So many of us look forward to yet so many of us dread. Some love the chocolate, some love the treats, whilst others are scared about releasing the cravings inside. Scared about losing control. Scared about the temptations that will be present. Scared about facing their reality. SO many of us deprive ourselves of all these treats. We do not allow ourselves to have the balance. We do not allow ourselves to indulge. We do not allow ourselves to be at peace with our actions. We allow the guilt to take over and the fear to kick in. The fear of it making us put on weight. The fear that it is not considered healthy. The fear that it will destroy everything you have worked up for.
But the reality is – it’s the fear and guilt that is killing you inside. It is these emotions that allow us to continue to be with constant #bodyshame. Continue to have a negative relationship with food. Continue to stop us from achieving our results. It is these emotions that will do more harm to our bodies than eating that treat or indulging over the holiday period.
Don’t allow these emotions to rule the show. Don’t give these emotions that power to take control and sabotage your relationship with yourself. With food. Do not allow the thoughts to dictate the way you view yourself or allow you to feel you need to restrict from indulging. This does more damage long term. We have all been there before. Where we restrict ourselves from eating certain foods for a long time and then find ourselves head deep in a food coma. The more you restrict and tell your brain you cannot have something the more it desires and the more you continue to think about it. Why not focus on balance? Focus on removing the guilt and fear that takes over when you do have that treat and replace it with happiness and appreciation. Enjoy the moment. Enjoy the taste. Enjoy the sensations! You will get more out of this than regretting every bite, allowing the guilt to eat away at you and fearing what it is going to do to your body.
This Easter the only guilt you should have is if you have guilt about feeling guilty for eating that treat. You know you that you shouldn’t feel guilty and that’s why you are feeling guilty for feeling guilty. That’s when you start to finally understand that you shouldn’t feel guilty. You understand you are allowed to indulge and have the treats. You are allowed to enjoy the break and enjoy the holidays. This is when your mind starts to shift and instead of feeling guilty about eating the treat you feel guilty about having that guilt as you know that you are allowed! If this happens just be present with it. Remind yourself that guilt does more damage to your body than eating that treat. Give yourself permission. Give yourself permission to indulge. To have that hot cross bun. To have that piece of chocolate. To have that piece of cake. Give yourself permission to do just that!
Start to retrain your mind and give yourself the freedom to enjoy life. To remove the restrictions and incorporate a lifestyle of balance. Give yourself some boundaries if you are scared about over indulging – allow yourself two Easter eggs instead of five or one hot cross bun instead of two. Compromise with yourself. Allow your mind to feel it is still in control but know it can indulge within your limits in order to avoid the over- indulging later on.
So this Easter instead of focusing on the fear and guilt of indulging, focus on enjoying the treats and being in the present moment. If you over indulge know that it’s okay. Do not hold onto the guilt or fear as it will cause more damage to your body. Allow it to be. If you do find you tend to lose control, look back at why this may be the case. Is it because you have restricted yourself before? Is it because you do not allow your body to have balance? Or is because you are not practising mindful eating? 9 times out of 10 it is usually one of these three options. SO in order to avoid the guilt, practice these few tricks during the break and find yourself taking back control and enjoying the treats you deserve to have!
- Take a deep breath before you eat
- Make sure you sit down and enjoy the food you are consuming (half the time we eat these treats standing up so we do not process we have had them. I know so many of us do not realise we’ve already eaten 5 Easter eggs before we register we are unwrapping another one)
- Allow yourself permission to enjoy the break and enjoy the treats
- Compromise with yourself- set some boundaries so you do not find yourself over indulging but still allowing yourself to indulge in the goodness
So my last question for you is, choc chip or traditional hot cross buns? 😉