Balancing your Treats is the Trick

For those who are dieting or striving to maintain their weight loss, today really can be one of the SCARIEST days of the year...especially when you have kids who'll be bringing home massive bags of fat & sugar loaded goodies.  What's a candy loving person to do?  There really is no easy solution.  Each year, you will be presented with literally dozens of holidays and birthdays where you'll be presented with dozens of unhealthy food options.  And, like me, you'll likely have loved ones around you urging you to "go ahead and indulge! It's _________ (fill in the blank with Thanksgiving, Halloween, so and so's birthday or whatever special event/day you're together celebrating)."    The key, my friends, is balance...whether it be politely saying no because you're already full from eating beforehand or just having a little bit of what you're craving.

These days I'm quite strictly following a nutrition plan that calls for between 1700 and 2000 calories (though, truth be told, I'm generally eating 1500-1600 calories because each of my 5 mini meals are usually composed of about 300-350 calories and I'm still feeling full and not bonking during workouts) that's composed of 40% protein, 40% carbohydrates (the kind you find in fruits, veggies and whole grain breads) and 20% fat.  My diet has been clean and I've been resisting all kinds of processed food temptations around me.  

This past weekend, I baked a batch of dark chocolate brownies for my stepdaughter and a friend for their sleepover.  Brownies are one of my favorite things to eat so it was very hard to whip up the batter and smell them baking in the oven.  The old 240 pound me could have eaten the entire batch without blinking!  The new me just wanted to hide them in a closet.  I fixed my husband a slice and he asked me if I wanted a bite. I immediately said "No!!!" as if he was offering me a plate of glass.  He gently reminded me that a bite of a brownie wasn't going to make me fat or "bad" so after a moment of hesitation I took a bite...and savored it- not with guilt, but with pleasure.  

The key as to most things in life is balance- which has been a very difficult thing for me to realize and appreciate as an "all or nothing" kind of gal.  You can't keep it up at all or nothing for the long-term because either you'd likely wind up very overweight at the nothing end of the game or feeling very anxious and deprived at the all-in stage of the game.   If you do allow yourself that delicious bit of indulgence, don't let guilt overwhelm you or think of it as "well, I've had one piece of candy, I might as well have another." With that type of attitude, you'll wind up surrounded by empty wrappers AND a whopping sense of guilt. 

So if you're sitting there eyeing a miniature size Twix or whatever piece of Halloween candy that is calling your name, don't be afraid to eat it.  Do so slowly and savor the flavor.  Enjoy the indulgence without thinking of it as a one way ticket to Fatville or an excuse to simply keep eating several more of them.  Savor it and move on to enjoying all the other wonderful things associated with this annual celebration of fear & candy- the smiles on children's faces as they show off their costumes, the smell of crisp leaves in the air, the overwhelming sense of community as you make your way to neighbor's houses.  Recognize that these foodcentric holidays are about much more than the food - they're most often about love, family and friends.