Why Every Bite Matters

Hello!

As we enter the holiday season, it gets SO VERY EASY to let down your guard and eat more junky foods, even if it just a bite here and there. Here are 4 reasons to stay vigilant:

1. One indulgence (with sweets, for example) can start “taste bud ping pong”, where you then crave salt, which makes you crave more sweets… and on and on. Research show that your brain fails to send satiety signals in this situation, so it is extremely hard to stop eating.

2. Even small quantities of over-flavored food (e.g. super salty, sweet, rich, etc.) can desensitize your taste buds so that your next healthy meal tastes bland and unsatisfying. Ever eaten an apple after a cookie? It tastes like nothing.

3. A single bad meal can raise your risk of heart attack and stroke for 5-12 hours, as the unhealthy fats course through (and potentially clog) your cardiovascular system. On the up-side, a single healthy meal can lower your risk. In fact, you can lower your cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar and triglycerides with a single day of eating right. Don’t believe me? Get a home cholesterol/blood sugar/blood pressure kit at the pharmacy and see for yourself. It’s quite motivating!

4. Every new eating habit begins with a single decision and is strengthened or weakened by each subsequent bite that you take. That means every bite DOES matter, because habits are the key to lifelong success. With every good choice, the next one gets easier to make.

Now that I’ve ruined your enjoyment of holiday treats, next week I’ll send some ideas for healthy, tasty, fun alternatives. I don’t want you thinking I’m the Grinch, after all. 🙂

Have a good week,

Jill