Summer bounty - load up on strawberries, blueberries, cherries, pluots and nectarines
Our greatest glory consist not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. ~Oliver Goldsmith
This weekend I fell off the path of mindful eating into a frenzy of gluttony. I blame July 4th since it's a happy summer celebration of sun, barbecues, and fireworks. I was fortunate to celebrate it at a mini-family reunion, but I consumed far, far more calories than I expended. It happens. (ok, it was my fault). Beat yourself up a little bit, learn some lessons, then swiftly move on to celebration recovery.
But first, let's answer the question that some of you are asking: is it possible to truly celebrate without overdoing it? YES -it is possible to have fun and enjoy yourself without gorging yourself and feeling terrible later. Now that we got that out of the way -
People like to celebrate with an abundance of the richest food and drink they can find. Historically, this made sense - food used to be limited in both variety and quantity so most meals consisted of the same old thing - like cabbage soup. A celebration was a chance to eat different foods (like meat) that provided a caloric and nutritional boost. However, we now live in a time where we get more than enough calories, so celebrating the traditional way just makes us fat.
But we still show our love for each other with fat food and sugar, and my family is no exception. I usually try to celebrate mindfully, but this time I only partially succeeded. Three days of gluttony left me lying on the floor Sunday morning lamenting how much I'd eaten. It's best to avoid excessive indulgence, but if you overdo it, it's not the end of the world. You can recover! Here's how:
What to do - Celebration Recovery
- Have a game plan going into the celebration of what you're going to eat and drink. The best defense is a good offense. But if you didn't do that, read the next few steps carefully.
- Plan exercise time. You'll never do it otherwise. Round people up for activities before the celebration even starts - schedule flag football games, runs, bike rides, hikes, etc. I found a July 4th race, and for those of us that participated, it was a great bonding experience and a funny future memory.
- Hydrate. Drink a lot of water. It will keep you feeling fuller so you won't be able to eat as much as you normally could.
- Indulge in fruit and salad first. Go nuts. It'll do the same thing as hydrating.
- Chew sugarless gum. You can't eat and chew at the same time.
- Slow your roll. After the first couple days of gluttony, take a good look at yourself in the mirror in your swim suit. It might prompt you to slow down the caloric intake.
- Dive back into your routine after the celebration. It's tempting to ease back into being mindful tomorrow, but jump right back in as soon as the party's over. Make sure you exercise, and lighten up on the food more than usual to compensate for the overindulgence.
- Figure out what you would do differently next time. Go ahead and feel guilty, but then move on.
You're human - you'll overindulge at times. Just be mindful and aim to make the time between overindulgences longer, and the actual celebrations increasingly less indulgent. You'll find you can have just as much fun, and you won't have to feel quite as slovenly and remorseful.
And don't forget what you're celebrating! Independence Day is earmarked to remember those that gave birth to the U.S., and those that keep it free. You can celebrate every day though! Click and remember our www.iraqwarheroes.com today.
