Holiday Eating Suggestions

[Guest guest]

I know we are all concerned about the start of the holiday season,

that five-week stretch that seems to involve a lot of eating for many

people. So how do we CRONies survive the onslaught of " just try a

bit " , of " oh you're so skinny, you should really have some more " ,

or " are you sure you won't have some of…, " as we share this time with

family and friends? I'll offer a few strategies and suggestions that

have worked for me:

For close family and friends, just tell the truth. No sense in hiding

or being embarrassed about life style. Try to get them to support

you, to see that you are happy practicing CR (not to mention

healthy), then they tend to ease off. My family and close friends all

respect and understand my diet, even going out of their way to have

or prepare food that I will enjoy. And consider warning folks ahead

of time if you know in the past they have made a " special treat " for

you. No sense in offending anyone, right?

For business and social functions with people you don't know well, I

use food allergies as an all-purpose excuse as to why I don't eat

certain categories of food. I've even gone as far as to read entire

books on the subject, just so I won't say something stupid or

unreasonable about my eating. CR probably isn't a subject to bring up

with people you don't know well at a dinner party or other gathering

whose reason for being is eating. But a wheat or gluten allergy will

save you from a bowl of pasta, for instance. And a chocolate allergy

can save you from a lot of desserts, though you might not want to be

saved from that.

A few tricks that have served me well are:

1) Consider arriving a little late, avoiding the snacking and hors

d'ouvres at many gatherings. I know this isn't always practical or

polite, but if you can, it does work.

2) Talk. A lot. No one will want to see you talk with your mouth

full :-). Also, keep a plate with a bit of food on it, or better yet

a glass of something (sparkling water with lemon is my favorite) in

hand, to ward off those enthusiastic feeders of skinny people.

3) Tell people apolgetically that you were at another party earlier

in the day, so your appetite isn't so large; or if the party is early

in the day, tell people you are going to another one and want to save

room for that party, too.

4) Offer to help prepare or serve the food. Baste or carve the turkey

(goose, ham, etc.), mash and whip the potatoes, spoon out the

cranberries from the can. Your host will love you, and you'll be so

busy helping no one will notice if you don't eat much. I've carved a

lot of birds in my day, none of which I've ever eaten a single sliver

of. You can also offer to help clean up, which is often a great way

to minimize the temptations of dessert.

5) Do not polish off all the food on your plate. An empty plate is an

invitation to others to fill it (nature abhors a vacuum and all

that).

6) If you are feeling overwhelmed and VERY tempted, get up to use the

bathroom, to get a breath of fresh air, to check your voice mail, to

call a family member of close friend on your cell phone, or whatever.

Once alone remind yourself of what CR is, why you do it, and how

horrible you will feel physically if you try to eat the way everyone

else does. If you're new to CR, you may still be able to take down a

large meal, but if you've been at it even just a few months, you are

probably not capable of it, at least not without significant GI

effects. Trust me: don't try it.

7) Politely refuse any offers to take home leftovers, unless the food

happens to fit in exactly with your CR eating style. Odds of this, in

my experience, are very low, so just tell people your refrigerator or

freezer is already full, or you have so many other plans to be out

the food will spoil before you can eat it.

8) If anyone says something like " come on, be a man and dig in "

or " you gotta put some meat on those bones, girl " , just smile and

ignore it. Then make sure not to sit next to that person later.

Finally, remember that the point of these holidays is family and

friends, and not so much food. The food part was important

historically, because for most of the year people just weren't eating

much. Nowadays the food part is way overdone, and the true meaning

(at least to me) of being with people you love and care about, or at

least whose company you can enjoy for a few hours, is diminished. So

if anyone really pushes you, just push back with that idea.

Happy CRON eating,

Chriss

[Guest guest]

>Hi ,

>Not only was your advice excellent but also very entertaining! I imagined

>myself following your advice and I couldn't help but smile!!!

>Sigurd

I agree. Outstanding advice. I found the statement below to be absolutely

true:

" If you're new to CR, you may still be able to take down a

large meal, but if you've been at it even just a few months, you are

probably not capable of it, at least not without significant GI

effects. Trust me: don't try it. "

As someone said to me: you get the equivalent of a CR stomach staple! So

newbies, this will probably happen to you too and you won't have to work so

hard at CR after a while.

To all: my mother passed on this am. Thank you all again for all your kind

words and thoughts.