Resisting Holiday Desserts When You’re Trying to Lose Weight
Last Updated on December 15, 2019 by Paula
Worried that all of those Christmas cookies are going to sabotage all of your hard work to lose weight, exercise and eat healthier? Whether it’s being unable to resist dipping into the kids’ candy stash after hours, piling on too many desserts at the office holiday party, or going on a baking spree that ends up with you eating most of the goodies yourself… here are some ways to work around the temptation of sweets during the holiday season.
Steer clear of high-fat, high sugar goodies. That cheesecake may tempt, but unless you’re one of the few people with enough self control to take just a 2-inch cut, you’re likely not doing yourself a favor by digging into cream-cheese based desserts like this.
Don’t keep cookies in the house. What would Christmas be without cookies? Unfortunately for people trying to lose weight, their presence in the pantry or in their festive holiday tin can make things extremely difficult.
If you do plan to make cookies with the kids, be proactive about packaging them up and giving as teacher and neighbor gifts to get them out of the house and out of reach faster.
Some cookies are worse than others. Your holiday baking adventures can actually include homemade cookies made with healthier ingredients such as oats, healthy oils, whole grain flour, dried fruits and nuts.
Instead of chocolate chip or fattening peanut butter cookies, why not opt for a healthy whole-grain option like oatmeal cookies? Your family and friends will love them, and if you happen to nibble on a few you won’t have quite as much of the guilt or the calories and fat.
When all else fails, count the cookie binge as a meal. Sometimes you just can’t resist what’s in front of you. If you do happen to pop more than a few butter-laden sugar cookies or cave to the kiffles, you must now rethink your meal plan for the remainder of the day. Dinner should be a fresh salad, with maybe a few nuts for protein if you’re feeling like you need some real sustenance after all that sugar.
If you do fall prey to the temptation of Christmas cookies, all hope is not lost. Tomorrow is a new day, and there is still time to bag those up and offer to friends. You can always take the cookies to the office, the kids’ school, or somewhere that you know they’ll be welcomed. Less temptation for you, so you can return to your healthy eating practice and keep those pounds away for Christmas!
