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Food Guilt During The Holidays

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Can you believe that today is the last of October? That means that Thanksgiving is only three weeks away and right around the corner from Thanksgiving are all the wonderful holidays celebrated around the world such as Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanza. By the way in Canada Thanksgiving is celebrated in October!

During this of the year, many of us may experience something I would call food guilt. Meaning you feel guilty for eating badly during the holidays. But bad is something you should not feel during these special days especially when these holidays are meant to be a time of coming together and a time of joy. With that joy comes delicious foods and a variety of foods! Some of us may cook traditional foods during Thanksgiving such as turkey, stuffing, ham, sweet potato casserole, and some people put their own spins on Thanksgiving cooking creating dishes that they like and enjoy. For me, I love doing a mix of traditional and non-traditional foods during Thanksgiving.

Now when it comes to food let me tell you I used to be scared to consume so many calories during these holidays and be overly full to the point that I couldn’t buckle my pants. I used the think that during Thanksgiving you have to eat a lot of food but actually, you don’t. There is no rule that says you have to eat 3 plates of food during the holidays. The best way to approach eating during the holidays without feeling any guilt about it is to start with one plate of food and go in with the mindset of portion controlling how much food you take, then after that, if you feel like you still have some room for more then take another plate but do not overeat and most importantly allow your body some time to digest your first plate.

You should be able to enjoy what you eat during the holidays without feeling restricted. Eating is all about balance, find your balance and enjoy food!

Written By: Vanessa J.

Why is sugar so bad? Sugar is not your friend

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Well guys , it is the holidays and Christmas is literally less than four days away Whew! I know with everything that has been happening in 2020 we are looking forward to the holidays. One thing some of us look forward to is having our SWEETS! Yes I said it SWEETS. For most of us it all really starts with Thanksgiving, and we are not usually working on our summer bodies at this time. I always have a sweet and a lot of the time I have to remind myself to get that under control and not go overboard. With that being said now I will let you know all the reasons why sugar is not your friend:

1. Too much sugar consumption leaves the door open for many diseases and disorders

2. Too much sugar in diet can cause you to crash and feel sluggish

3. Too much sugar in the diet opens the avenue to Type 2 Diabetes due to an excess in sugar in the body can lead to insulin resistance

4. More prone to cancer

5.Weight Gain

6. Heart Disease

7. Arthrosclerosis and so much more

Now that you know why sugar is not your friend , how are you going to work on limiting it in your diet? To start always read your nutritional facts label that is where you will find out how much sugar is in your food. Also keep in mind if a food item is more than one serving and you eat more than one you will consume more sugar per serving. Try other alternatives to sweetening your food such as honey, agave, and stevia. I’ve even heard now that there is coconut sugar ! It is recommended that men should have 37 grams or 9 teaspoons of sugar a day while women can have 25 grams or 6 teaspoons of sugar a day according to the American Heart Association. Now that is not a lot so you can see why controlling our sugar cravings is so important. Make sure this holiday not to splurge to much sweets but also enjoy what can in moderation. Happy Holidays! Stay Safe

Check out my Youtube Video on why Sugar is not your friend

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Blogmas Day 18 – Keeping Christmas Simple

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I love the holiday season even though Thanksgiving is my most favorite holiday because I just love to eat! Over the years I always kept Christmas pretty simple. When I was younger I love Christmas and opening presents. But as I got older and into my teens there were Christmases that I did not receive any presents and that was ok because to me I just loved spending time with friends and family. I still continued to buy gifts, especially for my younger cousins because I wanted them to enjoy Christmas but it wasn’t a big deal if I didn’t receive anything. My goal was just to see everyone else happy.

This year now that I have a child all the holidays are extra special. At first I wasn’t going to buy a tree but then my husband was like we have to get a tree it’s our son’s first Christmas. So we decided to get a 4ft tree and just buy Christmas lights no ornaments and it looks just as beautiful as any other tree. Sometimes during the holidays we set up to much expectations for ourselves and get stressed out. But the beauty in the holidays is already there and all we have to do is keep it simple!

Our Christmas Tree!

Blogmas Day 16 – Let’s Stay Hydrated

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You hear it pretty much all the time drink 8 glasses of water a day. Even though it seems simple, it’s not always easy to do. Many times I have even struggled to get in 4 glasses a day. Why is that? I’m not sure so people say that it is because they do not like the taste of water, or water is just plain for them. To be honest I love drinking water it’s refreshing but sometimes I do forget and have to remind myself.

When you do not drink water, the body becomes dehydrated and it can happen very quickly. Our bodies need water because our cells need water to carry out its functions in the body. Water is the most essential part of life and we can only survive 3 days without water. Thank goodness we can obtain water from other food sources but there is nothing like drinking water itself.

While I was completing my nutrition coaching course there was a chapter on drinking water and it brought up some interesting things that I didn’t associate with not drinking water. This part of the chapter explained that not drinking water can actually cause some of the most common symptoms we experience just because the body may be dehydrated such as heartburn, backaches, and headaches. I will leave the link below so you can read about this:

Reference:

http://www.watercure.com/wondersofwater.html

Remember this holiday and into the new year to stay hydrated!

Blogmas Day 14-The Holidays

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It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Probably almost everywhere we go or any store you go into you will hear this song. For many of us it is the most wonderful time of the year. My favorite part of the holidays is being around my family and now with my baby boy here the holidays are extra special. But for many people this can also be the most stressful time of the year, with the year coming to an end, it’s also a time for reflection. For me I always like to think about all the things I was able to accomplish. During this time of the year, let’s remember to spread kindness because you never know what situation someone may be facing in their personal lives. Happy Holidays Everyone! Be safe and take it easy!