Why It’s So Hard to Say “NO” to Holiday Foods

When I was a kid and through my 30s, I looked forward to the holidays every year. It was a time when I had free rein to eat as much as I wanted–basically, the entire season from October to April was a licence to pig out.

Then, when I was diagnosed with candida, I had to cut out a huge portion of my “regular” foods. Suddenly, the holidays weren’t fun any more.

For many people, when the holidays roll around, it suddenly feels really difficult to say “no” to unhealthy foods, even when they were previously totally accustomed to their new diet , whether anti-candida, sugar-free, gluten-free, or with some other dietary restrictions.

What is it about this time of year that seems to dissolve our willpower and prevent us from sticking with the eating plan we’ve been following the rest of the time? Is it something within us that’s being affected, or is the influence from outside of us altering how we eat?

I think it’s a bit of both. In today’s video, I talk about why we find it so hard to say “NO” to the foods we know we shouldn’t be eating at the holidays.

Question:  Do you find it harder to say “no” during the holidays? What are YOUR tactics to ensure you stick with your regular diet at this time of year?

Highlights:

• Why do the holidays present such a challenge when we feel compelled to break our usual eating habits?
• What’s the greatest pressure when it comes to eating traditional foods at the holidays?
• What’s hard-wired into us that makes us want to switch our eating habits this time of year
• How the human survival instinct relates to the way we eat at the holidays
• The Hierarchy of Needs and where our holiday eating fits into it
• How social networks affect our longevity
• How feelings of “not belonging” occur both internally and externally
• The best response when others urge us to eat foods against our best health
• The importance of having your “tribe” and how to create your own
• Question: how does emotional stress factor into this?
• How food is tied to emotions

Resources:

• UNTIL NOVEMBER 14, 2018 ONLY: EASY AS PIE THANKSGIVING PREP is FREE with one month of The Sweet Life! 
• New Facebook group: Healthy Eating Made Easy: Eat Well, Live Happily with Food Restrictions
• FREE Top 10 Quick and Easy Anti-Candida Diet Recipes
• Candida Kick-Start program
• The Sweet Life Club (ongoing support for sugar-free, gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free living)
• Living Candida-Free (Book)
• Anti-Candida Digital Cookbooks
• Individual Coaching with Ricki
• Subscribe to my YouTube channel
• Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
• Video: Why Is It So Hard to Say “NO” to Holiday Food?

Disclosure: Links in this post may be affiliate links. If you choose to purchase using those links, at no cost to you, I will receive a small percentage of the sale.

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