Article:
How to avoid the Easter sugar highs
by Roslyn Franken
Did you know that Easter is now one of the top-selling
candy holidays running closely behind our beloved Halloween? Whether you celebrate Easter
as a religious or secular holiday, or even if you don't celebrate Easter at all, it is a
time of year to celebrate the coming spring with all its new beginnings.
With all the fun also comes the
hard-to-resist array of sweet treats including the traditional hot cross buns, chocolate
Easter eggs, chocolate Easter bunnies, oh and did I mention chocolate?? This abundance of
sweet temptations makes it hard not to over-indulge, especially if you struggle with food
or weight issues or simply want to maintain a healthy lifestyle. So how can you avoid
these challenges? Here are a few healthy hints:
Keep holiday treats out of sight:
If you struggle with food or weight issues, it's likely that you find it difficult to
resist food when it is in front of you, especially when it comes to sweets. By leaving
bowls of candy or bags of chocolate eggs or bunnies or hot cross buns on the kitchen
counters, coffee tables or anywhere else where it is in plain view, you are putting
yourself in what I call a "dangerous food situation". If you see it,
you will be more likely to eat it then if it is out of sight.
Don’t let the office sweets
control you: The workplace poses challenges for those facing food or weight issues with
people bringing in their treats to the office. Sometimes there is a specific treat table
set up just for this reason or people leave the treats openly visible on their desks. If
you know you will have to pass by the treat table or talk to someone with treats on their
desk, pop a sugarless candy in your mouth beforehand. If your mouth is already filled and
busy with the sweet candy, you will be more conscious of putting anything else in your
mouth and be less likely to reach for the treats mindlessly.
Avoid being over-hungry: Whether
you’re entertaining or a guest, be sure to eat regular meals throughout the day so
that you’re not a bottomless pit by the time the meal or treats are served. Arriving
over-hungry is again a "dangerous food situation". Instead, have a
small healthy snack and some water to partially fill your stomach before the main meal so
that you are less likely to over-indulge on both the meal and the sweets.
Minimize
stress: As Easter is a time for family gatherings, you may be susceptible to undue stress
with the typical high expectations of how the family gathering “should”
go. You may believe that everyone “should” get along and everything
“should” go perfectly from the perfectly cooked ham or lamb to the perfectly
behaved children. However, expectations don’t always meet reality. Let go of your
need for perfection as this will only create unwanted stress. When you’re
overstressed, you will be more likely to turn to food for comfort and over-indulge in too
much of the less healthy choices.
By avoiding these dangerous food
situations and minimizing your stress, you will be able to enjoy a sweet but much
healthier Easter with far less of the sweets and other over-indulgences than you would
normally experience. Happy holidays!
Roslyn Franken helps people who need
guidance and support to make smarter food and lifestyle choices. Roslyn has overcome her
own food and weight issues and has helped many others through her personalized coaching
program and professional speaking services. She counsels clients worldwide by telephone
and email who are ready to build a healthy and positive lifestyle maintainable for a
lifetime.
Roslyn Franken is the author of The A List: 9 Guiding Principles for Healthy Eating
and Positive Living, and host of the How to Thrive after 35 internet radio show.
To purchase The A List book and for more information on
Roslyn Franken’s personalized coaching and professional speaking services, please
visit www.roslynfranken.com.
For more Healthy Hints, sign up for Roslyn's FREE Healthy Hints newsletter at www.roslynfranken.com.
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Roslyn
Franken is author of The A List: 9 Guiding
Principles for Healthy Eating and Positive Living. She is a Weight Loss Coach and
Motivational Speaker on positive living solutions for positive results for greater health,
success and quality of life. She hosts How to
Thrive After 35 Internet Talk Radio and is co-author of Death Can Wait: Stories from Cancer Survivors.
Diagnosed
with cancer at age 29, Franken fought back to become a long-term cancer survivor. Then at
age 39, at her heaviest weight ever, and concerned for her health, she decided to fight
back once again, only this time to overcome her battles with food and weight once and for
all.
Roslyn
owns Roslyn Franken Group, committed to helping people lighten up their lives one bite at
a time by reaching and maintaining a healthy weight, balanced lifestyle, and positive
outlook.
For
more information, visit www.roslynfranken.com
or view her video at http://www.roslynfranken.com/highlights.wmv
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