Dealing with Appetizers

You are longingly looking at your holiday favorites and saying, "Just one or two more bites won't hurt." One little bite may not hurt but frequently it's just the beginning of excessive eating. Holidays and social events certainly don’t make adhering to a healthy eating program any easier. But this is life and food will always be around to taunt you one way or another.

You need to determine if you are simply giving yourself a way out and rationalizing to yourself so you can indulge freely. Is that you?

Try this instead. Ahead of time, before the event, determine if this could be a problem for you. Will you really stop at just a few bites or will it trigger a cascade of overeating through the rest of the day? Only you know the answer to that. If you cannot stop eating then it would be better to work on another strategy for dealing with these temptations. Some people might be better off eating a little so there isn’t the deprivation issue.

Other simple strategies might be to move away from the food, focus on the people and conversation, or even step outside, bring your own healthy alternatives you can eat without guilt, eat something healthy prior to your event, or go to the bathroom for a few minutes just to reflect on your decision.

Readers what works for you and why does it work? What other strategies can you use to deal with the appetizers?