you are working hard to lose weight and that you want their support. Ask them to resist the urge to tempt you to eat food that will throw you off and to provide alternative foods for you. I really can’t stress enough the importance of a support partner. Get one and then use them for encouragement and strength to do what needs to be done. You don’t need to handle family issues alone. We have found that the more dysfunctional the family, the more support you will need to deal with them. If you choose to walk this path alone, you may quickly find that you are lost in food. I the spirit of the upcoming Holiday Season we would like to give a few low carb recipes that will help you through this weight challenging time of the year. Sausage
Stuffing Ingredients:
Cranberry
Relish Ingredients:
The rum and lemon zest adds tremendous richness complexity to the sauce. But, if you want to forego the rum, just substitute an equal amount of water. Candied
Yams Ingredients: Instructions: Instead of Pumpkin Pie you can substitute these awesome Pumpkin Squares. They are a great after diner treat that won’t weigh you down. Pumpkin
Squares Ingredients:
Cream
Cheese Topping: For the optional
topping, mix cream cheese, Steviva
Brand Stevia Blend or a tiny dash of Stevia Powder, and vanilla.
Let's eat
well and have a happy holiday season!
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