RE-THINKING THE UPCOMING "PIG OUT" SEASON

"I can do without this!"

"I can do without this!"

"I can do without this!"

IT'S NOT TOO EARLY TO APPPLY THE BRAKES

 

I believe that most of my eating for the next six weeks will be simply "because it's there!" Usually, there is not a lot of thought going into it. Whether it is another all-you-can-eat buffet, another box of homemade Christmas cookies and candy or another celebration breakfast, lunch or dinner, it seems that I am about to enter another "eating my way from Thanksgiving, through Christmas and into the New Year" tunnel that I always live to regret on New Year's Day! This far out, I can already hear my doctor saying, "Hey! Ron! You need to lighten up on the sugar!" 

It occurred to me that a lot of my eating, especially from now to Christmas, has at its root the tradition of "rewarding people with food." My mother always did it! My sisters used to do it when I visited them over the holidays! My friends do it! My parishioners did it! Their philosophy always seemed to be, "If you like somebody, feed them! If you like them a lot, feed them as much as you can!" 

When family and friends give you gift certificates for restaurants, big boxes of fudge or invitations to dinner to show their love, don't try to show your appreciation by accepting their gifts and eating as much of it as possible right there in front of them! Your last line of defense may be to ask for a "doggie bag" even if you don't have a "doggie!"  That's why "freezers" were invented! 

I usually fail miserably, but this year I am going to try to apply the brakes early when it comes to the amount I eat on any one occasion. Tasting a little of everything laid in front of me is better than trying to eat everything laid in front of me!! If I get three boxes of cookies, I will eat one cookie out of each box and serve the rest to my guests as fast as possible! When someone plans to give me a gift card and asks me what my favorite lunch restaurant is, I won't say "Panera's!" I'll say "Kroger's" because they sell vegetables and fruit there!  Another personal rule to implement starting at this time of the year is "don't bring it into the house!" This is especially important when it comes to ice cream. pastries and candies. I try to treat them like the addictive "drugs" they are! I don't trust myself being left alone with a half-gallon of ice cream or a pound bag of "M and M"s! 

Realize that you have a choice between suffering from a bit of abstinence now or suffering a lot later trying to get rid of all that weight! As they say, "A moment on a lips, forever on the hips!" Keeping weight off may be hard, but taking it off is even harder! Just stop and take a good hard look at it before you eat it and ask yourself, "Do I really need this?" Look before you leap! Think before you eat!