It’s about making memories

If you add up all the “special events and holiday celebrations” in your life you will probably find out that you are eating a lot more special treats than you realize. So using the excuse “it’s just this one time” can often work out to over 100 days (and counting) of treat-eating opportunities. Being honest with the number of times you justify eating high calorie/high fat/high sugar foods because of a social event is key to losing or maintaining weight loss.

Try to remember that when you celebrate a birthday, anniversary, holiday, graduation, or some other event that typically involves a festive meal, you should be focusing on the moment and making memories and not just gorging again. Yes, you can always choose a small serving of the special entrée, or side dish or dessert and compensate with modifying other food choices that day in preparation of the treat moment, or add some exercise to compensate for the extra calories. However, true energy balance requires that you minimize treat moments and find other ways to enjoy the celebration. So why not view the holidays as an opportunity to make memories and make the food, at least some of the time, a secondary part of the event. Your waistline and your health will love you for it!

Happy Thanksgiving!