The Chanukah Donut: Will 1 Donut Make me Fat?
Happy Day 1 of Channukah!
I want to talk about the elephant in the room... The Channukah Donut! I want to give you permission to have it, but I also want you to understand “why”! Educating women on their nutrition & fitness and how to combine them is a real passion and mission of mine. Here is a little of that today in regard to donuts...
Let’s talk about the Channukah DONUT...
I know you are thinking about that... you really want it, you know how good it tastes, it’s one of the holiday “foods”, but your brain tells you that 1 donut will pack on 5lbs right after you eat it and you can’t take that chance! Am I right?
That is totally on your brain, like food noise you can’t get rid of. All eight days of Channukah are ahead, and you will be thinking about it every day.
So here is where I want to give you some insight...
I want you to have the Channukah DONUT... but I need you to understand why I am giving you permission to eat it.
YOU CAN EAT 1 DONUT.
Here are the facts.
NUTRITION BALANCE:
A single donut will NOT significantly impact your weight if it is part of a balanced diet and you stay within your caloric needs throughout the day. In addition, it is important to be consistently eating a healthy balanced diet within the surrounding, “sandwiched” days.
FREQUENCY:
This is where we sometimes get into trouble. Eating an occasional donut is unlikely to lead to weight gain, but regular consumption of high-calorie, low-nutrient foods can contribute to weight gain. So that one donut won’t hurt your body but a few donuts either a day or within the week may!
Ladies, like many things in life this too is about balance and making good decisions. You can have a donut, but you cannot have 5. If you continue to be mindful of your healthy eating, nutrition and protein throughout the day and you stay within your “normal, regular day” of eating, you should be all right. Remember it’s the quality of our food that matters.
Let's break this down into MY language:
IF YOUR DONUT FALLS INTO YOUR MACROS = YOU CAN EAT IT.
Work backwards and account for your donut in the beginning of the day and work backward. Make sure you still hit your protein goals (we never give that up). A donut is high in Carbs and Fats so you know you will need to adjust your Fat and Carb intake throughout the rest of the day to accommodate the donut. When you see it on your macro log (or however you track your macros), you will understand that you will be OK, and weight gain or fluctuation is unlikely because you can still hit your macro count.
Important to note:
I track my Macros in the MyFitnessPal App.
You may not always know the exact nutrition facts of the donut you are choosing, but you can choose a similar one in a good macro app.
Reminder, a donut is not “nutritious” so the nutrition “quality” is lacking, but we are celebrating Channukah, you are making a choice, and you can still enjoy this Channukah treat!
BONUS: It is important to remember that you still need to move and if you can get exercise on the “donut day” you will be better off. You are still earning this donut, nothing comes free! Get out and walk, hit your step count for the day, pick up the weights, go take a hike, bike or do a class. Be sure to move as I am sure you are already doing!
Understanding the education of how & why this 1 donut won’t throw you off of your goals or add 5lbs is important to enjoying our holiday. It is also important to remove the food noise that lives in our heads. I don't want you to feel bad about yourself and your decision to have the donut, I want you to understand the education and information surrounding it so you can make an educated decision and feel NORMAL!
Now go have a donut, enjoy it, and tell the person who is staring at you- shocked that you are eating it that I said it was OK because you are tapping into the other factors above to assist you!
Remember, account for the donut, it’s only 1 and don't forget to move your body!
POST your Pic, TAG me and let me know how your donut was!
