My Clean Living Life, Part III

This has got to be one, if not the, hardest times of the year for a striving-to-be-clean girl like me (smile).

It doesn’t help that I live in New England where its bitter cold outside  at 5am in the morning when I wake up to go to the gym.

And, to add insult to injury, good and un-healthy food greets me everywhere I turn, making it harder and harder for me to make  the right food choices…Between office day and night parties, get-togethers with friends, family gatherings, pre-holiday dinners, after-work happy hours and the like, I almost feel like throwing in the towel and biting into that lovely red velvet cupcake!

And eating clean?!?   What a joke?!?   Not with all of this yummy, hot and cold prepared food surrounding me…

But then this tiny little nagging voice of reason shakes me, wakes me up and tells me to maintain control because if I keep giving in to food temptation, it’s going to be that much harder come January 2nd…

So…I take a deep breath and remind myself of the little things that I have done in the past to counteract the decadence.   Here are just a few tips that I have used successfully:

• Drink lots of water (not only is it filling but it also cleans out toxins)
• Eat slowly and take small bites
• At parties, eat out of tiny dinner plates 
• Try not do two things at once (like eat and talk on the phone) as you will lose track of your portions
• And finally, drink one large (10 ounces or more) glass of ice water for every alcoholic drink consumed

The holidays are truly a whirlwind of fun, good food, good drinks and activity but if you try to keep track of what you eat and drink daily and not give in to every temptation out there you can get through them with minimal damage and celebrate the post New Year in style!