‍Dear Visitor,
My brother and sister both gave me Austrian Christmas cookies when we met the other day - lots of them, beautifully made, given with love as a "treat".
And I must admit I'm tempted. Not because I'm hungry. But because this is my first Christmas without my mum, another one without Kevin, and I'm feeling a bit lonely.
Not because I haven't got anyone to talk to. It's just in the evening when I return from seeing friends or family, there is no one where I'm staying at except the cat I'm looking after.
But I know they won't help.Â
They'll give me an hour of comfort (at best), then make me feel worse by the time I go to bed.
So I've put them in another room - far from easy reach. I won't even have one because I know what will happen then. One cookie will lead to another and another until I have eaten them all.
Christmas is challenging enough without getting into a sugar spiral.
The other thing that is helping me resist?
Lovely, nourishing meals for lunch and dinner. Stir-fried vegetables with smoked tofu today. Risotto with leftover veg yesterday. When my belly is full with truly nourishing food, resisting becomes so much easier, I can tell you.
There are no hunger pangs. And it's easier to see clearly that it's emotions behind these cravings, not hunger.
Does this sound familiar?
Somebody gives you Christmas cookies as a present. You put them away, but you can't stop thinking about them. You know they're there - tempting because of childhood memories, because of who's missing this year, because everything feels hard.
This time of year, food temptations are everywhere. The secret to navigating them isn't willpower - it's understanding what's really driving you.
Ask yourself:
"What's making me reach for these biscuits, that chocolate cake, or another mince pie? Is it true hunger... or emotional hunger?"
