My summer is proving to be very busy and I am not as diligent with this blog, but then I note all my favorite blogs seem to be in the same boat. We are in summer mode, a generally carefree time when we enjoy the great, warm weather; when we get out to go to visit the local sites, the beach, or visit family and friends we don’t see during the school year, and so forth. I know my life functions around the school year calendar even though my children are grown, for that is how most of our society operates. Summer is high season for doing all the things we can’t once the school year begins; which affects not only those with children, but those of us without children or whose children have officially fledged.
What with vacations, quick trips here and there, the summer becomes both busy and challenging to those of us sugaraholics who struggle with all the obvious and hidden sugars to be found in the summertime foods. Fruit tends to be a big challenge for me since fruit we were told ad nauseum is good for you. But for those whose hypothalamus goes into high gear at any kind of sugar, too much fruit can upset the best laid plans of even the best of dieters. Desserts proliferate in all seasons, but the summer heat brings out the trickier sort, like ice cream, which, though good if homemade or of a very low sugar variety like the So Delicious coconut milk kind, can still upset the balance and cause a lot of cravings.
The heat is also a factor for many since it can be enervating, and when we are in a low mood we are always more vulnerable; which is also part of the problem with alcohol. That cooling lite beer, gin and tonic, chilled white wine, or scotch and soda lowers our mood and makes us more susceptible to indulgences we will soon regret.
My best strategy is to accept that I will sometimes want my long time favorite ice cream, so instead of trying to banish the thoughts of it, I envision getting it, enjoying it for the few moments, then—and this is the critical point—imagining how I will feel after I eat it, for I always feel the same, unhappy, bad experience after I eat what I know will give me even more cravings, and interfere with my goal to lose and keep off excess fat.
The summertime blues can be episodic or for other reasons be a regular phenomenon, but it need not keep us from abiding by our desire to not give in to the foods that we know will only make us blue-er still. This is the best of times to get out for a quick walk, a bike ride, an afternoon at the park, etc. Take advantage of the options the summer affords, and remember: You will never regret a sugary food you do not eat.
Off for a walk………
Nan aka Sugarbaby
Sugaraholics 