By Pawnee Annie

Women, brace yourselves. It’s happening again.
“They” are making the plans, digging the hole, and we will fall in if we are not mentally alert!
It happens every year at this time. It always catches me unaware, and if I don’t talk to myself about it, gird up my resolve, and look straight ahead, IT will happen again.
“What”? you say?
The holiday food-a-rama, sugar fix and calorie assault — that’s what I am talking about.
The stores offer us so many recipes, combinations of food, sweets and treats, that we have become lemmings, following the flute-tooter, laughing as we fall off the cliff!
Several days ago I as I was pushing my cart into the grocery store, staring straight ahead, I encountered my first “hole.” My thoughts had been focused on grabbing a few items, and getting out.
I was single minded,… sort of.
And what to my wondering eyes should appear?
Candy. Big candy bars. Chocolate treats. Bags of baking sweets. All of them were lined up to my left as I headed for the produce.
I slowed down. There were so many bars that just one or two couldn’t matter — could it?
After all, they were priced to sell! I considered.
Before I knew what had happened, two super large, dark chocolate Hershey bars jumped into my cart.
Ladies! Be on guard.
Better be on your best behavior now because the“food assault” is going to accelerate in the weeks ahead. The advertising is effective. We listen to the messages of “family,” “fun,” “good times,” with “good friends,” and “Peace on earth good will to men.”
Do you know why these merchants of doom lead us this way?
I’ll tell you why.
First, we spend a ton of money on all of this “joy and happiness.”
They laugh and giggle as they watch us swelling in our clothes, wearing knit pants that deny what is going on with us! We swell. They sell.
And the next reason they lead us this way? They ‘re setting us up. In January, they will tell us how to get out of the hole they dug that we FELL into. It’s then that the diet pills, food plans for weight loss, and magazines will take their turn. IT is then that the periodicals will shame us for buying all the rich food in November and December!
But for now, the grocery stores are beginning the holiday push. The baking items, sour cream, cream cheese and jalapeno jelly, chips, egg nog, and party mixes are calling to us. The ads tell us these foods all go with “FUN TIMES.”
Yes sir. Fun. We wouldn’t want to have a dull time would we now?!
I can suggest first that you eat NOTHING rich for the next two weeks just so you can enter into the “fun.”
That’s a bunch of bunk to tell you because none of us is going to cut back to save up for later…Are we?
So, here’s my plan — I think.
Happiness is not eating the whole enchilada, but I need to have some of that delicious seasonal food around!
So, do we need to decide first as to WHEN we are going to eat the rich stuff?
How about just eating the sweets on the weekends?
Denial won’t work for me, but knowing I can have it at specific times might be effective , I believe.
One might decide that Saturdays are OK, or Friday night and Saturday…Whatever works for you.
THAT is my big tip! Wow, Annie. I never thought of that!
My second tip is to say that holiday dinners in themselves are not harmful. You can eat pretty much whatever you want. But the big mistake I make? I graze into the holiday and out of the holiday. Don’t be eating mindlessly two and three days before, and two and three days after the event.
Good luck in the weeks ahead. I will check to see how you are doing at the end of the month.
Bon Appétit!

“Woman’s View” is Judi Tabler’s reflection of her experiences and events. She is a wife, mother, writer, teacher, grandmother, and even a great grandmother.