How to not gain the "Holiday 15"

kmyers4545

'Tis the season for family feasts and office treats, cold weather and cozy couches. I'm fighting a losing battle of the budge this holiday season and need some guidance. Pushy relatives during family feasts, and a work snack table that's covered in new treats daily. I'm trying to exercise as well, but that doesn't seem to compensate overeating. Who has tips and tricks to avoid overeating terribly delicious holiday fare when it's constantly in your face?

usmcmp

Preplan most of your day and leave 200 ish calories for snacks. Allow yourself a break on holidays. Focus on eating lean meats first. Avoid liquid calories. Stick to things you can't get the rest of the year. Stay active, but don't think of exercise as punishment for enjoying life.

snowflakesav

I try to keep the hammer down until Christmas Eve...it is much easier to recover from 3 days than 30. I also exercise outdoors..just keeping warm outdoors in the winter is a super way to up your metabolism.

cwolfman13

I enjoy my feast days but don't treat the entire holiday season as a free for all...I still eat healthfully and I still train regularly. If I feel like a cookie, I have a cookie..just not all of the cookies and I don't feel the need to indulge in all of the office goodies all day, every day. IDK...maybe it's just time as I've been at this for over three years, but the tables full of goodies don't really phase me much.

ninerbuff

It really comes down to COMMITTING to not overeating calories. You can have a little of everything you like, but don't exceed your TDEE.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

queenliz99

Change your weight loss goal to maintenance for the days you are at an eating feast. Try to track your calories as best as possible. Get back to eating less on opposing days.

Liftng4Lis

I would pre-log my days and stick to them.

sunandmoons

You wont gain 15 pounds. Its one day. Measure, log it and carry on. Stick to your goal. Pushy relatives are not going to shove food in your mouth. You control you.

Jruzer

The "holidays" are 3-4 days, not 40 days. Plan accordingly. I maintain my normal regimen on most days, and will eat until I'm fit to burst on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Eve.

juggernaut1974

Jruzer wrote: »

The "holidays" are 3-4 days, not 40 days. Plan accordingly. I maintain my normal regimen on most days, and will eat until I'm fit to burst on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Eve.

This.

I plan to eat ALL THE FOODZ on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and probably drink a day's worth of calories on New Year's Eve (safely, of course).

But I'll stick to plan to meet my goals the other 30+ days of the holiday season.

tulips_and_tea

cwolfman13 wrote: »

I enjoy my feast days but don't treat the entire holiday season as a free for all...I still eat healthfully and I still train regularly. If I feel like a cookie, I have a cookie..just not all of the cookies and I don't feel the need to indulge in all of the office goodies all day, every day. IDK...maybe it's just time as I've been at this for over three years, but the tables full of goodies don't really phase me much.

This is the same for me as well. I don't eat food just because it's there and available. If I want some, then yes, I'll have it and make sure it fits with my current eating plan. But just because more food is available during this time of year does not mean it has to be eaten.

I also tend to work out more in the winter just to stay warm and I dislike to eat food any time of year after it's been sitting out all day and handled by a bunch of people. Yes, I know I'm weird, but I'm okay with it.

DeguelloTex

Don't eat 52,500 extra calories.

Small portions, so "no" if you need to.

Packerjohn

kmyers4545 wrote: »

'Tis the season for family feasts and office treats, cold weather and cozy couches. I'm fighting a losing battle of the budge this holiday season and need some guidance. Pushy relatives during family feasts, and a work snack table that's covered in new treats daily. I'm trying to exercise as well, but that doesn't seem to compensate overeating. Who has tips and tricks to avoid overeating terribly delicious holiday fare when it's constantly in your face?

Pushy relatives aren't the boss of you.

I_Will_End_You

Do people really gain 15lbs over the holidays?! It's like, 5-7 days max, when you figure in parties.

Kalikel

Christmas is such a diet killer. Recognizing that it's going to be tough is huge, IMO. Learning to say NO! to all the treats that will be foisted upon us is the trick. It is for me, at least.

tcunbeliever

I find that logging my treats before eating them gives me extra time to really think about how much they are really worth compared to real food, and it's a stall tactic too...someone is peddling the cupcakes at the snack table "Oh, I don't know, I'll have to check on that" usually shuts down the peddling and I can escape as gracefully as possible...

kristen6350

The key to not gaining at the holidays? Not using the holidays as an excuse to over eat.

I have a rule at work - if I didn't bring the food in, I don't eat it. I don't need candy, cookies, cakes and pies.

NO ONE other than myself is in charge of what goes in my body. If I don't want it, I say no. Even if I do want it, I say NO.

pchrysta

I just had my 1st of 3 thanksgiving dinners. This one was catered in for work. I stuck to a slice of turkey, a slice of ham, a spoonful of corn and a spoonful of green beans. I allowed myself a small piece of pumpkin pie in exchange for the carby goodness of dressing, mashed potatoes, hashbrown casserole or mac&cheese.

I'm going to eat it ALL (in moderation) at my next dinner a week from now - without trying to count it all up. I'm saving myself for the one on thanksgiving day because I now how good the "cooks" are and it will be the yummiest.

I also only had a 120 cal protein drink for breakfast and I did 30 min in the treadmill this morning to give me some buffer on logging my lunch items.

Sued0nim

15lbs?

That's like 52,500 calories OVER maintenance

For real?

MostlyWater

Holiday is really from Labor Day until Superbowl Sunday. It's a real lot of extra parties and calories.

All I can say is, keep active and only eat and drink the best goodies that are out there. Everyday things like pretzels and chips at a party aren't worth it for me !!!!

kissedbythesunshine

Nope I refuse to go down that road again holiday or not. I'm going to enjoy myself but I'm not going to stuff 15lbs worth of pies and cookies down me. I'm enjoying my shrinking body more:)

FredKing1

Saw this item on-line "The average American will consume more than 4,500 calories and 229 grams of fat on Thanksgiving Day alone, according to the Calorie Control Council." My plan is 1200 cals/day plus I eat my exercise. My BMR is about 2,000 plus I can exercise about 500 that morning - if I eat half of "average" I'll be alright - measure and weigh. Back to normal Friday, the left overs are toxic.

juggernaut1974

FredKing1 wrote: »

Saw this item on-line "The average American will consume more than 4,500 calories and 229 grams of fat on Thanksgiving Day alone, according to the Calorie Control Council."

TeaBea

I_Will_End_You wrote: »

Do people really gain 15lbs over the holidays?! It's like, 5-7 days max, when you figure in parties.

This^

15 pounds is a crazy high number, I'm thinking more like 3-4 (?).

But yes, allow yourself a snack here and there. A taste of this, a taste of that, BUT be selective. Don't treat the season like a free-for-all. Work is crazy here - all the homemade goodies plus all the stuff vendors keep sending. Last year wasn't pretty.

Lounmoun

Plan what you will eat and drink. A lot of holiday foods are pretty predictable. Pre-log.
Eat reasonable portions. One plate of food, one dessert, one glass of wine. Don't mindlessly speed eat or drink. Savor it. Log it.
Keep active. If you know you are going to eat more you can also exercise a bit more.
Be busy talking, taking pictures, playing with kids, helping clean up, going for a walk.

If you eat over your calorie goal 1 or 2 days you don't gain 15 lbs instantly. That would take some real effort.

salembambi

i eat how i normally do within my calorie goal until Christmas Eve

then i dont log for 3-4 days go back to normal for a minute then have my new years eve of no logging

then back to normal but its not that hard for me to not over indulge in parties or whatever since i have no interest in them

Francl27

FredKing1 wrote: »

Saw this item on-line "The average American will consume more than 4,500 calories and 229 grams of fat on Thanksgiving Day alone, according to the Calorie Control Council." My plan is 1200 cals/day plus I eat my exercise. My BMR is about 2,000 plus I can exercise about 500 that morning - if I eat half of "average" I'll be alright - measure and weigh. Back to normal Friday, the left overs are toxic.

I ate around that last year... logged 4700 calories. Didn't drink any calories.

Didn't gain any weight because I had a good deficit the rest of the week. This year there should only be two desserts though, and no pecan pie, so that's going to help a lot, and last year I had a big breakfast, which I'm going to try to avoid this year too... so it shouldn't be that bad. And if it is... *shrug*. It's just one day.

whmscll

It's so easy to start esting and drinking at Thanksgiving and not stop until January. So many treats to indulge in...eggnog, liquor, chocolate, pies...have you seen Trader Joe's (West Coast) during Christmas? There are treats they don't have any other time of year, in your face for weeks. You just have to not cave into it all.

mccindy72

This is not an issue. Stick to calorie goal for the days that are not Thanksgiving and Christmas. On those two days, eat whatever you want, and enjoy the special fun of the day.
If you are someone who is eating in a deficit and find it to be a real struggle, move to maintenance level calories. You won't lose weigh during the holidays, but you won't gain. Just be mindful that it will be work to move back to a deficit after the holidays are over.

arditarose

My biggest thing is needing to feel in control. I will not just let myself gorge and then say "WHOOPS!" I either make the choice to go big, or I make the choice to stay at maintenance or a deficit.

mccindy72

arditarose wrote: »

My biggest thing is needing to feel in control. I will not just let myself gorge and then say "WHOOPS!" I either make the choice to go big, or I make the choice to stay at maintenance or a deficit.

This is why I always stick to my calorie goal (with the exception of the actual day of the holiday). If I allowed myself to have whatever I wanted throughout the whole season - whoa. Go BIG.