Have you often thought..."How am I going to control my eating habits through the holidays when I'm trying desperately to lose weight? Do I just throw in the towel to give in and eat myself into a bloated stupor? How can I tell Aunt Bertha that I don't need three helpings of turkey and mashed potatoes to be topped of by her pumpkin pie?"
Don't most of us feel in this dilemma at some time or another. We tend to eat more during social occasions than we do at any other time. If you're on a weight loss program, don't think of it as a diet. Diets implies denial and you know how we all feel about denial. Think of it as moving into a new lifestyle with a new attitude toward food and what it means to you.
I would like you all out there to use your imagination and visualize yourself as the slender, healthy, and vibrant person that you're striving to be. Picture yourself at the exact weight and size that you desire. See yourself stepping outside of your body, looking trim and lively, moving easily and freely. See how happy and liberated your body feels. When you were a little kid, it's likely that food was something you needed to eat to sustain your life and your health. You weren't much interested in hanging out and eating till your eyes started bulging out. No, you wanted to get away from the table and go play. You felt better being active.
I would like you to get back in touch with that kid that is inside all of us. Eat until you're comfortable....not until you're full. By the time you're full, you've eaten too much! When your satisfied, and dinner is about over with, check in with your body and ask it if it can still move around freely without feeling like it's carrying a bowling ball in your belly. Okay, I get that you want a taste of all the good stuff that's being put on the table during the holidays. That's fine....take a taste of everything that you want, but limit it to a taste which is a small amount...smaller than your fist...about the size of your finger...maybe your pinky finger. If every portion you eat is about the size of your fist, you've eaten more food than your stomach can comfortably handle.
By the end of the big dinner when you've had too much to eat, and you want that piece of pie or two cause you can't wait to taste it, how does it really taste? When you're too full and keep eating, you're not experiencing the exquisite flavor of the food. Eating small amounts will allow you to appreciate the taste of everything that you're eating. Isn't that why we eat in the first place...to satisfy our taste buds? Eat less....bring the leftovers to the soup kitchen for the homeless ;-)
