This is most certainly the time of year when many people celebrate the holidays they recognize with traditions. Personally, in my household we lit the Hanukkah candles on the menorah last night, as I grew up celebrating Jewish traditions and we have a decorated Christmas tree, as some of my family members follow Christian traditions.
The traditions of different faiths/cultures/religions/families often include foods and drinks. Items such as potato pancakes with sour cream (I miss you Grandma!), egg nog, cookies, cakes and other traditional fare that accompany the holidays are very often the types of foods/drinks that derail our weight control efforts.
Is it possible to partake of the love and fun of the holidays without partaking of the traditional foods/drinks that stop us from losing weight? This is very difficult as these eating/drinking traditions are intertwined with all of the other activities we do with family and friends.
Try to not stress about the gatherings worrying that you “cannot” eat/drink any of the fun stuff. Rather, take the approach of limiting portions and avoiding some of the traditional foods/drinks that you really do not care much about. Do you really need to bite into that rock solid fruit cake?
January is almost here and the mindset changes to the “New Year/New You” thinking so you will be able to get back into Phase 1 easily in less than a week.
Our overall goal should be to participate in a healthy/happy status many more holidays that bring out traditions we know and love. Weight control will help you achieve this goal.
