MY Top 5 Guilt-free Christmas treats
When you give up dieting, you let go of the idea of having good days and bad days, which also means you let go of food-related guilt. Abandoning semi-permanent dieting allows treats back into your life, creating a balanced approach that makes you feel amazing without being deprived.
It is a fact that different foods have different effects on our health, and when you decide to create a healthier lifestyle, it means eating more nutritious foods, and less of the foods that have little or no nutrition, and higher amounts of artificial additives.
At this stage of our lives, it’s really worth doing because food has the power to change not only our health but how we feel, as well as easing many menopause symptoms.
This is exactly what the ladies who’ve appeared on my podcast have experienced. After switching to a healthier diet they feel more energetic and more alert. Their moods improve, they sleep better and their motivation returns. These benefits are truly life-changing. Feeling so great gives them a huge incentive to make healthier eating a long-term commitment and, suddenly it becomes easier because it’s something they want to do.
However, there is still room to eat food you love and join in with Christmas celebrations. In fact, learning how to incorporate your favourite ‘non-healthy’ foods is important.
Banning foods rarely works. You know full well when you try to avoid chocolate or mince pies, you want them even more. The willpower vs cravings battle is always lost. Giving in turns into giving up, and self-control goes completely out the window.
But maybe it’s time to break the pattern this year and give yourself permission to enjoy the foods that make Christmas special for you.
This can feel like a terrifying strategy if you’ve spent decades trying and failing to control your eating. But taking the pressure off yourself by letting food rules go is a massive relief.
I made random food rules for years and became exhausted with it. Being obsessed with what you can and can’t eat can literally take over your life. Yet it was pointless. I broke every rule and was consumed by guilt and the enormous effort to back on track.
The amazing thing is, that when you stop trying to control everything, food starts to lose its power over you, and the mental freedom that comes is incredible.
The way I help my clients do this is to encourage them to be really discerning about what they want to eat. First, ask yourself what you most love. What are the foods that truly bring you joy?
Then, ask yourself what foods you think you want, but aren’t actually bothered about.
This is a really interesting exercise. We often eat things because they’re there and when we stop and think about our answers, we realise there aren’t actually many things we truly enjoy, and a lot of things we eat for the sake of it, bring us very little pleasure.
Here are my favourites. As a reformed overeater, I couldn’t get to 5 and resorted to cheating on the last one to include two different types of chocolate!
My Top 5 Christmas Foods That I’ll Be Eating without Guilt
Brandy Cream. In coffee. On Christmas pudding, On it’s own.
Christmas Pudding. I’d rather eat the pudding than the dinner itself, so I’ll be leaving plenty of room for this course on the day.
Cheese. Any type. There will be plenty of times when I’ll just eat a plate of cheese, nuts and chutney for lunch and/or dinner.
Champagne Truffles and Liqueur Chocolates. I don’t drink alcohol, but I’m happy to eat it and I love it in chocolate. I hope Tim or my daughter read this and I get some for a present…, but if they don’t, I’ll go and buy myself some!
Christmas food I can take or leave
I’m happy to indulge in my Christmas favourites, but I don’t want to eat for the sake of it. Over the years I’ve had many Christmases when I’ve stuffed myself with all sorts of rubbish, which I didn’t even enjoy. I detest the feeling of force-feeding myself food that’s just there, then being cross with myself and eating more as a punishment.
This is not a vanity issue about gaining a few pounds. It’s about feeling physically sick, being bloated, gassy and suffering from constipation. My sleep is affected and the food hangover the next day is awful.
Eating that way makes me feel terrible, physically and mentally, and these days my goal is to feel great every day. I’ve changed my mindset around food. I want to be healthy, but I also want to enjoy the food I love.
The interesting thing that’s come out of this approach is a growing list of foods I’m not bothered about. If I’m going to treat myself, I want a truly decadent, worthwhile treat. I’m not going to eat something fatty, sugary and calorific, knowing I won’t even enjoy it. The more discerning I become, the less I need willpower to avoid these things. I simply don’t want them.
These are some Christmas foods which are in this category. Eating them wouldn’t be a treat, so I find I’m much less inclined to bother eating them.
Mince pies. I’ll make some for the family but I’m not that fussed. I think I had one last year because I needed something to put the brandy cream on.
Celebrations, Heroes, Roses, etc. The quality of chocolate isn’t great, but boy they are addictive. And I hate the way supermarkets push them. Not buying them is a protest. I’ll probably have the odd one, but I’m really saving myself for the champagne truffles….
Pork Pie/Sausage Rolls/Pigs In Blankets/Brown Party Foods. Brown, bland party foods are everywhere at Christmas. They might look tempting, but they never live up to expectations, so I won’t be eating any. For canapes, give me a smoked salmon blini, or I’ll just be happy with the cheese!
Biscuits of any type. I’ve never eaten a biscuit that knocks my socks off. And whoever wants just one? Not for me thanks.
MAKe CONSCIOUS CHOICES ABOUT WHAT YOU’LL EAT THIS YEAR
It all comes down to making conscious choices about what you do and don’t want to eat. Eat what you love, balance it out with your normal meals, and focus on feeling great. If you do overdo it, so what? Break the cycle by dropping the guilt. Tomorrow is another day, just move on and make your next meal nutritious and you’ll soon feel great again.
In my book, I talk a lot about learning to say no to pressure to eat from others. We buy and eat food just because it’s there, because others are eating it, or because we’re being told to (for example by advertising). When we eat unconsciously, we often don’t notice or even enjoy food - what a waste of calories!
Making conscious choices simply means being present when we eat, and deciding what we do and don’t want, and how much of it we want. It does take some practice, but it is an effective way out of the mindless binges and guilt that are so often a feature of what should be a wonderful time of year.
Make this year different and enjoy it on your terms.
Change your food mindset and create healthier habits for life
At the end of January, I’m running a 10-week programme designed to change your dieting mindset and break the yoyo dieting cycle for good. The programme includes recipes and meal plans, a 10-week beginners exercise programme and coaching exercises.
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