Eating Smarter Over the Holidays

Over the month of December, my eating habits progressively start to resemble Chelsea Handler’s food diary from her book Are You There, Vodka?  It’s Me, Chelsea… 

(see below)

love. her.

CHELSEA’S FOOD DIARY

FRIDAY

Breakfast:  Scrambled egg whites with spinach and jack cheese

Lunch:  Chicken Caesar salad

Dinner: 2 crab enchiladas and 2 margaritas

SATURDAY

Breakfast:  Zone bar

Lunch:  Turkey sandwich with cheddar and mayo

Dinner:  Filet mignon with mashed potatoes/ 3 Ketel One and cranberries

SUNDAY

@ friend’s baby shower:
17 jalapeno poppers
1 brick of cheddar cheese/ 12 whole wheat crackers
14 chicken wings/ no bleu cheese dressing
1 bagel with low-fat cream cheese
34 strawberries
8 Bloody Marys
14 pigs in blankets

(At least she opted for the whole wheat crackers?)

At holiday parties, I often find myself forgetting about my tight-fitting New Year’s Eve dress and make a B-line for the refreshment table loaded with delicious carbs and empty calories for munching on while mingling.  Without fail, I’ll leave with a sugar headache and a hurt stomach. 

(torture)

Although I’ve never been big on dieting, my New Year’s resolution is always to “eat smarter.”  Keeping a trim waistline is important to me and this year I am going to try not to binge my way into early hibernation for the winter.  So, I’ve promised myself that I will keep in mind these three points when I attend a holiday party/ function:

1- Drink much more water.  (I am terrible at this.)  It’s good for you and it’s filling.  It will also help to keep my hands full and not mindlessly reaching for cake balls.  I’m certainly not giving up wine or liquor, but I think I can start incorporating water into my glass every other drink or so.  And, this will help to keep me better hydrated for the gym/ winter workouts.

2- Eat slower.  This is a big problem for me.  I eat WAY too fast.  My buddy, T.C., started purposely eating his meals slower and he said he’s seen significant improvement around the waistline.  This one is going to be hard for me to do, but I am going to really try.  I don’t feel great about myself when I’m overeating at holiday parties, and I feel like it would easier to be aware of if I ate a bit slower. 

3- Hold myself accountable.  I have too much inherent Jewish guilt already to tag on any extra guilt for overeating every now and then.  I cannot and will not keep a food diary.  But, I will strive to be more cognizant of what I am eating over the holidays.  For example, I don’t particularly love chocolate.  So, I have no reason to be eating it at a holiday party just because my conversation has become stagnant and there is a nearby bowl of Hanukkah gelt calling my name.  This is kind of ridiculous, but I am going to also try to envision what half a pizza or a large piece of apple pie (whatever food is taunting me at the moment) might look like on my thighs.  I have a creative imagination.  We’ll see if that works…

I think it’s all about baby steps.  I’m not planning on drastically changing my eating habits or depriving myself of foods I really want (heck , I had a hamburger and french fries at Leon’s last night), I just want to start myself off on the right foot before New Year’s resolution time.  Maybe this year my resolution will be about something other than food!

will be here before we know it...

Wish me luck – and feel free to comment about what has worked for you!

xx, L