Feeling Tempted? Give in a Little.

Here we are at day 5 of 31 Days of Healthy Ways to Enjoy the Holidays More!  Today’s tip is to let yourself indulge a little in the rich foods of the season.  Go ahead. Have a piece of cheesecake.  Have a glass of wine.  Enjoy them.  And then go back to your normal eating afterwards without any guilt.

I know, you’re trying to avoid dairy or wheat or sugar or in general eat less, but unless you have an allergy or  a medical condition that requires absolute avoidance of certain foods, there is nothing wrong with letting yourself enjoy a little of your favorite holiday foods.  Eating healthy is a continuum, it’s not something we do just for a few weeks and it’s not sustainable if you never let some of the less perfect foods slip past your lips.  A good rule of thumb is to aim for a balance of 90/10 in your diet.  That means 90% of the foods you eat are healthy, whole foods and the other 10% can be more indulgent.

Eating is so much easier when you don’t set yourself up for failure.  For many of us, if we eat absolutely perfectly and abstain from everything we desire all season long, come January, we’re going to go overboard and eat everything in sight and then what was the point of missing out all December? Have you ever found yourself going back to the kitchen repeatedly to get one little bite of a delicious pie? You probably ended up eating more and enjoying it less than you would have if you just cut yourself a piece to begin with.  It’s all about balance. Find yours.  Let go of feeling bad and you’ll feel so much better all season long.