Part of getting back on track after a holidays is eating clean.   As we’ve talked about before, eating sugar and fats stimulates eating more sugar and fats.  This happens because sugar and fats is a trigger for the brain to releases a neurotransmitter called dopamine.  Dopamine is a chemical that tells the body you are happy.  In times of binge eating (like over Thanksgiving)we increase the amount of Dopamine in our systems.   The increased dopamine circulating in our system makes us want to eat more to have more of the chemical as it begins to be reabsorbed.  In order to stop this cycle of eating we have to ween ourselves off of sugary foods for at least a couple days.

The hard part of weening yourself off sugary foods is your body will be craving any temptation.  The biggest obstacle most of my clients have is healthy food isn’t convenient   It takes time to cook, so often we cave into temptation before we have time to cook as we are cooking.  That is why I like to make a large crock pot of Chicken Chili whenever I need to get back on track!

If you make it right, chili has a perfect mix of Carbs to Protein.  This recipe is also low cal so you can eat a portion size as a snack if you are hungry or double up the portion size for a meal!  I recommend eating chili over spinach to help fill you up and increase your veggie intake without adding the extra calories rice does!

If you can find a way to eat clean for one week, you will find your body starts to crave the healthy foods again!

What is your favorite meal to get back on track after the holiday?