Holidays are great. Times filled with family, laughter, fun, EATING! It’s also a time when weight loss momentum slows, or worse stops completely. A few plates of not so healthy foods can send you spiraling downward emotionally. If you’re dieting, that can destroy (admittedly destroy is a harsh word but you get the point) you. So what do you do? How do you handle those few fleeting moments of indulgence, perhaps over indulgence?

I’ve faced that moment plenty of times. I tell you the worse part isn’t the food. Oh no… It’s the guilt that comes with it. Guilt is a cruel and unrelenting monster. It can crush your spirits. Make you fearful to “get back on the wagon.”

Remember what you’re doing isn’t dieting. Diets are temporary. We’re creating healthy lifestyles. Part of that is learning how to deal with not so healthy choices. Learning how to balance nutrition and exercise.

Keep it in perspective. Yes eating healthier would’ve been better. Or at least having smaller portions. In the grand scheme of your healthy lifestyle, that second piece of cake or sodium laden food was only one or two (hopefully no more than two) meals that weren’t the greatest this past week. If you’re eating 4 to 5 meals a day, then the holiday meal was 1 – 2 meals out of 28 to 35 meals for the week. It’s not the end! Just a minor setback. Stop beating yourself up!

Don’t allow guilt to stop you from moving forward. The meal is done. It’s in the past. All you can do is resolve to make some great choices going forward. Remember we’re not dieting we’re creating healthy habits!!