Ways to Balance Health and Temptation

Temptation is everywhere and it is hard not to indulge in festive foods.  There will be very few people who can honestly say they don’t.  Many of us will give in to temptation and then feel disappointed when clothes don’t fit again in January.  But, over-indulging in typically less healthful foods not only contributes to weight gain, it can reduce our energy (we need plenty of that this time of year!) and reduces our beneficial nutrient intake.

I am unlikely to tell clients or readers “do not eat that” in relation to festive foods; so, instead here are five tips to help you balance these treats with the normal, healthful foods.

Healthful vs Unhealthful foods

1) Ask Yourself Why You Are Eating It

This seems like an odd question – the answer is normally “because it tastes good!”.  However, there are other things you could consider:

  • Do you really want it or are you just eating it because it is there?
  • How full do you feel? If you’ve just eaten a meal maybe you don’t actually need that extra treat right now as you’ve eaten (more than) enough already.  This could be especially important if you suffer heartburn or reflux.  Save the treat for later when you can enjoy it more and may be ready for a snack anyway.

2) Don’t Take The Whole Box or Packet Into The Room

This one is a biggie for me.  Having the box or packet of treats close to hand is so much more tempting than needing to go traipsing into the next room to find it.  For starters, it is right there where you can see it!  This can lead to mindless eating – your hand keeps going back in the packet, and then all-of-a-sudden you realise it is empty.  Sound familiar?

Put an appropriate amount of the food on a plate or in a bowl to take into the room with you and put the rest away, preferably out of sight.

3) Be Careful Where You Put Things

It looks so welcoming and decorative to have sweets and chocolates on the hall table or on the side board as you and others move through the house.  But, how often do you mindlessly ‘pinch’ one as you go past, ‘just because’?  Choose more decorative items for the bowls such as festive pine cone displays, or festive-scented potpourri to give that welcoming appearance without the temptation.  The treats taste so much better when you choose them with more intention anyway.

In the cupboards and fridge, think about your eyeline.  Put more healthful options (pre-prepared if you can) at this level and the temptations at a different level, and/or behind.  This way the first items you see will be the more healthful choices putting them to the forefront of your mind.  As they say in Phantom of the Opera: “Keep your hand at the level of your eyes”.

4) Choose a Range of Colour

No, I don’t mean different colour chocolate wrappings or sweets!  If you attend or host a buffet, ensure you include a selection of healthful foods in a range of colours (remember we should try to eat the rainbow each day).  Having these foods will help them stand out from the browns and beiges and make them more tempting.  Filling up on the healthful foods could also reduce the amount of less healthful temptations that you choose too – win, win!

Did you see my post about adding colour to a monochrome buffet table?  You can read it here: https://alible.diet/monochrome-buffet/

5) Portion Balance and Control

Think about how much you are eating and how you have balanced your plate.  A rough guide is that half a plate should be vegetables – is half of your daily food intake from fruit and vegetables?  While the 5-a-day mantra is still popular, we should be aiming for at least 7-a-day ideally with a split of 5:2 vegetables to fruit (with 5-a-day this should be 3:2).  A portion is about 80g.  To help you visualise that, this link contains a handy guide: https://www.goodto.com/wellbeing/health/five-a-day-portion-sizes-in-pics-63967

Ensuring you balance your daily intake in this way will help you to continue getting plenty of nutrients to support your health over the festive season.  Filling up on fibre-rich foods may also help you to feel more full and reduce the temptation of unhealthy desserts too!

If you do go on to dessert, think about the portion size.  Will you be eating a big portion of an unhealthful food just because it is there?  Could you go ‘halves’ with another member of your household (considering hygiene aspects)?  It may come in handy to remember the ‘rule’ to eat only until you are about 80% full.  This will help avoid problems of indigestion, as well as help you manage your sugar intake.

For tips on eating healthfully when you go out, take a look at my blog post: https://alible.diet/eating-out-healthfully/

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Remember that treats are treats and not normal food – we need to make healthful normal.  If you are likely to overindulge at Christmas, you won’t be alone but the above hopefully gives you some idea of how you can protect your health too.

Stay safe, stay healthy and have fun!

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