Low Carb Holiday Survival Guide

Tips for surviving the holidays on a Low Carb Diet.

Focus on the people

                             

The holidays bring up a lot of memories and can also be strongly associated with certain foods. Remember that holidays are about the people you are there to see. Focus more on your friends and family and less on the food.

For those of us with a habit of turning to food in times of stress, the holidays present a unique challenge of added stress and readily available foods. Plus, family members and friends can sometimes add pressure to eat a certain way.

Challenges You Will Face And How Can You Overcome Them:

Knowing yourself and the situations you find most difficult to manage will help you better plan ahead and stay the course when they arise.

Ask yourself which do I want more? To eat things that can throw me off track and cause me to take days to recover from (and possibly feel sick during the recovery) or do I want to stay the course and not have to suffer the repercussions of eating things I shouldn’t have?

Communicate Your Needs:

It can be intimidating to share your way of eating with others, especially if it’s still new. If you bring it up ahead of time though, most hosts will appreciate your honesty. If you’re nervous, you could try employing a friend or family member to speak to the host on your behalf (especially if they’re the one that knows them better) or offer to contribute a dish.

For those closest to you, being honest about why you are turning down the food may be all they need to back down and offer support.

Prepare your response to being tempted:  Say, “no thank you.” Many people will accept this.

State Your Refusal Of Food In Positive Statements:

• Start with a positive: “I remember how good your (whatever is offered) is!”
• Insert your reason: “Unfortunately, my body really can’t handle carbohydrates very well”
• End with another positive statement: “But I can eat your delicious (a low-carb alternative)!”

Communicate with Confidence.

The way we communicate sends signals to the other person on how they should respond. If you are able to assert yourself with confidence, many people will realize “convincing” is not worth it. Some simple but confident phrases you can try are:

“I am sure it’s so good I won’t be able to stop myself.”

“Keeping to the diet is keeping me healthy.”

“Thank you so much for checking in on me. If I need anything I’ll let you know.”

Add Assurance:

At the root of why some people feel the need to push food, is from their fear that they also may be forced to change, or that things will be different now.

Assure your friends and family that this is a personal decision (you add your reasons why if you feel comfortable) and that you will not try to impose it onto them.

Allow them to eat what they choose, without judgement or commentary from you.

Avoid Temptation:

• Walk away from the tempting food. Even a quick walk can help you put things back in perspective.
• Know what you are safe to eat/drink. Plan your restaurant meal by checking their menu online.
• Share your favourite recipes. If you have the opportunity to bring food to a celebration it’s a great chance to show off how delicious low carb foods can be.
• Healthy snacks.Keep a diet-friendly treat handy. Keep a bag of nuts with you. They will satisfy your hunger and keep you away from temptation.
• Stick to proteins and veggies:The safest bet is to stick to protein like turkey, ham, and roast and roasted veggies like broccoli, french green beans, and Brussels sprouts.  Go for the veggie casseroles but first ask the person if it was made with flour or sugar added.

Alcohol:

Drinking can make sticking to healthy habits more difficult in many ways. For one, the extra carbohydrates and calories in alcohol add up. Further, drinking lowers inhibitions – which may make you more likely to eat off plan.

If you know you are going to drink alcohol, stick to lower carbohydrate options and consider using seltzer to cut drinks.

Did you know that alcohol, depending on the amount, is burned as fuel before MCT oil, ketones or body fat and take you out of ketosis?

Remember why you started your diet and how hard it was to get into this healthy state, that may help you resist temptation.

Holidays are for enjoying time with friends, family, and loved ones. If you do eat off-plan, take it as a learning experience. Forgiving yourself and moving forward afterwards are what matter and are the best plan of action for reaching your goals.

SOURCE:  Navigating Social Situations on Low Carb: Holiday Survival Guide

https://blog.virtahealth.com/navigating-social-situations-low-carb/

Please consider following Lydia’s Blog https://2healthyhabits.wordpress.com

For each Post the information will be the same the Blog, Facebook https://www.facebook.com/2healthyhabits/and my emails. In this Blog and FB you can search using key words.

 In this Blog I discuss the Ketogenic and GAPS (for gut health) diets, supplements and Super-slow High Resistance Training.

 If you are interested in following my postings, please click the Follow button to receive an email when the next posting is available. Hint: You may have to click the Accept and Close button before follow is available.

 Let me know you like the content by clicking Like or sending me a Comment.

May you Live Long Healthy.

Yours truly,

Lydia Polstra

416-428-5285

lpolstra@sympatico.ca

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/2healthyhabits/

Disclaimer: The content of this email or Post is not intended for the treatment or prevention of disease, nor as a substitute for medical treatment, nor as an alternative to medical advice. Use of recommendations is at the choice and risk of the reader.

from ketogenic-diet « WordPress.com Tag Feed https://ift.tt/2Bkr71t