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Happy Good Friday! It’s holiday time, which also means awesome-food time. But holidays tend to be a minefield for dieters.
I would be lying if I told you that while difficult, there is always a way to maintain your diet during the holidays. It’s just not true. There aren’t five tips that will magically make you healthier over the holidays.
The truth is, unless you’re hosting the holiday event yourself and are in complete control of the menu, there’s little you can do. You’re honestly at the mercy of whom you are visiting.
Well, now. That just sounds bad, doesn’t?
Instead of viewing holidays as hopeless and being at the “mercy” of whoever you’re visiting, maybe you should just cut loose a little bit and not worry.
Addison and I are visiting his parents this weekend, and the way my fiancé talks about his mother’s cooking—I knew I was going to eat well. Talk about delicious Southern food. She even let me look at her favorite cookbook, and boy was I in love.
But of course, Southern food isn’t usually known to be the healthiest. So what’s a dieter to do?
I figured I had a couple of options:
1) Ask for specific foods to be made for me and let them know what I will or will not eat.
2) Bring my own food and not eat what his family ate.
3) Only eat what I deem healthy and pass on the other foods.
4) Just eat in moderation.
Well, I’m not going to lie, being from the South the first two options sound INCREDIBLY rude to me. I would never even dream of being picky when visiting anyone’s home—let along my fiancé’s parents.
Number three may sound okay, but at the same time, I also think this could be rude. Unless there is something you’re allergic to or you know you just DON’T like/can’t eat, why be picky? If your Aunt Ethel makes you a potpie for dinner and it’s her favorite recipe, are you really not going to eat it?
Maybe I’m different, but the holidays are meant to be spent with family and enjoying life. I can’t enjoy life if I’m counting every single calorie, and my host can’t enjoy life if I’m being the pickiest guest in the world.
I’m not saying you should gorge yourself. But three days of non-dieting won’t kill you. As long as you don’t eat more than you need to and don’t over-indulge in the worst kinds of foods, you’ll be ok.
So this weekend, I’m not going to worry about food. Holidays can be stressful enough without having to worry. And you know what? If I gain a pound or two because I enjoyed myself getting to know my future in-laws, I decided I’m not going to fret about it. Life is too short. I’ve lost 15 lbs. A day or two won’t kill me.
Also, if you don’t hear from me in a couple of days, it’s because of this out of town visit. Not sure how much blogging I’ll get done, but I’ll try my best.
Email me anytime at NikkiRoberti@HerCampus.com or tweet me anytime @Nikki_Roberti.