If you are like many of my clients you might be focused on reducing your sugar intake. How to avoid sugar during the holiday season? It’s not easy but here are a couple of strategies.
Depending on your reasons to abstain from sugar in the first place you might decide to stick with your sugar-free regimen even during the holidays. Bravo! In this case, I recommend that you stay focused on your intensions, on why you chose to do it vs. feeling deprived. I encourage people to set an intention every day. All it takes is 5 minutes of writing about how you want to feel at the end of the day. Do include a line or two about how great you feel when you stick to your sugarless eating style. The sense of accomplishment and achievement will be rewarding and will make you proud of yourself. From a purely nutritional point of view, this approach will also deliver the best health outcome for you.
When you decide to enjoy sugar
If the discipline required for complete abstinence is too restrictive or you fear it could backfire on you, don’t despair! You can get creative and making excellent desserts with healthy sugar substitutes. I use Erythritol
Whether you decide to abstain or substitute the important thing is to be a part of the celebration and have foods that you love available to you. Does it have to be sweet? If the answer is yes, enjoy it and let it go. Feeling guilty about it is not going to make you healthier.