Bemoaning Holiday Eating

Building off my post from Friday and the whole "bad" vs "good" discussion ... leading up to and during/after the Easter holiday, I listened to a boat load of people talk about how "bad" they were with their eating.  IE how much crap they ate and blah, blah, blah.

A few times during these conversations, I thought my head might explode.

Here's why:  all day long I listen to people bemoan a holiday or special night out eating and how many calories they'll take in.  And while it's true that you might take in a few calories and some fat...

The truth is you can take in other calories WAY easier...

I get frustrated sometimes because so many people focus on one day's worth of indiscretions.  They think that that a big holiday dinner, or a meal out with friends, or an ice cream run with the kids ... any of those single events were a huge mistake. 

Yet many of those same people think nothing of coming home for dinner and having a big glass of wine or a few beers.  Every night.  5 days per week.  Plus more on the weekend.

And even if the person bemoaning the holiday meal isn't a drinker, I'm willing to bet that they have some other vice during the week that adds up the calories instead.  Potato chips.  Fast food lunches.  Creamy soups.  Cookies.  You get my point.  Moving on.

When I compare the choices people make on a daily basis to the calories consumed for a special event like a holiday ... I just can't handle it.  To see my point, compare the average holiday meal at 1600 calories (averaged from this blog), to 5 days worth of drinking 2 beers or one large wine each night.  In the end, the calorie intake is pretty much the same.  And yet, the holiday is a one time event, where as the drinking happens week after week after month after year.

And furthermore - at least the holiday/event eating is centered around a meaningful gathering of friends or family.  Plus, it's not like you don't know it's coming.  So "budgeting" yourself the week leading up to the holiday/event is pretty easy (IE skip a few of your week day indulgencies to allow for a little calorie splurging on the weekend, or add one extra workout the week following to burn the extra intake off).

So I can't help but stare at these people and wonder ... why bemoan a single event?  Instead, why not just enjoy the day, be happy you could partake in a few indulgences, and figure out how to manage your daily lifestyle so that you don't have to guilt yourself when you do enjoy something special.

Like a tap room.  Heh.