Be a Party Girl, Without the Party Pooch ~ Simply Healthy

It would happen EVERY year. The holidays would come along and all self-control (and reason) went out the window. I remember the evil little voice inside me saying, “Come on, it’s a party!” or “It’s okay, it’s the holidays, indulge!” and the almighty “You deserve it”. Fast forward to after a couple glasses of wine and the voice would say, “Well, since you’ve come this far, you might as well go for it and really blow it!” Please tell me I am not the only one who hears these types of voices.

I remember feeling the guilt of the choices I made the night (or even week) before as I would drive to the next evening’s festivity. My guilt and bruised self-esteem would allow the voice to kick in and say, “Go for it Amber, after all, the holidays only last a couple of months. You’ll get back at it in January!” But after too many holidays that left me feeling run down, sick, pudgy and depressed, I decided enough is enough! So for all you people, who feel enough is enough, read on!

I discovered there are ways to not only ENJOY the holidays, but preserve and perhaps rediscover your self-worth while dropping a pant size. YES, ladies, it is possible to actually drop a pant size (or more) through the holidays and I’m not talking about buying a pair of spanks or getting it sucked out of your gut. Seriously, how amazing would you feel if you didn’t gain one single pound this holiday season and you didn’t have to do the dreaded “d” word (diet)? This is the year, my friend!

Here is the first tip and the essence of my personal “party animal” mode for the holidays. I never, ever (did I mention NEVER) show up to a party or event hungry…EVER! The “old self-sabotaging” Amber denied herself all day in order to save up calories for a party. Some of you are chuckling, because you know EXACTLY what I am talking about. Somehow the math added up in my head that if I barely ate all day then I deserved to eat and drink uncontrollably and it wouldn’t affect my weight. Unfortunately our body’s metabolism (that some of you claims has STOPPED) doesn’t appreciate this type of behavior and it will ultimately backfire (if it hasn’t yet, TRUST me it will!). Not only will you consume more calories, your body will REFUSE to efficiently burn those calories because of the deprivation that happened earlier in the day. For those non-believers, read on!

How many of you are mothering a cute little “pooch” around the mid-section? Ladies, pooches are cute, but only if they bark quietly and poop outside the house.
Have you ever tried to “lose” (I prefer the term release) weight and no matter what how many calories you cut or how many painstaking hours you spend at boot camp, the weight is just NOT coming off…or at least not in the places you want it to come off?
Are you tired?
Are you bloated?
Would people say you are moody? (Don’t take your opinion for it, ask someone…but please don’t bite their head off if you don’t like the answer.)
Are you feeling depressed or unmotivated?
Are you not sleeping well?
Not pooping? (Oh yes, ladies I said it and we need to talk about it!)

All of these things can be linked to our obsessive behavior of calorie counting, deprivation and then binging. This is NOT going to get us the body and health of our dreams.

So in order to be in control of every situation and make decisions with our heads and not our empty stomachs, we have avoid living in the EXTREMES of being either stuffed or starved.

Here are some basic guidelines:

Eat breakfast, even if you are not hungry. Be sure it is low-glycemic and whole food based.
Drink water all day long. Dehydration = hunger.
Eat every 2-3 hours after breakfast. Some of you calorie counters are about ready to have a heart attack, but trust me, it works.
Have a light snack immediately before the event.

The result of these small shifts in behavior will be an increased energy level. People will be commenting on how great you look rather than asking you “what’s wrong”. (“What’s wrong” usually means “you look like poo.”) You will enjoy the true reason you love to attend parties in the first place which is to connect with people you love and meet new people you can love!

So what’s the worst thing that could happen if you follow this advice?

· You have one or two glasses of wine instead of a whole bottle.

o You save yourself from being “that woman” at the holiday party that people are talking about the next day.

· You choose a small side plate and fill it with a sampling of what is being served and you actually look at the food, chew the food and appreciate the taste the food, rather than acting like an animal eating out of a trough.

· You carefully choose a dessert on the dessert tray and because you are so full, you split it with a couple of friends and perhaps have a bite of one of their desserts.

· You leave with your dignity and your pants stay buttoned on the drive home!