Does this Thanksgiving scene sound familiar? Aunt Jo’s lips are moving but you aren’t listening; you’re fantasizing about five minutes alone with the Nanaimo bars on the table. You starved all day to “save up” calories in case you go overboard. Unfortunately, it’s the perfect trap for what you’re trying to prevent. I know how you feel because that was how I was on a diet, stressed out by holiday food I couldn’t escape. What’s the solution? My answer was to accept that, yes, I probably would eat more on Thanksgiving and, no, it wouldn’t “ruin everything.” I trusted that I could savor my favorite dishes without guilt and fear because I’d be satisfied with far less. I knew I didn’t need to eat everything before the Monday diet that was not going to happen. I learned to trust my body to balance out over a few days if I stuck to eating mindfully.
Lisa Kehler, RD, www.offyourplatenutrition.ca