Creating Comfort around Chocolate this Easter

Easter is coming, and if your house is anything like my house, that means that the Easter Bunny is on his way with lots of sweet treats for the whole family to enjoy. 

While some people are excited for Eater treats, many people get very nervous to have additional chocolate and sugar in the house. Sugar is often demonized as the root of all of our health issues, but is it? Sugar is our body's primary fuel source. Every food we eat is broken down into sugar in order for our cells (including muscle and brain cells) to function normally. 

When we try and remove a single nutrient like sugar from our diet, it actually increases our desire for it. Then when you do "give in" and eat sweets, you may not be able to control yourself. While I wouldn't recommend eating sweets as your primary source of nutrients (you can try it, it would probably be a good learning experience, but you may not feel very good), normalizing sweets in the house can actually reduce your cravings for them and allow you to feel more in control. In fact, people who allow themselves to eat sweets when they want, without shame or judgement, are often better at managing their intake and are satisfied with less because it's always available. 

Looking to feel more in control around sweet treats this Easter:

• Don't restrict your intake. Don't feel like you need to eat up all your Easter treats just so you can get them out of the house. When you are craving a treat, eat it, and then move on with your day.
• Eat mindfully. Savour the taste of what you're eating. Use all your senses to heighten the experience. What does it look like, feel like, smell like, and taste like? Do you like what you're experiencing? Do you want to eat more? Eating is a more pleasant experience when we can slow down and really taste what we're eating. If you have kids, using your senses and talking about it as a family can be a fun way to encourage your kids to slow down and also eat mindfully.
• When you do eat sweets, don't try to compensate later as this will contribute to a restrict and binge cycle. Remind yourself that you don't need to eat less or exercise to "earn" your Easter treats and you don't need to burn off the calories later.
• Monitor the way you talk to yourself and talk about yourself around your kids. There should be no moral value attached to the way that you eat. You are not "bad" for eating sweets and you shouldn't feel the need to reward yourself with a treat if you've been "good". Eating a "bad" food doesn't make you a bad person. In fact, there are really no good or bad foods, so be kind to yourself.
• If eating treats on their own feels scary, include them with your meals. That way you're choosing to eat them when you're not too hungry. This can actually make the experience more pleasant.
• Remind yourself to regularly check in. How does your body feel? Are you still hungry or are you full? If you're still eating but you're full, is there something else your body needs in this moment? Remind yourself that the sweets will still be there later when you get hungry again. You don't have to eat them all now.

If you feel out of control eating sweets at first, this is normal. When your body gets used to the idea that sweets will be available whenever you want, your desire for them decreases and you can make a conscious decision to eat them rather than unconsciously devouring them just because they're there.

If you're feeling like there's no way you could feel ok around sweets, or you're not sure how to work through this on your own, I can help. Book your free 15-minute call with me and let's chat about how it would feel for you to reign in your sugar craving and feel more comfortable around all food.

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