Move it Monday.
Davina
16 Comments
Halloween is coming.
And so are a bunch of other food holidays...
Sugar is around every corner. Lurking everywhere just waiting for us to walk past so that it can jump out and scare us into having a little nibble of sugar or maybe a whole pound of sugar. Halloween candy has been calling our name for over a month and before this week is out wal-mart's aisles will be stocked with all of the baking necessities a girl could want. I walk past that canned pumpkin every time I go to the store for 4 months of the year. I have a super dooper fantastic recipe for pumpkin bread...when I make it I eat almost the whole loaf with a gallon of milk. It's that good.
Then it's Christmas and the shortbread stars that my Grandma made start to call my name. They are a family tradition. I love to make them. They are very tasty. My mouth is watering.
So...in order to help us all through the next couple of months, I've been scouring the internet. I've been to a few sites. I've found a few ideas for your defense against the sugar months. I'll list them at the end of this post for your reading pleasure. In the meantime, I'm going to list a compilation of what I found.
Hints and tips:
#1-Don't buy any candy. I know you want to. I know you think you'll save it for the little trick or treaters or for that candy dish on the side table at Thanksgiving. We all know that there will come some reason to open that candy bag and consume the entire thing before any holiday gets here. Buy the candy you need on the day of the holiday, if possible. Your thighs will thank you.
#2-Eat healthy snacks. This is the one place that will snag me up if I don't stock my house with something healthy to eat. I'll end up grabbing a piece of candy. That will last me about 5 minutes so I'll go get another one. And now I have that weird candy taste in my mouth so I'll get another one...anyway, you get the picture. I've posted healthy snacks here on my blog before. Make sure you have some in your house. Just say no to candy snacks.
#3-Eat a healthy dinner and don't skip meals. Make a plan to create and eat a healthy dinner together. Try to make it as colorful as possible. A salad with all kinds of greens, a grilled chicken breast, some mixed veggies...
#5-Brush your teeth. When a candy craving hits you, brush your teeth. You'll be surprised at how many things don't sound very good to eat when you've just brushed.
#6-Healthy sugar. If you just have to have sugar make it a healthy option. One of my faves is vanilla yogurt with strawberries.
#7-Drink lots of water. I have not been drinking my minimum of eight glasses of water a day. I think it's affecting me in lots of ways. One of them being that I eat more than I should because I think I'm hungry when I'm really super thirsty. Today, I'm getting back to drinking more water. I put a 16oz glass of water by my sink with a post in on it that has the number 2. Everytime I finish that 16 oz glass I'm going to put a new number on it, next will be a 4, and then a 6. I have to drink four of those glasses to get my water intake at it's minimum. Now, every time I walk into my kitchen, I'll be reminded that I need to drink.
#8-Leave something on your plate. When I'm paying attention enough to what I'm eating, I remember to leave something on my plate. It sounds like a little thing but it will totally help you to eat less.
#9-Have only one piece. When your kids come home from trick or treating with their boatloads of candy, don't sit down and have a feeding frenzy. If you must have a piece, have just one and walk away, put it away. Most times when we have a craving for something we really just need a small taste of it to satisfy ourselves. For some reason we think in order to be satisfied we need to have a house sized version of whatever we crave...we don't.
#10-Eat pumpkin pie instead of pecan pie and brussel sprouts instead of green bean casserole. Think about what foods you're making and consider whether or not there is a more healthy alternative.
So this almost feels like a review of the year so far! All of the above links and some of the ones below are from Move it Monday posts! This is it everyone! We've got all of the knowledge to get through the holidays...let's use it and stay healthy through this last stretch of the year. We can do it!!
How to NOT eat halloween candy:
avoid a sugar induced coma this halloween
eating healthy during the holidays
healthy. LIFE.
Reader Comments (16)
Know what my parents handed out on halloween? Pencils. Yes, I said PENCILS!!!! I felt like the biggest loser EVER ... but with 3 diabetics in the house (2 boys and dad), it just kept temptation away. Looking back, I see wisdom in that .... it's not around to tempt us either.
Oh, so I went to water aerobics again today .... it was the arthritis class because it worked best in my schedule. I got some looks, but verified one does NOT have to have arthritis to attend that class. ;) Anyhow, It's been great to get back in the water. I LOVE swimming, but getting my head/hair wet makes me cold, and water aerobics doesn't involve that! Plus the yoga classes are at terrible times for my schedule, and this is getting me back in the habit of going to the Y. :)
Oh, on pumpkin pie .... my mom's friend makes it with squash ... crazy, eh?
walked for an hour today with erik b/c the weather was so nice. a bit brisk, but fairly pleasant.
and had some more good news today, so I walked for another 30 minutes (2 miles).
where IS everyone else???
Hi Karen! Here I am! I have no idea where I've been!
I'm so happy Davina, that you highlighted this topic. Usually this is a very scary out-of-control time of year for me. I'm feeling pretty confident going in that I'll be okay as I am still off of sugar.
I want to tell you guys that it is not that hard. There are sugar alternatives for baking (Splenda, Agave syrup), things sweetened with fruit like dates (snack bars). So if you feel that craving you can still have something to get you through. I was at the store just wanting some candy so I got some Reese's peanut butter cups that are sugar free. They taste just as good but WARNING, they are made with sugar alcohol instead of sugar. If you eat too much it will mess with your digestive system (GAS)! What a way to self regulate...hmmm...
Also, once you get past the first few days you don't CRAVE sugar as much so it is easier to pass up. I've also found, now that I'm off wheat, dairy and sugar that it is easier to say "I'm not eating wheat" than to say "I'm on a diet". One is psychologically easier to live by than the other.
By going off wheat that immediately eliminates things like cookies, crackers, scones, most baked goods that aren't good for you any way.
You all know how long it took me to go off the sugar. Overloading at my son't bday party on a wheat free but sugar filled cake grossed me out enough to commit to getting off sugar.
Oh! One more tip. I found this book call The Diet Cure and it talks about how we eat to fill cravings in areas our bodies can produce enough ourselves. L-Glutamine amino acid is a supplement that blocks the signal for those cravings. I've been taking that and GABA which is a calming amino acid. They help! Check out the book or the website for more info. Everyone has different needs and this book addresses them all. Their website is super informative too.
Hope I'm not blabbering too much! I'm going to go for my walk now. :)
Walked three miles with my friend who walks FAST! We were done in no time!
Also remembered that molassas is a good alternative sweetener. I use it in oatmeal.
Today...a massage. :)
Biked to school to my K's Halloween party. Stopped off at the coffee shop for a salad lunch. It is a perfect fall day! 2.5 miles pulling the trail-a-bike.
been doing the butt clinches.
anyone looked at those reebok shoes that tone your butt while you walk??? i don't even wanna find out how much those puppies run!
oh, and going to a halloween party tomorrow where i have to bring a bag of candy, but have NOT bought the candy yet. YES!
Davina,
I was reading in better homes and gardens, and this jumped out at me:
http://thinnerware.com/
It might make a cool prize? A set or two of these? Or a gift certificate?
I think it's a crazy-cool idea, and I've yet to find smaller plates for our house. We're thinking about these, anyway....
:)
so, i walked to the store to get halloween candy (2-ish miles) ... and got some mini granola bars to hand out ... I feel that's a good compromise on the candy/treat front.
walked another mile .... on my way back from a halloween party. my rents went to the party w/ me, then left earlier, so I walked home.
PLUS I had to take my 3 bags of candy and all the trick-or-treaters took the candy, so I have no leftover candy! :)
Forgot to post yesterday, I did my sit up tape!
Then walked with the trick-or-treat gang.
Had two pieces of sugar free candy.
Found out I lost 5 pounds since I went off refined sugar!!!
Today we did a family bike ride, 6 1/2 miles.
Love those clocks changing.
Might not love it at 5pm when it's dark!
did some yard work, to the tune of 2-hours of it ... and some squats. the squats make my legs ache a bit, but it's cool.
my weight is hovering at my previous low, which is nice.
is there a specific amount of time it should plateau before i look to drop more? i don't want to be one of those people who drop too much too fast. i wanna be healthy and good to my body!
Laura and Karen, You are rockin it out! I'm am not! I'm eating way too much and I can't stop...that halloween candy is killing me!
Laura I am so impressed that you are still off sugar... wow! karen, I'm going to check out the thinnerware that you posted about...