When October hits it brings
with it the anticipation of the upcoming Holidays – Halloween, Thanksgiving and
then to top them all, Christmas. I love this time of year (although
summer is still my fav). The beauty of the outdoors with the changing
color of the trees, the smell of autumn in the air, the crunch of the leaves
under my feet. It is time to pull the decorations out from storage and
fill our home with ghosts, goblins, pumpkins and turkeys. The smells from
a fall scented burning candle are in the air and as the days get cooler, the
thought of curling up in front of the fireplace with a warm cup of tea or cocoa
are very appealing.
In just a couple weeks now the
doorbells will be starting to ring and little creatures of all different shapes
and sizes will be standing at our doorsteps with open pillowcases or plastic
pumpkins saying those magic words, “Trick or Treat” and patiently anticipating
a candy bar to be dropped into their waiting pumpkins! Its fun and cute
and I LOVE interacting with all the little goblins that show up at my door, but
I am always left in a dilemma about giving out candy.
It hasn’t always been this
way,, but since I am now a Health Coach and have learned more about I ill
effects on sugar in our health I am in a quandary as was to do this Halloween
season. I have the option of not buying into the candy biz and turn off
my lights and watch spooky movies downstairs with my family (I did opt for this
last year), I could just go against my conscious and go ahead and give the kids
what they want (it is a tough battle to fight), or I could get and do
something different – but what?
In case you think I am over
thinking the funness of the holidays let me share with you some fun facts:
A – Both the World Health
Organization and the American Heart Association has lowered their maximum
ideals on how much sugar we should be consuming daily. They went down to
only 25 grams per day which is about 6 tsps. In order to determine who
many teaspoons are in a gram, take the gram and divide by 4. Start doing
the math – you will be surprised. The average person consumes 22
teaspoons a day with
a teen consuming upwards to 34 teaspoons per day!
B – The other fun fact is that
it is not fat making us fat – sorry low fat dieters – but it is our sugar consumption.
We are OUT OF CONTROL with the average American eating 180 pounds of sugar per
year!! We are all feeding on a food that is killing us. It is what
makes us fat, leads to heart disease, diabetes and even Alzheimers!
There is hope and it begins with
YOU!! Here are 6 things you can do now to begin lowering this crazy sugar
consumption:
1 – Drink Water.
Many times our sweet cravings are our bodies way of saying it’s thirsty, so
reach for some water when you are wanting to dig into the candy.
2 – Eat some sweet veggies, fruit and
spices. We have taste buds that are sweet and so in order
to satisfy them – reach for those whole foods, the kinds that our bodies
actually know what to do with. Foods like squash, yams, carrots, beets,
berries, figs and apples. Cinnamon, coriander, nutmeg, cloves and
cardamon.
3 – Eat more protein.
It’s important to get a good balance of protein – to little or to much and lead
to sweet cravings. So play around with this one and find your sweet spot.
4 – Get rid of Fat Free.
What are manufacturers putting into foods when they take out the fat? Yep
– sugar! Fat helps us feel full and satisfied and sustain our appetites
longer. I am talking healthy fats, Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, nuts, seeds,
Avocados.
5 – Exercise. Moving
your body releases stress and makes you look and feel great. After a
workout your desire to eat junk goes out the window.
6 – Find the Sweetness in your life.
Many times we settle for a cheap candy bar when we really desire a nap, a
connection like a hug, time to relax and read a book or take a bath. What
fuels you what can you incorporate in your life that brings sweetness?
Begin making a list of those items. Work up to 50 items on your sweetness
list and next time you want to dig in your kids Halloween bucket, grab your
list instead and do something sweet for you!
Now you mamma’s out there, let
your kids enjoy their trick or treat time, it is fun, my kids will go, but have
a plan for how much candy your child will consume daily. I usually let my
kids pick out 20 items they love and the rest get donated in a buy back program
or I will give them money instead so they can buy a fun toy that will not be
damaging their health. Get rid of the candy out of the house! If
it’s there the temptation is to eat it – donate it or just throw it out in the
trash, that’s where sugar belongs anyway!
If you loved this blog
post you’ll definitely want to GRAB a FREE copy of my Action Guide at my website www.beautifullydesignedwellness.com, that shares my time-saving secrets for a health
life as a busy mom of five children.
For more suggestions on staying
healthy through the fall and holidays – check out my 10 Steps to Have a Happy
and Healthy Fall. It’s my gift to you. And I would love to hear
your ideas on how you handle the sugar this time of year.
Radiating Health,
Sheri
Certified Health and Wellness
Coach
and Busy Mom of Five kids!
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