Search
Close this search box.

Holiday Food and Weight Gain

For some of us it starts way back at Halloween. Some of us hold strong until closer to Thanksgiving. But for most of us, the holidays aren’t only about friends, family and celebrations, they’re about candy, cookies and desserts!

I have a good friend who pointed out something to me while our kids trick-or-treated one Halloween. She said that Halloween candy is like her gateway drug. Of course I laughed, but at that instant I had the light bulb go off over my head. She said that once she eats one piece of candy it’s all over. “What’s one more, it won’t kill me. I have it all under control.” Just like the person who says, “It’s just pot, it’s no big deal. I don’t do anything harder.” And the next thing you know, they’re shooting up heroin.

A tray of holiday cookies

I know that I can usually hold strong through Halloween. But I love to bake and when the holiday baking begins, it’s so easy to sample a little bit of everything. I’ve even convinced myself that it’s necessary to try it – just to be sure it’s tastes yummy. Halloween candy, holiday baking or dessert with every meal isn’t just the gateway to finishing off your kid’s candy while they’re not looking. It’s the gateway to gaining 5 pounds over the holiday season. It’s the gateway to not just falling off the wagon concerning your weight loss efforts, but in jumping off with both feet and screaming “Yahooooo!!!!” So if you don’t want to lose control this holiday season don’t let holiday treats become your gateway drug!

Tips for a healthier Holiday Season:

  1. Wait until the last minute to buy any kind of treat. If it’s not in the house, you can’t eat it.
  2. Have treats that you don’t like. Don’t like Pizzelles? Buy all Pizzelles. Don’t like chocolate (what!)? Buy all chocolate.
  3. Don’t hide candy from your kids. You still know where it is! If I leave it out but eat it all, my kids will notice and call me out!
  4. Get rid of leftover treats right away. Take them to work, give them away…anywhere but your house.
  5. Watch the sugar-laden drinks. Drinking your dessert in the form of a fun cocktail is just one more way to jump down the rabbit hole!
  6. Don’t say you’ll eat “just one.” Just one turns into another and another and next thing you know, you ate a pan of cookies and are slumped in your easy chair in a sugar coma. Not pretty.

Holiday Food and Weight Gain

Share this:
Facebook
Twitter
Email

Sponsored By

What to Read Next