According to my calendar we went to nine parties during the Christmas and New Year Holidays. In addition there were family gatherings at home. It was a wonderful season with lots of friends and family. The good memories far outweigh the sad ones. DD headed back to college yesterday morning, so our house seems very quiet today.

I thought I would revisit my decision to allow myself to eat more avoids than usual when we were out with friends and family during the holidays. There were pros and cons to the decision.

I think I was right in my reasoning that enjoying traditional foods and more sugar than I normally eat would help to ease the emotions that were bound to come with the December and January anniversaries of my parents’ illnesses and deaths.

I hasten to say – in case you missed the original blog on December 10 – that I am not advocating going on an extended binge for emotional reasons. I have known people who overate for a year or more in response to a tragedy. No, No, No... that’s not what I did. I continued to eat right for regular meals during the holiday season. But when we were with friends at holiday parties, I enjoyed whatever food was being served. I relaxed my standards for family gatherings at my own home – to the delight of part of the family and the chagrin of other parts.

I relearned some lessons about my own body and my “O”ishness in the process.

Wheat does make me gain weight. Eating holiday foods with wheat one night would increase my weight by 2-3 pounds for 2-3 days. There is no doubt about the relationship between wheat and weight gain in my Type O body.

Dairy does give me indigestion. GERD is the reason that I originally started the BTD. After one party that featured lots of cheesy Mexican food, I had uncomfortable feeling in my chest that I have not experienced since 2003. After that, I ate very few dairy avoids. It just wasn’t worth it.

Concentrated sugar makes me sluggish. I wish I could find a better word, but that’s the best I can do. After a brief burst of energy, sugar makes me lazy and dull. I feel heavy and unmotivated. While I feel that way, I don’t associate it with sugar, but as I return to normal, I recognize that I have not been myself.

Some avoid foods, particularly wheat and sugar, are addictive for me. After a party, I would often find myself searching my house the next day for more of the same. I’m glad that there was little to find. Food addictions can be powerful.

God made my body resilient. Though avoids might lead to a few aches or a slight weight gain, I bounced back quickly. There were no lingering effects. Fifty years of avoids took a while to get out of my system when I first started the BTD, and I wouldn’t push my luck by eating avoids day after day. I am glad, however, to learn that I am not so sensitive that a few avoids a week for several weeks does not lead to a major setback in my health.

I’ve asked myself whether I will do this again next Christmas. I think the answer is one of degree. Rather than eating as everyone else eats at a party, I will seek out healthy foods for the most part. I will scout out the fun holiday foods and pick just a few favorites to taste.