So It’s Christmas Time. Even With Compromised Health You CAN Still Eat And Feel Great.
Need To Know How?
Oh the temptations of the festive season.
With people urging you to try…just a little, of something.
But the just a little urging can often add up to just a few too many, just a littles.
For those who follow a ketogenic diet, almost always for health reasons, such as type2 diabetes, irritable bowl syndrome, and Crohn’s disease, the in-your-face temptations can sometimes be overwhelming.
So what to do when we are tempted
Just have a little?
Or cheat and suffer the consequences?
Dr. Tony Hampton, a medical physician who writes for the Diet Doctor offers the following advice.
‘For those of you reading my column for the first time, I have two acronyms I use with my patients to help them focus on the things that can make them healthier. The first is “Protect your N.E.S.T.,” in which the letters stand for Nutrition, Exercise, Sleep/Stress, Thoughts/Trauma. The second is “Use your R.O.P.E. to get to your N.E.S.T.” The letters for R.O.P.E. are Relationships, Organisms, Pollutants, Emotions.
‘At this time of year, the “T” of N.E.S.T. and the “E” of R.O.P.E. can play an important role in how you approach carb temptations. How you think about the holidays and what your thoughts tell you about eating or not eating high-carb foods, can set you up for success or failure.’
My daughter is hosting Christmas dinner this year and her menu is probably not the best for two people with health conditions who will be eating at her table.
She is such a fabulous cook, and it will be difficult for them.
How do you say no to ham with a honey glazing, or oven-baked roast potatoes, pear and nut salad…and many worse things that I can think about?
And we haven’t even started on desserts!
Fortunately one of the diabetics is not foolish enough to eat the pavlova which I’m pretty darned sure will be on offer
But one is!
That worries me!
The thing is this. If you are married to say, a diabetic, or someone with IBS, it’s so important for both of you to be on board with what you can and will eat together, rather than one person following a diet that is out there and lonely.
That feeling of deprivation is a likely tripper, at any time, but especially over the festive season.
Which is where the ketogenic diet comes in, to be honest.
I personally would rather cater for the person with health problems, and supply a few dishes that can mask the very notion that anyone around the table is on a special diet.
Being at a party where everyone is indulging, and you can’t, is simply no fun!
People with health problems need to be in charge of what they put in their mouths and to do that, they have to have an understanding about what it is that allows them to waver in their intent when faced with carbohydrate-loaded food temptations.
It’s knowing, and dare I say caring about the price they will pay for their indulging that will help them shift their focus on what they CAN have, rather than what they can’t.
Dr. Hampton, himself a sufferer of IBS, in talking about his mother’s Thanksgiving meal says:
‘When you have a strong reason, it is easier to keep disciplined. Although I always want to honor my mom, I must first honor myself and — like my mom has done for me all my life — protect myself from harm. So my motivation, my “why,” was very clear — no abdominal pain.’
What to do is quite obvious. Eat what you know your body can tolerate, and avoid the rest.
‘My low-carb eating effectively eliminates my IBS, so I have a good reason to avoid the high-carb items. So instead, at Thanksgiving, I ate all the delicious low-carb fares: green beans, leafy greens, low-carb cauliflower mac and cheese, turkey, and ham. It was very filling and had only 12 grams of carbs. And even better, no after-meal stomach pain!’
I will do the same at Christmas.
There are two questions I’d like to pose here.
- What extras can a host supply in terms of food that will guarantee that everyone is catered for?
- If you have a health issue, how will you ensure that you come out of the festive season, having had a good time, and feeling healthy?
These sound like two deep questions, but I don’t believe they really are.
Still, I’d love to know your thoughts.