One of the most difficult parts of the holiday season is saying no to all of those delicious treats that friends and family will be bringing over. When you’re doing your best to eat healthier and eliminate the sugar and carbs, it can be a real test of your resolve to say no to all those See’s chocolates, fruitcakes, and glasses of eggnog during the holidays.
While we would all like to have an ironclad will and self-discipline that never fails us, there are going to be times when we give in to temptation and eat a lot more than we should. When that happens you shouldn’t beat yourself up too much because those occasions when you feel you’ve let yourself down are going to a part of the journey to improved health. Don’t let one or two days of falling off the wagon cause you to lose confidence in your self-discipline or weaken your resolve to take control over your cravings.
While self-discipline is one asset you need to develop in your battle against your cravings for unhealthy foods, an equally important strength is resilience, the ability to bounce back strongly after a setback, without losing your confidence or determination.
Resilience, in fact, should be thought of as equally important as self-discipline. They are two sides of the same coin. They work together, just like the two engines on a Boeing 737, thrusting you forward towards your ultimate goal of healthy living.
Recognizing these two engines within your personality will help you overcome the disappointment that inevitably arrives after you’ve over-indulged or failed to resist the allure of that Krispy Kreme donut a co-worker brought in to the office.
After getting invited to a Christmas party held at an all-you-can-eat buffet the other night, I found it extremely difficult not to overeat. Even though I was able to avoid some of the higher carb foods at the buffet like pot stickers, noodles, and orange chicken by filling up on lower carb choices like broccoli beef, garlic fish, and even sashimi, I still ate more than I should have.
Although these foods were lower in carbs than many of the other choices available, I still should have practiced some degree of portion control.
But because there was no externally imposed limit by the restaurant to how much of these foods I could eat, I went back for seconds and thirds, eating beyond what my body actually needed.
It was obviously not an example of healthy eating and I should definitely not have given in to the temptation of eating more than I needed. But all of that delicious looking food was sitting there right in front of me and it was already paid for.
All-you-can-eat buffets may be the ultimate test for anyone trying to stick to a diet. It’s just way too easy to overeat. But if your there because you’ve been invited to a party, well, unless you have the self-discipline of a Zen master, you are most likely going to fall to the temptation.
And that is exactly what happened to me. I started out by eating a few pieces of sashimi and a bowl of hot and sour soup. If I had been at a regular restaurant, not at an all-you-can-eat buffet, I would have finished eating that meal, felt satisfied, and continued on with my day. The restaurant itself would have imposed my portion control for me.
But when left on my own, without any external limitations on how much I can eat, it became a one-on-one contest of will against temptation, a battle between the opportunity to devour as much food as I wanted and my very own self-discipline.
It’s not a fight I would ever want to be in, but sometimes there’s no way around it due to holiday get togethers, birthday parties, or other social gatherings that you just have to attend. It’s part of the price you pay for having friends and family.
But just because you indulge more than you should at these types of gatherings, it doesn’t mean that you should think any less of yourself or feel bad that you were unable to resist the siren’s call of pot stickers, orange chicken, and noodles. All it means is that you are human, flawed, and sometimes you will fall short of what you expect of yourself.
Recognizing this simple fact will allow you to maintain your motivation and get back on track the next day or even the next hour. A great Super Bowl quarterback like Tom Brady doesn’t throw in the towel and stop playing the game after he throws an interception or two.
He brushes off the mistake and gets back to work immediately and refocuses his efforts on the next play, the next drive, and continues striving for the win. You should be no different in your quest to live a healthier life. Don’t let one visit to an all-you-can-eat buffet derail your success. Brush it off and get back to work.
