Halloween has come and gone; Thanksgiving and Christmas are just around the corner. This is as good a time as any to learn how to handle post-holiday leftovers… and how not to not give in to post-feast pig-outs.
When talking about post-holiday leftovers, I'm referring to more than just your extra candy that may be stashed in your car, desk drawer or kitchen. Other Halloween leftovers may be the leftover emotions and guilty feelings that can plague dieters who overeat and veer off program.
If feeling guilty is causing you to also feel pessimistic about your ability to lose weight, then it may be time to revise your post-holiday plans and attitude.
Here are some tips to guide you:
1. Don't expect perfection! Holiday time is meant to be fun... and even a little indulgent. We know that food temptations are many at holiday time, which is even more reason to give yourself a break and don't expect perfection. Commit to writing down your food intake at holiday time and continue after the holidays. It will give you a better sense of feeling in control. Even if you're not able to limit your candy allotment to a moderate portion (the best intentions don't always work!), you will still have awareness about just how much you did eat. When you know you'll be writing down what you eat, you'll also be more likely to slowly savor each bite and not mindlessly gulp it down.
2. Stay positive! How you react after the holidays can either make or break your program. If you find that negative self-talk is creeping into your life, you'll want to catch yourself and quickly refocus. Negative energy will drain your spirits. Alternatively, being optimistic and positive will keep your motivation and energy levels high. Instead of thinking "I'm such a loser because I ate too much candy this weekend," say "I did better than I did last year but I know I can do even better next year."
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3. Make it easier on yourself! The key to losing weight is to understand your own vulnerabilities and make the needed adjustments to make things easier on yourself. For example, if every Halloween you end up overeating the leftover candy and have a very difficult time staying on program, then maybe you need to get the candy out of the house. Either return your left-over, unopened bags or give away the goodies to a neighbor or friend or to a family member's workplace. Think of it as "spreading the wealth" to lessen your own calorie damage.
4. Start fresh! Research studies show that resilient dieters - the ones who can pick themselves back up after a slip in their program and quickly re-focus - are the ones with the best long term results. Like real life, real weight loss has ups and downs. Rather than throw in the towel, practice starting anew by re-committing to your healthy lifestyle weight management program. If you expect setbacks - especially at holiday time - you may be more likely to prevent a minor set back from turning into a total collapse of your program.
I hope these four tips will help you navigate this post Halloween time and set you on the right path for the holidays to come. |
