ALT-1 Tips for Avoiding Easter Sweets
Easter is such a festive holiday, and those fun Easter baskets that are filled with all sorts of treats and sweets, and other goodies that are readily available and visible everywhere can really tempt a person and challenge their discipline. It can be hard to exercise restraint when you're surrounded by all sorts of delicious looking sweets and candies and everyone around you is stuffing themselves full of the goodies.The best way to avoid Easter sweets is by arming yourself with knowledge and ideas that can help you exercise restraint, avoid over indulging, and still allow you to partake in the festivities and enjoy some of the traditional holiday foods. .*Limit what you bring into your home -If you know that self restraint is a problem, make a decision that you're simply not going to allow a lot of sweets to come into your home. Most people who have difficulty controlling themselves know that they can't binge or over indulge when those things that are most tempting aren't even present in the home.
Make sure that your entire family understands your position on this. It won't hurt anyone to limit the amount of sugar they consume. You may all discover that you sleep better and have more energy because you don't eat so many sweets.*Don't prohibit yourself from eating any sweets -If you prohibit yourself or your family members from eating sweets, or from bringing anything into the home, chances are, you're all going to fall off that wagon when you aren't at home. Decide that you can have something every so often, and then make a decision as to that one thing you want. When you deal with sweet things as though they are a a treat that you can have occasionally, the occasion on which you do have that sweet will seem more special.*Look for other ways to satisfy your sweet tooth -If you've always had a sweet tooth, look for alternative ways to satisfy that craving. Substitute high calorie pastries or candies with fresh fruits. If you always loved ice cream, consider eating some sorbet that is made from real fruit. Consider making your own Popsicles by using fruit juice. You can also freeze bananas and grapes and they will provide you with a very satisfying substitute for high calorie sweets that have very little nutritional value.*Don't skip meals -Skipping meals is a good way to sabotage any attempt to eat a healthier diet. You get so ravenous that you look for anything that is within arm's reach. Often, the thing you reach for is something sweet because by this time, you're desperate to get some energy and sugary foods will give you a quick jolt.*Drink a lot of water -Water is a wonderful way to fill yourself up. It has no calories, and it will provide you with the best hydration there is. If you feel desperate for something sweet, look for a low calorie flavored water or sports drink. That will provide you with the taste of something sweet without packing on the calories or giving you a sugar high.*Limit the amount of sugar you use -If you're used to sweetening your coffee or tea, learn to drink them without any type of sweetener. The more you can ween yourself off of things that will trigger sweet cravings, the less tempted you will be to binge. Once you ween yourself off of your reliance or addiction to sugar, you won't feel so desperate to eat something that is sweet.
- Get involved in non-food related activities -
If you do things that keep you busy, you won't be as likely to think about the sweets you are missing out on, and you'll be too busy with the thing you're involved in to think about food at all. Do things that keep you away from places that can tempt you or that may encourage you to cheat. Go for walks, do some gardening, or get involved in some outdoor sports activities.
The key to dealing with the over abundance of sweets that are likely to be present all throughout the Easter holiday is to force yourself to discipline yourself. If you work at disciplining yourself ahead of time, you won't feel so overwhelmed and desperate when you have to do it at a time when you're surrounded by every type of temptation you can imagine. By disciplining yourself, you will learn how to be satisfied with a small serving of something or a taste, and as you become more disciplined about avoiding sweets at other times, you will notice how much healthier you feel because of your efforts.
