FOOD TRIGGERS: Plan AHEAD and Beat the HOLIDAY De-Rail and Getting you OFF TRACK!

Aha, you say, Linda posting THIS on her blog? Don't TORTURE us! Smile! Well, I have just initiated what for many of you, will be a FOOD TRIGGER! A Food Trigger is anything that sets off a craving for you to want to eat something, either from looks, smell, past memory of a feeling it gave you, or what I call, The HOLIDAY food trigger extravaganza!  

My goal is that you will learn that food triggers can be an awareness factor that help you be in charge of your eating during the holidays, so you DON'T have to make a New Year's Resolution because your pants are too tight, or you just don't feel good from ingesting too many celebration foods for months and months. (From October through New Years)

There is nothing wrong with having your fun  holiday get togethers with special treats, and enjoying some extra treats. But often, because of the addictive nature of sugar, once a person begins with Halloween goodies, they continue through New Years, over indulging, and many have a hard time getting back on their "healthy lifestyle quest!"  As you may have guessed, my goal is not to just get you to an optimal Weight, but to make choices to prevent disease, promote wellness, longevity, and to reverse one's aging process!

So be aware of food triggers all year long, but especially as the holidays emerge. It is SO difficult for those near their goal weight, just to lose 5 pounds gained over the Holidays.  So here are some tips to begin NOW to not fall in the trap, of the Holiday binging and setting off an unbalanced course of overeating. If you are like many, once you fall off the wagon, you say subconsciously, I've already "blown it," so let's just keep going. And this is faulty thinking, as success is not about the scale, it is about continuing to create a healthy lifestyle with food, exercising and mindset, even if we have to have setbacks to show us how to avoid FOOD TRIGGERS!


Begin to think:  What are MY own specific Food Triggers!  If it is having the food around you, put it in non see through containers, or just don't choose your favorite candies to give for Halloween, it will be less tempting. If smells create food triggers, from fresh breads to cookies, then perhaps you could bake when you are full, or not your all time favorites, or bake at someone else's home. You CAN bake you if you enjoy that.  I can make a deliciously similar chocolate cake, I would just use a wonderful non-gluten pastry flour, a high cacao count dark chocolate, the right kind of oil, and I'd sweeten with an unrefined sugar. The frosting, I have a special one, that is a mousse type. Yes, it is sugars, but anything unrefined is better than processed, refined and that uses ingredients like a  Ferrari on the Glycemic Index! Do remember,  if you overload on refined, white flour/white sugar products, (sugar is so addictive)  it may TRIGGER you into more goodies, but if you eat a full meal, and plan for a goody of healthier ingredients,  then you choose your destiny, rather than food and FOOD TRIGGERS choosing it for you.

Programming away from liking white refined sugar is the key to kicking the habit of letting it food trigger you continually. Remember, you can have a healthy Thanksgiving dinner. Just think about substitutions for some of the recipes you use, and overeat on the "legal," and graze before the real meal. If you are not eating small meals/snacks often, then you may really be food triggered into overeating! Eating slowly, also make you feel more full. So slow down your eating. Are you baggying your treats that are healthier, but still CARBS?!!  This saves me SO many times. And don't forget to adorn your holiday tables with veggie trays and fresh fruits! We always have pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving, but it is made w/just some "tweeks"  to make it actually a delicious but nutritious!  A trick, I often will do is to eat the inside of the pie and leave the wheat,white flour crust, and call it good! If you have questions on substitutions, ask me specifically in the comment section. I welcome that!

To be honest, the year I reprogrammed into my healthier way of eating, I did several things to help me reprogram. And, BTW, if you left an entire sack of different Halloween candy at my house, it would go stale. I used to love it, I don't now. I like HIGH END, top quality ingredient, NO refined sugar goodies when I am going to indulge. But remember, it takes TIME and TRIAL and ERROR to program to wholesome, whole, unrefined foods. Choose to do it slowly, or cold turkey. The choice is yours. I NEVER have more than ONE of even these more QUALITY made treats in the house at one time. I know my limitations. OR I baggy and freeze them. I eat before I go shopping, or to a party, and even take my own treat packed away, so I can eat my special yummy treat that is healthier, while still being a great guest! ONCE YOU PROGRAM OFF REFINED SUGAR, you have it made in the shade. Your taste buds change. You taste chemicals, refined sugars, and for awhile you still have a fantasy about it, but then it is replaced by the REAL DEAL, 5 star restaurant goodies that satisfy, and you will say, THAT IS TOO SWEET!  So perhaps this is the year, you will substitute ingredients, will always eat before treats, you will recognize your FOOD TRIGGERS and make PLANS to stop them in their tracks. And when you give in to them, NOT A PROBLEM! If you get back on your exercising, healthy eating the next day, you are a SUCCESS story. It is the mentality, I've fallen off, so it's TOO LATE! Not so! Life is a process, NOT an EVENT. If you stick to the process, the EVENT will happen. This is so true with programming to a healthier way of living. You don't eat an elephant in one bite! Awareness is the biggest catalyst to your success! I will be showing some food ideas, recipe switch a roonies, and giving you actual pictures! CHEERS! Let this holiday season be one enriched with family, friends and memories while you enjoy food, but don't let it be in control of your weight and wellness, because you recognize FOOD TRIGGERS, sight, smell, memories, mood, and being too hungry, can try and lure you into eating for the wrong reasons. If you PLAN for a treat, eat it and enjoy it. Once you understand the Power of FOOD TRIGGERS and take steps to handle them, it is such a good feeling. If you'd like to comment on what your particular food triggers are, please share, and I'll give you specific stategies. Let's begin our resolution for more optimal Health and Weight, NOW, 2011...Holidays and all. Thank you for being on the journey with me. It is so delightful as gradually, one's life changes, just because we realize that truly, WE ARE WHAT WE EAT. G'nite, and thanks for your support and stories! Hugs!