"But it's a Holiday... I'll just splurge today..."

All I can say to the title up there is... "blah... blahh...blaaaaaah!"

Been there... done that... and where did it get me? Almost 150 lbs overweight... that's where!!!

We overweight people have an excuse for EVERY eating occasion... don't we?

"It's my Birthday... I deserve a piece of cake!"

"It's the Holidays... I can't diet during the HOLIDAYS!"

" I HAVE to eat lunches with colleagues at work...surely I can't find healthy things on every menu!"

and my personal favorite...

"I can't give up grains and dairy, my DOCTOR says I need the fiber and calcium... so this won't work for me!"

All I can say is... OH REALLY?

If all those excuses are true... then WHY are there skinny people in the world, that eat at restaurants with colleagues, and during the holidays, and many don't eat loads of breads or dairy...Why?

Because they have learned to eat... because they know that dairy and breads aren't NECESSARY for life.

Don't get me wrong... I adore BREAD!!!!  I love making it every single day... I love feeding it to my family... I love selling it... but my body DOESN'T enjoy it.  MY system GAINS WEIGHT on it... then I crave more of it...and a vicious cylce ensues...

To lose weight and keep it off successfully, we MUST learn what we can and cannot eat on a regular basis. 
See bread and dairy AREN'T BAD FOODS... but if severely limiting them or doing without them altogether results in lost weight, and better digestive health, and lower blood sugars, etc... then THEY AREN'T VITAL FOR YOUR LIFE...and you can enjoy the OTHER multitudes of foods to feed your body. 

Calcium does not only live in dairy.  You can get lots of calcium from almonds, spinach, broccoli, peas, white beans etc...

Fiber lives in all fruits and veggies...

Going to restaurants isn't an excuse to eat badly... salads with protein and dressings on the side, or steaks with no butter and extra veggies in place of potatoes, drink water or tea, skipping appetizers fried in vats of oil, and passing on the bread basket are EXCELLENT ways to eat with friends and family, enjoy their company and eat well too...

Holidays are great... but they sure aren't an excuse to eat junk... neither are birthdays...  We all turn another year older whether we eat cake or not... it inevitable.  Eating well is a sure way to have MORE BIRTHDAYS.

Changing our eating habits (emphasis on the word HABITS) is just that... CHANGING HOW WE EAT ON A DAILY, MINUTE BY MINUTE, YEAR BY YEAR basis...  After all the weight is lost... we just CAN'T go back to eating our old way... or all the fat will surely come back...

Once in a GREAT while... it's fine to eat a piece of cake or a little ice cream... or even a sandwich... but be sure you are far enough along in your LDL lifestyle plan that you are sure you won't want to eat more and more and more after one meal...  Food has powerful triggers... and it plays tricks on our minds...

Enjoy this long weekend... and make good choices for yourselves... and feel good about those choices after all the fireworks are lit... You'll be sooo glad you did...

Happy 4th of July everyone!!!