Refer back to whenever you are craving sweets

The ugly affects of binging:

bloating

thick throat

sick to stomach

cranky

guilt

weight gain

puffiness

weakened immune system

robs you of a good night's sleep

bad breath

FOOD HANGOVER

Ok...so I did experiment with food; however, I experimented with the wrong kinds of foods. The holiday party I attended offered a nonhealthy "frost your own sugar cookie station" with no limit as to how many cookies you could eat, sweet n' sour meatballs, and not to mention the cute little weenies wrapped in crescent rolls. Everything was fair game! I was doing just fine with not eating anything until Kelsey reeled me in by asking if I wanted to frost a sugar cookie. I thought...sure, why not. I haven't had sugar cookies in God only knows how long. I'll just have one. One cookie never ends up being just the one cookie. The one cookie turns into two and before I knew it I was taking two cookies and sandwiching them together with colorful green and red frosting, topping it off with sprinkles just to be sure it looked extra pretty before I stuffed it away in my belly. My brain hadn't gotten the "STOP NOW BEFORE YOU PUKE" signal so I kept right on going. I started feeling a little sick by the 13th cookie...or was it the 15th? I DON'T KNOW! I lost count! I tried some meatballs before diving into the cute little weenies wrapped in crescent rolls that were displayed on a cookie sheet, on the stove top. Before heading home I allowed myself a couple handfuls of none other than the most amazing bbq chips on the planet!!! I couldn't possibly leave the party without sampling everything! If it hadn't been for Kelsey I wouldn't have come home feeling like a big TOTAL piece of CRAP or written about any of this b/c it wouldn't have happened!!!! Grrr...It's amazing how awful I feel when I allow myself to eat like this. I've eaten so healthy for the longest time that my body screams at me whenever I feed it junk. I'm writing this blog right now in hopes that I can avoid this from happening ever again. Binging isn't fun. Binging doesn't make me feel good and there are ways I can prevent it. I've come up with a cheat sheet to help me get through the holidays and most importantly life! Social gatherings, unfortunately, do involve food.

• Eat a snack before you go to the party. It will keep you full and most likely keep you from snacking on holiday goodies.
• Always drink plenty of water. This means your stomach won't have room for 15 cookies, 10 or so meatballs, 5 weenies, and a couple handful of chips.
• Set goals. If you know there are going to be sugar cookies at the party aim to eat only 1 or 2. Shoot for one, but if you have to have two eat the second cookie, but then stop after that.
• Always carry around a deck of cards in your purse. If you had your two cookies and your eyes are still wandering...relocate (somewhere preferrably far away from the junk food) and suggest playing a card game with the girls at the party.
• Look at all of your options before diving into something. Try to choose the healthiest option. For example, I should have gone straight for the meatballs because they have protein where sugar cookies are simply empty calories.
• Know the 20 minute rule. Let yourself have one cookie, walk away from the scene, and once 20 minutes is up your body will be able to tell you if it can stomach another.
• Enjoy it. No--really! Focus on the sugar cookie you are eating and really taste it. Treat it like wine tasting. Really engage all of your senses and enjoy that moment of indulgence. Savor each and every single bite. It's more fun that way instead of just shoving food in your mouth. What's the point? Eating should be fun and enjoyable!

P.S. I know the blame doesn't go to Kelsey, but I couldn't possibly pin it on myself... =)