How to Fight Temptation Among Party Tables Full of Food

Want to hear how renegade this fitness trainer is?  

I’m so renegade that I, Jaime Jereb, hater of all refined sugars, sweets and nonwhole foods, have taken employment at, of all places, a cupcake parlor! Ha! Babycakes in Hillcrest to be exact. Another San Diego favorite. 

Homemade cupcakes, cookies, bars and cakes take over the front showcases. As people wander in, their eyes turn to glaze. They eventually form a cross between a doe-eyed Bambi and a 1-year-old who just tasted his first grain of sugar. Ah, the power of the sweet.

If you’ve read my column on  then you should know how to take care of a regular, everyday craving. But what if it’s not necessarily a craving, but a full-on temptation attack? Situations where you are perfectly fine and seemingly satisfied with your carrots and celery sticks?

That is, until you’re thrown into a room full of eye-catching candies, iced muffins, frosty ice cream and, of course, beautifully displayed, sweet little cupcakes. Basically where Candyland comes to life.  

My situation may be a little unique, but this happens more than you might realize. What about meeting friends at a dessert-ridden cafe, or even special events like birthday parties, office parties, baby showers, bridal showers, pretty much all showers that don’t take place in your bathroom? It happens, so take time to be prepared and once again fight the good fight against the battle of sweet temptation.  

First things first, try and get and get a feel for what is on the menu. If there are a lot of sugary items, prepare a few sweet, but nonsugary snacks to take. I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, but it still gets me to be around all that frosting. I know if I get caught without a healthier option, I could fall victim.

Instead of allowing the possibility and pretending I’m not human, I bring a few items that are easy to consume:

• Homemade strawberry, banana and coconut smoothie.
• Cut-up ruby red grapefruit.
• Frozen mango chunks.
• Homemade carrot and apple juice.
• Sliced apples.
• Homemade paleo muffins or cookies.

Things like that. Sweet, satisfying and healthy as can be. Trick your brain into thinking your body is actually receiving what it’s looking at and being stimulated by. 

If it's a place or event serving up cute little finger sandwiches on white bread or pasta salads and unhealthy meats, again, be prepared for what you will be sitting around gawking at. I would pack some things like this:

• Sliced turkey rolled up into lettuces leafs.
• Veggie chunks and a favorite hummus.
• Grass-fed beef burger patties with a few dollops of goat cheese. Bite size, don’t cause a scene.
• All-natural, no-nitrate chicken sausage or hot dog chunks.
• Bag of nuts.

Think of things that have a healthier fat and protein content, sure to satisfy any craving coming your way. By the way, don’t worry about looking weird, busting out your own snacks. First of all, no one from that party is going to help you squeeze into those skinny jeans, and second, I’ve noticed that responses range from jealousy to envy to marvel.

All of which tell me I’m doing the right thing. 

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