Holiday Concerns page

[aeriel]

Hello!
I am new to the Primal lifestyle and am concerned about eating my holiday favorites. My family has a danish dish every year similar to pancakes and makes sugar cookies. I am going to eat it and am not looking for primal alternatives with this once a year 'feast' but I have only been eating primally for 15 days. I have experienced the low carb flu and it has been some what challenging to give up desserts. My question is, if I indulge over the holidays will I have to start my progress and 'withdrawal' all over again? I don't want to waste all of the hard work and progress I've made, but I also don't want to feel frustrated and deprived on Christmas. Thanks!

[EyeOfRound]

I took a break this summer and found that restarting was easier - no carb flu symptoms. It was a bit tough to get back into the right mindset, though - I really had to purge the kitchen of all the "slippery slope" items, e.g. dark chocolate. I decided to take a break this holiday season, as well. Nothing out of control, but if something is homemade and looks worthwhile despite being non-primal, I'm eating it. Then it's back to the grind after New Year's!

[magicmerl]

It depends on what you mean by indulging.

We just had our work christmas party, and I kid you not, the appertiser options were meat, bread and doughnuts as dessert. So I ate a whole lote of meat, and 'cheated' with some breaded fish.

Little stuff isn't going to kill you, particularly for a short time. (disclaimer: as long as you aren't sensitive to the 'bad' foods you take in, in which case, stop doing that).

[aeriel]

Thanks for the help! Does moderation matter at all or does your body react the same to any amount of sugar in your system? For example, will it help if I just have half a cookie or does the amount of non-primal food matter?

[Kata]

Half a cookie won't hurt you, unless it starts some terrible downward spiral into the pits of SAD hell, like it does for a lot of people. If you can have half a cookie and leave it at that, I say don't worry about it. Just savor it.