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Do you use parties as an excuse to eat
whatever you want and not care about your
health?
I used to use parties as an excuse to indulge
and not care about what I was eating.
I would tell myself, "I deserve to live a
little and let loose".
So I would stuff myself starting with first
course appetizers all the way into the final
serving of desert.
This was my party, care-free attitude and how
I behaved at ALL the parties I went to UNTIL I
started to pay closer attention to what my inner
thoughts were really telling me.
I remember one party in particular where my
"inner voice" spoke to me loud and clear and
changed everything...
Somewhere in the middle of my party
"indulgence" (I think it was in between the
guacamole and 7-layer dip pig out session) that
I realized...
that even though I gave myself permission to
NOT care about what I was going to eat that day...
and even though every one else around me was
pigging out and stuffing their faces right along
with me...
I still couldn't shake that feeling of guilt
that I was hiding underneath my party, care-free
attitude.
And my inner voice asked me a question, "Are
you having fun?"
I heard that voice just as I was stuffing
a fully loaded, fried tortilla chip into my
mouth and that question stopped me mid-munch.
I realized at that very moment...
I WASN'T HAVING FUN!
Even though I was smiling and talking and
pigging out with all my friends, I was filled
with guilt about HOW I was treating myself.
I realized that I was using the excuse that
I was at a party and therefore I didn't care
about my body or my health... but that was I
lie.
Deep down, I did still care.
And I was lying to myself when I said that
I didn't.
It has been several years since I made that
first realization that even though I'm partying
and celebrating life, I STILL CARE ABOUT MY
HEALTH AND MY BODY.
And I have since learned ALOT about how I can
STILL enjoy partying without being flooded with
guilt.
I'd like to share with you some of the best
tips I have found to eating healthy at a party
so you can have fun and enjoy yourself WITHOUT
eating crap that you KNOW is bad for your health
and for your weight loss.
Tip #1: NEVER ARRIVE HUNGRY
You know that there is going to be all the
"bad" food when you arrive at a party. There's
always greasy chips, fattening dips and
chemical-filled deserts waiting for you as soon
as you walk in the door.
So eat a meal BEFORE you get there.
Fill up on a natural meal with a low-fat
protein, and healthy carb, and lots of vegetables.
The protein will keep you full longer and the
vegetables will curb your cravings because your
body will be getting the vitamins and fiber that
it needs.
And it's even better if you can eat 2 or 3 meals
BEFORE you arrive at the party.
Meaning if the party starts in the afternoon,
you should eat a healthy, natural breakfast with
protein, and then a 2nd meal like a protein shake
with berries, and maybe even a 3rd meal like a
green salad with salmon and brown rice.
When you eat every 2-3 hours STARTING as soon
as you wake up, this keeps your blood sugar levels
stable and keeps you from craving high-calorie,
sugar filled foods that will shoot your blood
sugar too high and make you store fat.
If you've already had 2 or 3 meals BEFORE you
arrive at the party, you will have A LOT more
control over the desire to eat all that processed,
high-calorie food that is bound to be there.
Tip #2: BRING YOUR OWN FOOD WITH YOU
There's nothing worse than being trapped at a
party where the only food available to eat is
food that you know will send your blood sugar
skyrocketing up and make you store fat.
YOU are in control of your health, and you
can't rely on other people to feed you.
The only way to know FOR SURE that you will
stay on track to losing weight and eating healthy
is to bring your own food with you.
Bring some fruit and a bag of natural, unsalted
nuts. This is a great way to get you through
your "munching desire" when there are lots of
chips and unhealthy snacks around you.
Eating crunchy, healthy nuts is just as fun
as eating those greasy, fried chips... in fact,
it's MORE fun because you know that they are
tasty AND good for you.
If you know that you are going to be at the
party for a while, you should bring a natural
low-fat source of protein to keep you full for
longer.
The easiest source of natural protein I have
found to carry with me, is to boil eggs and peel
them at home. Then put them in a tupperware
container and when you're ready to eat them, just
scoop out the yolks.
Egg whites are a convenient, inexpensive and
very portable source of protein. You can take
them with you anywhere.
And if you want to make sure there is a
healthy complex carb available to eat, bring
some rice cakes with you.
Rice cakes are simply brown rice that's been
pre-ccoked and this makes them portable and
very easy to eat.
Now, most parties usually have some vegetable
source, but you never know how they are going to
be cooked (vegetables are good for you, but
vegetables covered in butter and cheese is NOT
good for you)... so bring a bag of those pre-washed
salads with you as well.
Between the egg whites, the rice cakes and the
bagged salad AND your fruit and nuts to snack on...
You've got 2 or 3 meals to get you through the
day which means you can spend all day partying
and having a good time while STILL following
your commitment to healthy eating.
Tip #3: WATCH OUT FOR THE MIXERS
Nothing adds calories into your diet faster
than alcoholic beverages.
Any form of alcohol is a "calorie-dense" food.
At seven calories per gram, it packs almost
twice as many calories as either carbohydrate or
protein. And when too many calories hit your
system at once, this is what causes your body to
secrete insulin and store fat.
This alone is a serious obstacle when you’re
trying to lose weight but those bowls of chips and
high-calorie snack food can also be made more tempting
when your inhibitions are down...
(this is where having those HEALTHY snacks you
brought along with you will save you from loading
up on high-calorie foods just because you have the
urge to munch).
If you do chose to indulge and celebrate with
some cocktails, be sure to stay away from those
high-calorie, sugar-filled mixers.
Drink a vodka tonic with a twist of lime or,
if you can handle it... vodka on the rocks with
a twist.
And to really cut down on calories, add some
sparkling water to your wine. That's what they
do in a lot of European countries and they
actually prefer their wine this way.
Alternate between a glass of water and an
alcoholic drink throughout the day, and you will
cut down your calorie consumption in half!
Tip #4: EAT EVERY 2-3 HOURS
When you don't eat, your blood sugar levels
drop down too low and then your body sends out a
very powerful, "I NEED LOTS OF CALORIES" signal.
This is why you crave high-calorie foods when
you are starving, because you know from past
experiences that these are the foods that are
going to shoot lots of calories into your system
at once... BUT THAT IS WHAT MAKES YOU FAT!
Too many calories hitting your system at once,
sends your blood sugar levels spiking, and then
your body stores fat and then sends out another,
"I NEED LOTS OF CALORIES" signal.
This is what that "sugar crash" is all about
and why you continue to crave more and more
high-calorie, high-sugar foods the more you eat
them.
In order to stop the intense desire to eat
unhealthy, high-calore food... you have to give
your body a continuous supply of healthy, natural
food.
Small meals of natural food trickle the right
amount of calories into your system without
overloading your body and forcing your body to
make fat, while still giving your body the calories
it needs to live.
When your body has the RIGHT amount of energy
from calories, it doesn't send out this powerful
"EAT LOTS OF CALORIES" signal.
Your body is happy and content, humming along
with all the good natural energy you are
feeding it continuously throughout the day.
So eat every 2-3 hours, ESPECIALLY when you are
surrounded by unhealthy, high-calorie food like at
a party.
Nothing will make you break your commitment to
yourself faster than having low blood sugar from
not eating often enough throughout the day.
Eat small, natural meals every 2-3 hours and
you will walk past those chips and the desert
tray without an overwhelming temptation to eat
them.
Tip #5: HAVE FUN!
Let me ask you a question...
Why do you enjoy going to parties?
I'm sure you go to parties, like most women,
to have fun, let lose and celebrate life with
your friends and/or family.
So if that's your main objective, then that's
what you should do!
The more engaged you are in good conversation,
laughing and enjoying yourself the less likely
you will be hovered around the food stuffing your
face...
And the more focused you are on letting lose
and having fun, the less likely you will be lured
into eating out of boredom.
And by NOT pigging out, what are you missing out
on really? You know what it feels like to pig
out and eat way to much of the food you know is
bad for you.
You know what that momentary instant-gratification
is all about... is it really worth the guilt and
the fat storage?
Ultimately, only you can decide. But I have a
feeling that you are going to have a much better
time by enjoying your friends and family than
pigging out... again. And then feeling bad about
it... again.
Remember WHY you're there - to celebrate life
with the people that are most important to you
in your life.
So embrace the celebration attitude!
Have as much fun as you can... dance, sing,
laugh, play games, have deep conversations and
intimate moments... really absorb yourself in
the enjoyment of it all.
You have made a commitment to yourself that
you are a person who makes healthy choices, but
that does not mean that your life has to stop.
There IS a way to live a healthy lifestyle
and still enjoy the most that this life has to
offer... in fact, you will find the further
down this road you go that you get MORE enjoyment
out of life when you are living for health.
I wasn't born being a healthy person.
I had to learn how to change my choices in
life, one situation at a time.
I've written a book to take you through the
process of transforming your body, your mind
and your spirit for a LIFETIME of health.
I'm sure that if you spent over a decade
experimenting, exploring and researching the best
ways to lose weight and get healthy, then you
would probably come to all the same conclusions
that I have.
But I'm hoping to save you from some of that.
I want you to have the "fast-forward" so you
can START LIVING a healthy life in a body that
you love without having to figure it all out on
your own.
You CAN still enjoy life and KEEP your
commitment to a healthy lifestyle.
You will find that by doing both, you actually
have MORE enjoyment from life... because you
feel good about the choices you are making.
When you make healthy choices, you are telling
your body, your mind, and your spirit, "I care
about me. I'm taking care of myself."
And this habit of taking care of yourself and
giving yourself love changes EVERYTHING... and
all the positive changes you see continuously
inspire to you give yourself even more LOVE.
It's a continuous feedback loop that grows
bigger and bigger and never ends.
Your positive growth has already started.
I believe in you.
Until next time...
Keep making positive choices and stay focused
on the positive direction you are headed.
Your Friend,
With Love and Light,
Andrea
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