December Week 2: Creating a Foundation for Pleasure

I hope that you are enjoying the holiday season so far. I am amazed at how quickly it arrived! This week, as we head into the more social time of this year, I would like us to look at how we can find a way to continue to focus on weight release and also indulge in some our favorite holiday foods.

Today, I want to focus specifically on how we work powerfully with our body to enjoy the holidays and some of our favorite treats and still be on track for weight release.

STEPS TO CREATE A FOUNDATION FOR PLEASURE

How many times have you eagerly anticipated a favorite holiday treat, only to get carried away and eat too much of that holiday treat and let what started as a pleasurable experience quickly dissolve into a painful one?

I certainly have felt that pain of overindulging hundreds of times over the years as I struggled with my weight. I remember once eating a whole batch of my favorite Christmas cookies and lying to my mother when she was looking for them, saying they had fallen on the floor and I had to throw them away! Eating those cookies not only caused me to feel physically sick, but deeply ashamed and even afraid of how out of control I was with food.

So, my mastery friends, can you see that there is a fine line between the pleasure of enjoying treating ourselves and harming ourselves and our bodies with food?

Once we begin eating too many carbohydrates, our body and brain soon expect more. The treats raise our blood sugar, which then crashes, making us feel hungrier and wanting more instant satisfaction: carbs!  Our mind’s pleasure center gets aroused and also begins calling out for more of what made it feel good. We begin overeating but then the sugar imbalances our body making us feel bad. We feel out of control and ashamed.

There is a way that we can enjoy holiday treats, but we need to be committed to stabilizing our body and mind in order to do so, and we need to learn to truly enjoy the pleasure of the treats so that we are satisfied with smaller amounts.

STEPS TO TRUE PLEASURE

1. KEEP YOUR CARB ZOMBIE ASLEEP WITH A HEALTHY PROTEIN / CARB / FIBER BALANCE
   Nothing sets your body up for success like having your blood sugar and brain chemistry stabilized.  How do we do this over the holidays? Keep a powerful foundation of at least 50 grams of protein per day and strive to keep your overall carbohydrate intake under 150 grams. Also focus on getting at least 5-9 servings of fruits and veggies per day—ESPECIALLY DURING THE HOLIDAYS.
2. BEFORE THE SEASON STARTS, GET CLEAR ON HOLIDAY TRIGGER FOODS
   Trigger foods are foods that we already know we cannot just eat a little bit of.  For me, holiday trigger foods are things like candy canes, Andes Mints, frosting covered cookies.  I make sure that before the holiday begins,  those foods are NOT AN OPTION in my mind.  If I am clear with myself like this, then I can focus on the foods I can eat.  Keep trigger foods out of your house if you can: JUST SAY NO.
3. FOCUS ON A FEW HOLIDAY TREATS YOU CAN HAVE
   So often we put holiday treats in our mouth out of habit and not actual desire or need. Get clear on what are the few treats that really mean “holiday season” to you. If you got to January 1 and looked back at the holiday season, what are the treats that you feel like you absolutely needed in order to say: “okay now I have experienced the holiday!”
   
   For me that is gingerbread, a hot drink called a Tom and Jerry, and baked apples with custard.  These are all foods that I can enjoy with pleasure an in absolute moderation.
   
   What are your pleasurable holiday treats?
4. MAKE SURE TO ENJOY THOSE TREATS WITH YOUR PLEASURE FOUNDATION
   When you have your treat, make sure it is with some other stabilizing food in your belly, and not on an empty stomach when the sugar would impact your system more negatively.
5. MAKE SURE TO USE THE 3-6 BITE RULE
   Our mouths experience of any pleasurable food fades from 90% down to 20% after about 3 bites. Keep this in mind.
6. GIVE YOURSELF THE REAL PLEASURE EXPERIENCE
   Often we don’t even enjoy the holiday treats we do eat. We shove them in our mouth and hurry through them so quickly.  Make sure you slow down to savor and truly enjoy the indulgent pleasure of your holiday treat.

Before you eat your treat:

• Take a shift breath.
• Smell the treat and experience it with your eyes as well, enjoy it through all of your senses.
• SLOWLY eat the treat and indulge knowing that you are giving yourself this treat free from guilt.
• Finish the treat and feel proud of yourself for maintaining control.

I invite you to see how powerful these steps can be, enjoy a pleasurable holiday week!