{"id":43,"date":"2009-12-23T15:29:00","date_gmt":"2009-12-23T15:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/lessonsfromarecoveringdoormat\/2009\/12\/eat-with-pleasure-over-the-holidays.html"},"modified":"2009-12-23T15:29:00","modified_gmt":"2009-12-23T15:29:00","slug":"eat-with-pleasure-over-the-holidays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lessonsfromarecoveringdoormat\/2009\/12\/eat-with-pleasure-over-the-holidays.html","title":{"rendered":"Eat with Pleasure Over the Holidays!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a> I was at several holiday parties recently. The next 2 weeks have many opportunities for eating decadently. For many people, Christmas means pigging out at a big, yummy holiday dinner. Yet a holiday dinner is accompanied by some side dishes that can dampen your pleasure:<\/p>\n

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<\/span>* Guilt<\/span>. Weight s a big issue for many of us. Believing you shouldn\u2019t have dessert or potatoes or more than one piece of pie\u2014or believing that you should just stick to meat without gravy and veggies\u2014can make you feel guilty if you indulge. That ruins each bite and tempers your pleasure.
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<\/span>* Disgust<\/span>. When guilt gets strong, disgust with yourself for indulging can set in. I\u2019ve heard people lament every bite of a delicious, high calorie dinner. \u201cI\u2019m so bad for eating this.\u201d When you do that, you get the extra calories but you don\u2019t enjoy eating them.
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<\/span>* Deprivation<\/span>. If you choose to \u201cbe good,\u201d you\u2019ll feel bad about not having what everyone else does. You may resist temptation but long for the goodies you watch others eat. It stirs cravings that you can feel long after the dinner and eventually may lead you to a pig-out that isn\u2019t as satisfying as the parts of the dinner you choose not to eat.
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Why do that to yourself! It can ruin your meal, and your day! I\u2019ve stopped the shoulds and shouldn\u2019ts and give myself permission to do what makes me feel good, not bad. Knowing that I\u2019ll be eating more on the holiday, I\u2019ll go for a run before and then try for one after too. I tried to do this for Thanksgiving. But as I began to put on my running clothes, the sky got very overcast and I lost my desire to run. At first I pushed myself with reminders of all the eating I\u2019d already done and what was coming up. I SHOULD got burn some calories!<\/p>\n

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But I didn\u2019t. I chose to honor my feelings that were concerned about getting caught in a rain storm and ignored the SHOULD.<\/span><\/p>\n


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The sun returned later and improved my mood. A few hours after pigging out, I had a desire for exercise and went to burn off some calories. This time I was in the mood and enjoyed my run, instead of forcing myself out. I didn\u2019t know I\u2019d go later when I passed in the morning. But if I hadn\u2019t gone, I wouldn\u2019t have felt guilty, or worse about my eating. There’s always tomorrow!<\/p>\n

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You have ONE life. Don\u2019t ruin it by inflicting rigid standards on your pleasure.<\/p>\n

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Yes, it\u2019s important to eat healthy and exercise\u2014MOST of the time! I don\u2019t make rich foods and sugary treats a habit. But once in a while won\u2019t ruin you! I\u2019m trying to get a bit more exercise before the upcoming holiday dinners this weekend to compensate. But we had a blizzard and snow is on the ground so I won\u2019t beat myself up if I can\u2019t get out to exercise. I’ll do my weight training in the gym. But I won\u2019t eat less if I can\u2019t run.<\/p>\n

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Erma Bombeck said, \u201cSeize the moment. Remember all those women on the Titanic who waved off the dessert cart.<\/span>\u201d<\/p>\n

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Seize the day and enjoy the holiday food! Indulge without guilt. You don\u2019t have to pig out to enjoy it. Instead, plan a little so you have some control over what you eat while still enjoying the goodies. Rather that withholding all the richer foods:<\/p>\n

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<\/span>* Check out all the food before taking large heaps of the first few<\/span>, especially if the food is served buffet style. When I see a dish I love, I take a lot. Then I realize there are 4 others yummy ones I want to partake of and then I take too much food. So I try to take a small scope of everything first and when it\u2019s finished, decide if I need more.
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<\/span>* Make trade-offs<\/span>. If your concern is just one big dinner, just relax and let yourself go a bit. But, if you\u2019re away from home for many meals, you can create some restraint that doesn\u2019t deprive you. When I travel and eat many meals out, or I\u2019m at someone\u2019s house for several days in holiday mode, I assess what I want beforehand and choose which goodies to skip or just have a taste of and which I\u2019d like a real portion of. If I want dessert, I skip bread and only have a small portion of potatoes. Think about what you\u2019d normally have in the situation, and decide what you can skip. Trade one goodie for another.
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<\/span>* Leave the gobbling to turkeys<\/span>. Eat slowly. Chewing food more carefully improves digestion. The longer it takes you to eat, the fuller and more satisfied you feel. Have smaller bites instead of shoveling food into your mouth. Even if you\u2019ve always been a fast shoveler, you can practice and get used to a slower pace. I savor each bite and can eat less by doing so.<\/p>\n

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<\/span>* Take smaller portions<\/span>. Take just a little of each dish instead of piling your plate high. Get small portions of seconds if you want it. You\u2019ll still eat less this way and not feel deprived.
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The holidays are for celebrating and enjoying fun times with family and friends. Cut yourself some slack and enjoy them! I wish you all a blessed holiday season<\/span>, no matter what you celebrate.<\/p>\n

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If you enjoyed my post, please leave a comment and\/or click on the bookmark and write a short review at some of the sites, especially Stumbleupon and Digg. Thanks!<\/p>\n

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<a href="http:\/\/www.addthis.com\/bookmark.php" onclick="addthis_url \"AddThis<\/a> var addthis_pub = ‘wryter’; <\/span><\/p>\n

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I was at several holiday parties recently. The next 2 weeks have many opportunities for eating decadently. For many people, Christmas means pigging out at a big, yummy holiday dinner. Yet a holiday dinner is accompanied by some side dishes that can dampen your pleasure: * Guilt. 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Daylle's books have been translated into over 10 languages and are popular around the world. She speaks for colleges, organizations and corporations. Through her company, Project Self-Empowerment, Daylle creates programs and materials to help people empower themselves. One goal is to raise the money to self-publish her book, How Do I Love Me? Let Me Count the Ways and give it away for free in colleges and through organizations, to give thanks for all her blessings. 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