naked notes

Ok I admit it. I am craving holiday treats like never before, and certainly not like a Health Counselor is “supposed to”!  When it comes to sugar, I’m usually most likely to forge a battle with chocolate or ice cream, something creamy.  I’ve never been much of a cake kind of girl.  But for some reason, this season I can’t get cakes out of my mind!  And wow…‘tis the season for temptations all around…Apple Spice Cakes, Gingerbread Cheesecakes, Spiced Chocolate Cupcakes…need I go on?  Pare any of these with some hot chocolate or apple cider and it’s my personal disaster in the making, right?

Part of what I do is to help people deconstruct their cravings, and so certainly I’ve had to do a little detective work around my own.  I think part of it is the usual culprit – a little bit of emotional eating at work.  While I have a lot of amazing people in my life, something about the holidays does bring romance to mind and, as a single girl, it can get tough to swallow when you are always the one making for the odd number at the dinner party table.  So there’s that…and consciously realizing this has stopped me from going into at least one or two scrumptious looking Brooklyn bakeries.

But here’s the other thing that occurred to me.  In trying to determine what to write this week, I kept feeling obligated in my role to give you more tips that would inspire you to have a “healthier version” of your typical holiday.  Now don’t get me wrong…I really DO want that for you…and for myself.  But the truth is, sometimes we get so caught up in trying to eat well and “be good” that we forget that it can be an enormous part of living a healthy lifestyle to “be bad” every once in a while and simply enjoy that experience.  I think somehow this fascination with cake has been my body and mind reminding me of this concept.

“Being bad” doesn’t always have to mean eating too much unhealthy food.  It might mean not checking your email for a day, skipping the gym, sleeping in, taking a “personal” day from work.  I’m not talking about anything illegal here…just think of something that you normally “couldn’t think of doing”.  And then ask yourself “Why not?”.  What would it feel like to stop worrying about pleasing everyone else around you for just one minute?  One day?

So, just to be clear, I don’t really plan to just eat cakes and sugar mindlessly through the rest of the holidays.  I know what that would do to me, mentally and physically.  But I am not going to fear the temptation or spend a lot of time in the resist and regret cycle.  I am just going to trust my instincts, trust my body, and enjoy my choices for better or worse.

Before you get caught up in your New Years resolutions, and stuck on your new list of ways you plan to be good next year, I invite you to take at least one day before the end of 2009 to be BAD.  And please, share what’s on your list with me here!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Category: NY Eat IN

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