Happy Halloween Everyone!
As we have gotten to know each other, you might have heard me chat with you about how crazy addicted to sugar I used to be. Halloween was always one of my favorites!! Not only fun to dress up but a great excuse to eat as much candy as I could possible eat with no guilt…
Well, no guilt until the next day came and I felt really yucky. I want you to know that depriving yourself never works and I encourage you to allow yourself to taste the goods today and do it mindfully. Allow yourself to slow down and savor.
I want to share 3 important ideas about “handling your sweets” not only for today but as we move forward and enjoy the holidays.
Also, one of the reasons I can be so mindful is because I’ve become really picky and I’ve created healthier boundaries with what I put into my body.
I know that if I have too much sugar my face breaks out, my hormones go crazy, I turn into a cranky-pants, I get kind of down in the dumps, my sinuses act up, my digestion gets all weird, I get migraines that last for days, my teeth hurt and mostly… I crave more and more and more. Once I have a little… I need lots. That’s just how sugar works.
So knowing that these are the repercussions of eating too much, I make smarter choices.
By the way, that’s my son at 4 years old, SuperManny.
He is my superhero!
Okay, so here are the 3 ideas about handling sweets plus I have a recipe below for you.
1) Deprivation will never work.
If you tell yourself you cannot have something, you will want to eat it even more. Saying you “cannot eat it” triggers scarcity and the entire day of Halloween is appealing because it’s based on this trigger of scarcity. It makes us feel we can only eat candy today or around this time of year.
Here is what works. Tell yourself you can have anything you want to. You are an adult and you can make your own decisions. Then be really empowered about the choices you make. Be empowered to say No to lots and empowered to say Yes to the favorites you have and then savor them. Taste them. Appreciate them. If you are going to put it in your body, make sure it’s worth it and you remember it.
2) Eat really well today.
Add in a ton of goodness. Specifically: Healthy fats, lots of veggies, quality protein and tons of water. Be ahead of the game so if you want to indulge, you are doing it from a place that feels healthy to you.
Listen, if you skip meals or you don’t eat well… your blood sugar will drop and you will then want to eat anything and everything in sight. This is how we become ravenous. You are crazy if you think that a little extra motivation or willpower is going to help you at this point because we are not dealing with the science of your brain and body. Your behavior is controlled by the scientific fact that you’ve passed the point of hunger and you need to get in calories and you won’t care as much about what that is.
3) Create healthy fun treats.
Make a treat or meal today that is super fun that gives you that sweet treat that you are craving. Then you won’t feel like you are missing out on anything because you’ve created what you want. Also, remember… you can have treats as many days as you want to this year… don’t fall into that scarcity trigger trap that tells you that you have to eat it today.
Here is a recipe I’m going to make today:
Pumpkin Pie Pudding
1 cup of cooked pumpkin
1 cup of almond or coconut milk
1 banana
1.5 tablespoons of raw honey
2 tsp of pumpkin pie spice blend
a pinch of ginger
Blend together
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Love,
