Healthy Holidays Tip #1 – Know your triggers

…’tis the season of abundance. Abundant food, drink, entertaining, gifts. It can be overwhelming, and eating healthy often falls off the radar when faced with so many temptations like shortbread cookies, and candy canes, and all those lovely cheese platters.

Welcome to my 4 part series on how to have Healthy Holiday season!

Step One: Know Your Triggers

What I’m about to teach you i usually reserve for private clients, but I’m going to teach you about it here. Before we do that you need to know what a food trigger is:

What is a food trigger? The food that you have the hardest time resisting or feel like you can’t stop at one.  Picture this – holiday party 2015 you’re at the holiday party and you walk in and there are nibbles everywhere.

• Cheese
• Chips and dip
• Cookies
• Cakes

So now you understand what a trigger is- how do you identify yours?

Enter the food trigger compass: 1 is “yeah take it or leave it” 10 is “I want to eat all of what’s on table, rub it all over my body, and go back for seconds.” More on this in a bit, but first, here are some tips on how to indulge smartly at an event:

1. If you are someone who cannot just stop at one cookie (or whatever it is), put one or two on your plate and walk away. Occupy your other hand with a glass of water and join the party. Basically, the closer you stand to the buffet table, the more you will mindlessly stuff your face.
2. If you eat protein and fat before you go, you’ll be way less likely to graze and nibble because you’ll be full enough to wait until dinner.
3. Crowd out the crap by filling your plate with veggies and a small side of your trigger food. That way you fill up your gob with good for you food, while still indulging in your fave snack. See! No restriction!
4. Bring your own healthy nibbles – if you know where you’re going they don’t care much for fruit and veg, you can bring your own platter as a hostess gift (let her know first!). You can make a yummy coconut lime dip to go with – coconut yogurt, lime and honey – easy!
5. Ask for a small plate, or use a small plate so you’re not tempted to overload it.

ACTION: get a sheet of paper, write out horizontally the numbers 1-10 – this becomes your food trigger compass – now I want you to think about the worst thing you’ve ever eaten in your life – it was the grossest thing you’ve eaten, for me that’s oysters. Now i want you to think about the BEST thing, that would be your last meal for your time on earth – for me it would be pizza. 5 is your centre. Remember this isn’t about dieting, I don’t want to take this away, I want to take mindless eating away. So instead of eating 14 bags of chips, have a few so that you don’t end up in a food coma as a result.

Also at a party, don’t stand by the table full of 10’s…stand by the 1’s, so you physically have to walk towards the 10’s. Now you know, where does this food fall on your food compass? Ideally you should have a good mix of 5-10, with some 2-3’s of new foods you’re starting to explore.

How will you identify your triggers?

If you’re struggling int his area, book in a free assessment call with me to find out how I can help you.