12 Days of Resolutions. 12 resolutions that will help steer you towards a healthier lifestyle, whether you've got weight you'd like to lose or not. 12 resolutions that are each in and of themselves extremely straight forward and doable. Some might involve doing, others simply thinking, and if any of them don't seem useful to you, skip on to the next.Day 2: Pre-Eat
Another incredibly easy one.
You're going to have lots of celebratory meals this month. Office get togethers, family dinners, vacationing, etc. Most folks think that their best plan is to ensure they skimp on their calories all day long so that when their celebratory meal time comes around, they've got more caloric room for indulgences.
That's a terrible plan.
Why?
Because you'll end up combining frank hunger with a terrifically human reason to eat (celebration), along with markedly more indulgent food, social pressures, and probably alcohol.
And hunger wins of course. Go to the supermarket hungry and you'll know what I mean, you shop differently when you're hungry.
Sitting down to eat hungry is exactly the same, just on a smaller scale. Simply put, you'll be shopping from your plate.
But what happens when you go to the supermarket not hungry? Well you buy what you need and aren't tempted to buy much else.
Show up to your festive meal not hungry and you'll eat what you need - including a more indulgent menu given the circumstances, but by not being hungry, and by being in control, you'll have a far easier time navigating your choices and your portions.
My recommendation? Resolve to "pre-eat" all of this year's celebrations. Not only have all of your day's meals and snacks, but ensure you have an extra 200-300 calorie, protein inclusive snack half an hour before you head out to your dinner. The calories you'll spend "pre-eating" will be dramatically outweighed by the calories you don't consume from the seconds you leave on the table, the more thoughtful navigation of choices and a more controlled consumption of dessert.
You don't crave green leafy salads when you're hungry. The flip side of that? You don't crave much at all when you're full. So this year, pre-eat, avoid hunger, and thoughtfully indulge because it's a celebration and not uncontrollably indulge because you're hungry.
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I am *that weirdo* who does crave green leafy salads... ;) Before leaving for a party or event or big holiday dinner, eat an apple, 3 or 4 oz. of a lean protein and drink a big glass or water or a cup of green tea! Then enjoy only those party foods you *really* want, and savor them. You're not obligated to leave gatherings with a stomachache!
ReplyDeleteHaving read many of your comments on this blog Norma, I agree, you are, "that weirdo"
ReplyDeleteI fly my freak flag proudly.
ReplyDeleteI actually don't believe in the pre-snack, I want to use those calories at the meal. That said, I usually bank some calories - some exercise, eating just a little less a day or two before (I use the Weight Watchers pointsplus plan). I make sure my other meals that day are adequate and that I arrive with 'normal' hunger at the event. Then I eat mindfully.
ReplyDeleteWhile you shouldn't go hungry or avoid food before the event, I don't believe in going "full." If it's a special occassion and there will be special food there - I want to have an appetite for that food. I don't want to be the rude guest that arrives and says "I just ate." If it's a dinner party, of course each lunch and regular afternoon snack, and maybe some fruit on the way out the door. But don't eat your own entree before just so you can hurt your grandmother's feelings by turning down her lasanga.
ReplyDeleteI rather disagree with the pre-eat thing.
ReplyDeleteObviously, going hungry is not a good thing. That will, no doubt, lead to too much eating, and perhaps drinking, and feeling lousy after.
However, I think going totally not hungry isn't a solution either.
Certainly, it might be for some.
For others... not so much. Because going to a party and not eating something can lead to regrets. For some this is no big deal. For others, that missed chocolate fudge cake will turn into some hideous store bought chocolate the next day.
A woman I used to know from a Weight Watchers meeting went to Paris. She came back, having lost 5lbs on her trip, proud to say that she'd never, not EVEN ONCE had a croissant or a patisserie or gooey and buttery and... different. Everyone at the meeting clapped and congratulated her. Over the next few weeks, she proceeded to regain those 5lbs, plus a few more besides, on cheap supermarket doughnuts. So yeah, not ahead of the game.
For me? I try to eat lightly the day of, get in some extra exercise, and the one important qualifier for anything I eat over the holidays is 'can I get it the rest of the year?' If I can, I'll not give it a second glance. If it is something unique to the holiday at hand, or something homeade that I like, then I decide if I want it or not. For a party, is this food something that I normally eat, even jazzed up, or something I never make?
I love -yeah, I know, I know- candy corn. Just love it. I have a deal with myself: I buy about 100g/3oz when it comes out in the fall, when it's still fresh, and that's it. I don't worry about that candy, it's a once a year treat. I never buy it in bags in, say, July, I don't buy it on clearance after Halloween.
I don't know. I'm by no means perfect, and my plans don't always work 100%, but if I can come home from a holiday to-do having eaten enough "treats" that I feel like I've had some of the foods that I look forward to each year, I'll tend to do better overall than if I continually think about the baked brie that got away.
Who has regrets from having not eaten enough chocolate cake at a party?
ReplyDeleteENOUGH chocolate cake? Probably not everyone. SOME chocolate cake, which was more the issue I was trying to address? Possibly a few more people, especially people on diets, who've been deprived of that type of food for a long time.
ReplyDeleteI've been on too many dieting message boards and have seen too many 'oh, I did so good at the party last night! But why oh why have I eaten half a box of cereal this morning?' to wonder at that.
As you said, in your first comment: enjoy the party foods you really want. Which is what I'm saying as well. Because for some people, if you don't? The next day you may get the calories anyhow without the enjoyment of good food.
In my personal and observed experiences, I think a lot more people leave holiday dinners/parties bloated and near-nauseated and have regrets about overeating (which certainly doesn't stop them from following up with a big fried/sugary breakfast because now their insulin is way out of whack and they're craving more of the same)-- and I'm not even limiting that scenario to just "dieters" or people who have weight issues; just like someone who drinks too much and curses their hangover in the morning, "normal" weight people without "food issues" I think more often feel regret after pigging out rather than, "oh my god, what if I never get a chance to eat chocolate cake again?". Even in my sugar addicted, eat like there's a famine coming, who cares what size pants I wear days, though, on the occasions I managed to show self control and not gorge, but ate reasonable amounts of "treats" (why do we still think of poisoning our bodies as a treat? Topic for a post, Dr. F?), I certainly never regretted not having yet another eclair or wishing I'd put more toppings on my ice cream sundae or lamented only trying two of the four varieties of pie available. Focusing so much emotion on foods is, in itself, an eating disorder, wouldn't you say? My point was, like the blog post, don't go to a party starving and snarf up everything you see just because it's there. Have a fiber/protein snack an hour or so before you go and choose the "special" foods you really like and make the splurge worth it. BUT you do bring up an important point and that is for a person who knows her trigger foods and avoids them in everyday life, chowing on shrimp dip and potato chips followed by cake, pastries and cookies serves only to awaken the beast and unfortunately, for many, may lead to eating more of the same because the craving cycle has been started.
ReplyDelete