Christmas 2021

The holiday season tends to be associated with food. Many of us got caught up in celebratory feasts and nostalgic treats and we lose track of regular, healthy eating habits that serve us so well the rest of the year.

While it is possible to enjoy special occasion foods in moderation and maintain an overall eating pattern that supports health, this year my approach was – don't let food stress you out more. It is the season to gather with friends, family — and good food! 

Eating is more than the delivery of nutrients. We have cultural and emotional connections with the food we put into our body. 

The holidays are not a time to add extra pressure on yourself to eat a certain way. I believe that spending time with family members or friends you don’t typically see should be an enjoyable experience. An occasional indulgence during the holidays isn’t something to stress about.

This Christmas, wife had had to travel, and no kids were coming to visit. I was going to celebrate holidays with my two dogs.  The day before, text message arrived from my neighbors Karen and James inviting me to their house for Christmas dinner. 

The experience was incredible. All dinner meals were Louisiana style foods that I never had before. The food was great, and I enjoyed their company. The names of the foods that Karen and James cooked were difficult to remember, so I asked James to write them down for me and I am posting them here.  

Thank you, Karen and James!

Eat your way to weight loss and health

Today can be the first day of your healthier, stronger life. Focus on what you are eating and drinking today. Eating your way to weight loss and health is about real, unprocessed food. Food that makes your body say, “Thank you. This feels so good!”. Eating real food will change your life. Practically every single aspect of your life is about to get a major upgrade. 

When you upgrade your eating habits, the shift is immediate and profound. Withing a week, you will feel and see changes. You will start to feel better. Withing two to three weeks, you will start looking different. With a month, your blood tests and lab results can reflect all kinds of positive changes. So much can change in a short span of time. You will be amazed.

If you want to pick up just one or two small changes, that is fine, and it is better than nothing at all. You decide if you want to go step by step or make a series of changes. Either way is best if it works for you. Cold turkey approach worked best for me. 

Real food does not have to be boring and bland. It can be delicious. Switching to real food does not mean you are sacrificing flavor. You are simply upgrading your ingredients for the best of the bets. Also, once you switch to real food, you will notice that your preference change. After about two weeks, your teste buds regenerate. 

Real food is not fussy and complicated. It is the opposite of complicated. It is simple. Eating real food is all about ease and simplicity. You don’t need to measure portions. You don’t need to be obsessive about calories. You don’t need to spend twenty-four hours in the kitchen, following complicated recipes with dozens of ingredients. BTW, I do not cook. The most complicated meal that I ever cooked was scrambled eggs. 

It is time to break the cycle, kick the habit, and step into your new life of health and well-being. It is time for a permanent shift, not a temporary one. It is important to remember that is not a “five-week diet.” It is a new lifestyle, not temporary blip.

Follow the principles that worked me and others, and it will lead you into a new way of eating and living.

Thanksgiving is one day

I am posting a picture taken in the kitchen this morning. If you have or ever had a dog, you will understand it. Now a few thoughts on Thanksgiving.

If you want to enjoy your Thanksgiving holiday and stay on track with you wight loss efforts you are facing an impossible task. 

Many traditional Thanksgiving dishes, like turkey, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, and other veggie side dishes are pretty healthy choices so theoretically you can have a balanced meal at Thanksgiving. 

However, if you worry about your food intake because of your body image struggles and/or try to avoid added calories like deserts and alcohol you may become frustrated, less happy and miserable.

You don’t want to dampen the celebration by focusing too much on calories or avoiding certain foods when you are with friends and family for Thanksgiving dinner. It’s just one day!  

Yes, Thanksgiving is one day. Don't let the big meal become a big month or more of eating and drinking too much. Instead, splurge for the holiday, but get back to your healthy eating plan on Friday.

I know it is a radical departure from the thoughts that I used to share with you at Thanksgiving.

I just think that Thanksgiving Day is not the best time to keep thinking about nutrition and your weight loss efforts. Losing weight is different for everyone and on this blog, I share what works for me.

Understand that no one is perfect

While holding yourself and others to a high standard is important, it is also important to understand that nobody is perfect – whether it be your friends, your family, your co-workers, or yourself.

No one is perfect, even if we believe that we do things for the right reasons. We look at situations from our biased viewpoint, and we want to believe we are right, even when we may not be.

Life is not black and white, and people will have different opinions and react differently to situations.

There are no people that are one hundred percent good or one hundred percent bad – instead, we are a mixture of the two.

See the good in people – if someone is opinionated, they are passionate, if they are stubborn, they have strength.

If people around you make bad decisions, then try to look at this objectively by understanding the context and what made them do this.

Also, remember that you may be far from perfect and realize that you have many traits that people can view differently. 

No one is perfect, and this includes the ones that we love.

Always look on the bright side, and appreciate what you have – your situation in life is better than many others, and it is important to appreciate this.