It’s the first day of the Jewish festival of Hanukkah during which it is customary to celebrate by eating fried foods primarily doughnuts and latkes. A latke can be baked or regarded as healthy as it is a real food, meal or side dish even when fried and actually not really very healthy. But doughnuts…. I think everyone will agree just aren’t healthy. It’s a piece of dough, deep fried, glazed with sugar or icing, and often filled with jam or custard. Any “healthy” version of a doughnut, most probably marketed as gluten free and fat free with no added sugar, really won’t taste like a doughnut and if it does, it is probably just as unhealthy as a regular doughnut. So most trainers, nutritionists, health coaches, and die hard fitness enthusiasts will tell you to just stay away. Don’t even consider eating the doughnut.
I’m going to be controversial and tell you – go ahead, have a doughnut or two, but make it a conscious decision. To clarify, I’m not saying you must have a doughnut and I’m definitely not saying you should go crazy and stuff your face with doughnuts. If you don’t feel the urge for it, simply don’t eat it. I’m saying if you want a doughnut feel free to have one, but be comfortable with your decision.
You see, during my health and fitness journey and experience – and I see it with others living healthy and fit as well – I realized that we build coping and defensive mechanisms to avoid complications and making the wrong decisions. For example, we are afraid that one doughnut will turn into ten doughnuts or simply open the floodgates to binge eating. Often, breaking healthy eating habits for one small piece of pie will turn into a pint of ice cream, cake, chocolate or whatever else is enjoyable and unhealthy. So we make the extremely tough decision to stay away from it altogether and to not even enjoy one of anything. Continue reading
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