How do you handle Holidays while being Low-carb?
huango
Posts: 1,007 Member
Question: How do you handle Holidays while being Low-carb?
Do you take a break for the Holiday meal, such as Thanksgiving dinner, skipping the stuffing and pumpkin pie, etc?
Or do you just take a break and get back on track the next day?
I'm barely 1 month into LCD so I haven't encounter a Holiday yet.
I'm okay with taking a break for the meal, but is it easy to get back on track?
What do you do with the leftovers?
We usually go to NYC for family and stay 2-4 days, so that could be 4 days of eating out and family bringing all sorts of goodies (such as empanadas (meat turnovers) and dessert.
I don't know how to deal with it, and am quite nervous.
I also don't know how well I'll deal w/ the Halloween candy being in the house, with my 2 kids and sweet-tooth husband. I know I can't make them donate ALL of the candy to the military.
Last year, we donated 2# when we had 10# PER CHILD!!
Appreciate your suggestions from your experiences,
Thank you,
Amanda
Do you take a break for the Holiday meal, such as Thanksgiving dinner, skipping the stuffing and pumpkin pie, etc?
Or do you just take a break and get back on track the next day?
I'm barely 1 month into LCD so I haven't encounter a Holiday yet.
I'm okay with taking a break for the meal, but is it easy to get back on track?
What do you do with the leftovers?
We usually go to NYC for family and stay 2-4 days, so that could be 4 days of eating out and family bringing all sorts of goodies (such as empanadas (meat turnovers) and dessert.
I don't know how to deal with it, and am quite nervous.
I also don't know how well I'll deal w/ the Halloween candy being in the house, with my 2 kids and sweet-tooth husband. I know I can't make them donate ALL of the candy to the military.
Last year, we donated 2# when we had 10# PER CHILD!!
Appreciate your suggestions from your experiences,
Thank you,
Amanda
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Replies
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I'll be eating carbs on Thanksgiving for 2 meals and then getting right back on track the next time I eat. I'm not sure how easy it will be getting back to low carb considering I have only been doing this WOE less than 2 weeks now. But I don't plan on falling off the wagon until T day and then again for about 4 meals around the Xmas holiday. I think knowing I could easily undo all my losses will help get me right back to it!!0
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I'm skipping the halloween candy this year and doing no chocolate all October - this is a huge change for me since I eat chocolate every day and usually go quite crazy around Halloween.
I don't know about Thanksgiving this year, usually I just have the one meal where I don't fret the carbs, and I avoid them once they become leftovers.0 -
Last year I didn't have any trouble staying away from the carbs but I started trying Keto desserts. Next thing you know I was making at least one every single week. I put on a couple of pounds before I got it under control again. By Christmas I was able to have some keto dessert just that one time (in moderation like I should be able to do) and haven't had any trouble with the sweets since then.
I didn't miss the carbs at all. I made myself a cauliflower mac n cheese while others are the regular one I made for them. Just last night my husband asked why I never make that for regular dinners. He said it was really good and he hates the veg substitute stuff generally. Or at least he thinks he does because he also loved the zucchini lasagne I made once.
Halloween was what I was the most worried about because candy was my binge "food". I even made sure I had some sugar free stuff here so I wouldn't feel "deprived". I hate using that word that way. Makes me feel like a spoiled child now. Lol
Anyway, I don't even remember if I ate any of the SF stuff, but I know I handed out candy all night without a single issue resisting the sugar, and not very long ago I came across that SF candy and it was all expired and I threw away almost full packages. My T1D daughter or the other daughter that cuts carbs off and on, may have had some too and there was still stuff to throw away after several months of sitting there.
My advice to anyone that WANTS to forgo the carby stuff during the holidays is to start right now cultivating the idea that it's not food. It's simply not even a food item at all. At least not fit for human consumption anyway! Plant the seed that you're no more likely to eat those things than you would've to eat from the dog food bowl at your family dinners. Would eating the dog food kill you? No. Would it upset your stomach and make you feel unwell for a while? Probably. It's not food for you. So why would you need to try to resist eating it in the first place?
That's how I approached it and I fully embraced that way of thinking. Those traditional high carb offerings have zero affect on me. I honestly just don't want them. It's not even an effort to not eat them. It was the keto sweets that were my problem because they were allowed... and I allowed them waaaaaay too often!
Anyway, I also don't think there's anything wrong with deciding to eat "non food" stuff if you are fully aware that you may feel like crud for a while, may gain some weight back and may have some blood sugar issues if that's a condition you're working on. If you can get right back on plan and not beat yourself up and not get mad at yourself or cry about any increase on the scale, then you're probably in an emotionally healthy place with food and it will be a temporary set back.
Some things to consider going into the season though. We often think about the actual big dinners as our only "temptations" to plan for. There may be many other seasonal foods that you don't get a chance to plan for. If you decide to allow off plan eating for the these special occasions, I highly recommend deciding what your definition of special occasion is because it can be very easy to bend an already flexible rule to start allowing extra non foods in.
Does that include the very special, only baked once a year, award winning, other worldly cookies the old lady in the office brings in on some random day? Does it include an impromptu pot luck at your church? Does it include the very nice gift basket of muffins your neighbor gives you? You know what I mean.
If you do decide to allow off plan eating, make sure that it's a conscious choice of when, how often and how much you are comfortable with because if you don't set your personal limits, you may find yourself re-introducing yourself here come January with a regretful tale5 -
I am ashamed to admit that come Thanksgiving day, I will definitely have a small helping of stuffing and mashed potatoes with gravy on my plate but it is a small amount, I think I can still stay around 50 carbs. My actual favorite of Thanksgiving is the crispy turkey skin so YUM. We usually get a Honey Backed Ham from honey backed ham company for Christmas and use the same side dishes. Thankfully, I am not a dessert person so that won't be a problem.3
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The holiday I encountered when I first started was Christmas. I have a huge family so I had multiple dinners.
I ate turkey, salad, roast veggies, and brought my own dishes that others ate too. I drank very little booze at that time, maybe one vodka with club soda. I was about two months into my journey.
Don't ask about Easter lol.
You might be like me and more vigilant in the beginning, but even if you slip up, be disciplined enough to get back on the wagon the next day.2 -
I don't plan on eating off plan for thanksgiving since there are so many options for lc anyways I am making a lc pumpkin pie though. Halloween I will pass out cheese itz instead of candy so I won't have it in my house and between my hubby and boys they eat up the candy quickly so I hardly get any anyways lol Christmas is tough because of tamales (which are not l/c) but I found a lc version so I might make a dozen of those. I will allow myself a bowl of menudo (Mexican tripe soup with hominy) this season, it's my favorite
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Last year I took a dish of something I knew I could eat, and stuck to low carb for the rest for Thanksgiving. Since wine gives me a bit of leeway to eat a slightly higher carb content meal without impacting my blood glucose, I'll probably take advantage of it to add a roll to my meal for the day. For Christmas, I made some low carb spritz cookies. They were ok, but had a weird cool sensation in my mouth because of the sweetener I used - and - the carb count was very close to the carb count of normal spritz cookies. I ended up finishing off the regular spritz cookies at the rate of 2/day (a quantity that fit in my calories and within the 20 grams of carb I could tolerate per meal).
The only thing I really feel deprived about is bread - and, a glass of wine will let me have a piece without harming my health.
I may go over on calories (I'm starting maintenance on Monday), but even that's not too likely since the only thing I can really increase is my consumption of fats - and I'm just not that fond of fats that are not connected to either bread or sugar.1 -
This will be my 4th holiday season. 2013-losing, no problem. 2014 & 2015 maintaining, no problem. 2016 while the 4th, will be the 1st LC/HF. I all ready foresee the outcome. No problem.
I'll do the same thing I have done the last few years: Save most of my calories for the main meal so I can (and will) sample a little of everything. I know generally what foods will be there and it will be the same delicious holiday foods as previous years. Generally full of carbs.
I strive to keep my carbs <20 on an ongoing basis. I know that won't occur on Thanksgiving Day but it won't be extreme. I also know I won't overeat regarding calories. I don't think one day of small quantities of highly carby foods will significantly disrupt my life.
I've learned in the last 6 months of LCHF that occasional small bites of "carby stuff" here and there do not cause my Dystonia to erupt in uncontrollable involuntary spasms, make me feel ill and/or disrupt my digestive tract. Honestly, I think I'll be fine with a small sample of many high carb things.
In regards to my Dystonia AND weight loss/maintenance: I don't have food fear. I'll taste it all. I have control over HOW MUCH I eat of anything. HOW MUCH is the key for me. I have total control of that.
Thanksgiving Day is a day of food, family and football. Steelers play @ 8:30. 1 -
Halloween isn't a huge thing here, we will have some sweets to hand out but I can resist them and hopefully we'll get rid of them all on the night.
We don't have thanksgiving although I have a friend studying here from America so I might try to find something for her. If so I'm happy with turkey and veggies.
Xmas is always the big issue for me and it's been a point where I've lost my way in the past. We have work meals and parties etc etc. Right now I think I'm going to try staying wheat free and largely sugar free for most of it - again I can have mainly meat and veg for the meals. I'll probably be totally off plan for 3-5 days or so over the Xmas season - and on one day I have work Xmas lunch followed by a memorial meal for a relative so goodness knows what I'll do!
Right now I'm focusing on staying totally on plan until mid-December. I guess then I'll look at how I'm doing and assess how strong I am.
In the past I've taken 14 days off plan and got back on the wagon without a hitch, and a couple of days which have knocked me off for months. If you can it's always better not to come off plan at all but for some of us, even knowing that the carbs aren't worth it doesn't mean we don't sometimes need to check!0 -
Couldn't agree with this more. One of the things I love most about this WOE is it's completely changed my whole relationship with food and, unlike previous diets I've tried, this is more of a lifestyle change rather than a quick fix. I went on holiday two weeks ago and took a break from counting carbs. Although I put on 4lbs after the week, I knew this would happen and I got straight back on the plan the day I got back. Pleased to say I've dropped those extra pounds - and another one - in the past two weeks.Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »Anyway, I also don't think there's anything wrong with deciding to eat "non food" stuff if you are fully aware that you may feel like crud for a while, may gain some weight back and may have some blood sugar issues if that's a condition you're working on. If you can get right back on plan and not beat yourself up and not get mad at yourself or cry about any increase on the scale, then you're probably in an emotionally healthy place with food and it will be a temporary set back.
I think it depends on how tough you'd personally find it to get back on track after a break.
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Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »<snip> If you decide to allow off plan eating for the these special occasions, I highly recommend deciding what your definition of special occasion is because it can be very easy to bend an already flexible rule to start allowing extra non foods in.
Does that include the very special, only baked once a year, award winning, other worldly cookies the old lady in the office brings in on some random day? Does it include an impromptu pot luck at your church? Does it include the very nice gift basket of muffins your neighbor gives you? You know what I mean.
If you do decide to allow off plan eating, make sure that it's a conscious choice of when, how often and how much you are comfortable with because if you don't set your personal limits, you may find yourself re-introducing yourself here come January with a regretful tale
As someone who does eat off plan on occasion this is excellent advice. Along with having an idea in my head of occasions and situations where I'm comfortable making an exception I also mark every single time I eat off plan on the calendar with an X. An exception every few months or so is ok. An exception every month is not, that's a slippery slope that will land me right back where I started (excessive, out of control eating).
It's incredibly easy to fool yourself with the "special occasion" exceptions if you're not vigilant. Set your boundaries up front - when you're not under the carb influence
- and commit to sticking to your plan. 1 -
Oh! I was also thinking about Xmas the other day and ways to keep moderate carb during it and I think I am going to make myself low carb almond brittle and low carb cookies but only on Xmas eve. That way I can limit whatever else I may eat as I will still have 'treats'.
I used to make Keto desserts now and then but don't really bother these days as I'm happy with a square of dark choc. But for Xmas I'll break a couple out.0 -
Last year I was able to stay away from all holiday foods beginning with Halloween...except for one rather sad yet comical day after Thanksgiving binge. I lost about 12 pounds during the season making it worthwhile to me, as well as proving it can be done.
I decided that holiday food was not needed as my regular foods are very satisfying.
My Issues with carb slippage always stem from emotional pain and I had
accepted that would be present during that season.
Actually I had more problems with lapses after the holiday season...possibly because I was not vigilant about my emotional wellbeing after they were over.
This year I have weight to lose again, so I will probably do much the same thing.
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I'm going on a one week all inclusive vacation next week. I do not intend to cheat at all when I'm there. I plan on drinking vodka soda, rum and diet coke, and dry wines (possibly some tequila shots??) and just focusing on eating meats and salads which I know will be available. My goal is not to lose weight on this trip, but to maintain my weight. If I end up losing weight then, woohoo! I know how crappy I feel when I have carbs so to cheat on my keto diet is really just cheating myself of the opportunity to feel good and lose or maintain my weight.
At Christmas and thanksgiving dinners I intend to bring two dishes that are keto friendly. I know I can then eat the turkey, ham, and veggies (smothered in butter, of course). I don't usually want dessert these days anyway but I also intend on bringing a few atkins endulge bars in my suitcase on holidays and in my purse for family dinners, just in case. It's all about making a plan and doing the best you can to stick with it. You may have a different experience than me though.
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This is a great thread and I am appreciating the discussion. Since I am Jewish, the big eating holidays are just upon me. It starts with a luncheon at my synagogue for Rosh Hashanah: noodle pudding, brownies, fruit salad, bagels and cream cheese. I can't eat any of that. So I will just have to bring my own food.
Yom Kippur, the day of atonement, is a 25 hour fast. We break the fast together with similar food. So again, I will have to bring my own.
I think the easiest thing for me to bring both communal meals will be deviled eggs and a vegetable salad. Good! Now I don't have to think about it any further!
For Thanksgiving, my favorite food is pecan pie. Sickeningly sweet, I know. I only eat it once a year. I don't care much about stuffing or mashed potatoes. Since I make the meal, I can make mashed cauliflower for myself, and eat that, turkey, and brussel sprouts with hazelnuts. I will try to find a lower carb portion of pecan pie, too.
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Great responses here. Just a couple additions:
First, plan right now what you will and won't eat. If you wait until you are at the meal(s) with your family and friends, it is too late. You are far more likely to eat something you will regret.
Second, Tim Noakes said something in his interview for the Keto Summit yesterday that I found 100% true for me. The longer I have been LC, the more things that didn't seem sweet before now seem sweet. Sensitivity to sweet is much higher. The example he gave was milk, which is his highest carb food. For me, it is the occasional cashew in some mixed nuts. I never realized how sweet they are. He, like me, also avoids all the artificial sweet stuff because it just acts as a trigger to make him want more sweet stuff. It is the same with some other carbs for me as well like popcorn which I would eat way too much of at a time.
Third, beware of what Dr. Eric Westman calls trigger foods. Popcorn was one for me. It is that easy to eat food that is easy to overeat. These can even be LC foods like pepperoni slices or pieces of cheese that are common finger foods at a holiday get together. Of course, there are many HC foods like chips that fall into this category.
Personally, I will not be going off plan. The longer I stay LC, the less appealing these foods are to me. For me, going off plan seems like a way of possibly making these more appealing and more of a temptation again. It doesn't seem worth it. It is like when I quit smoking decades ago. If I was drinking, I would sometimes have a few smokes which only made me want them when I wasn't drinking. Once I had quit smoking even when drinking, it got to the point that when I tried it again, it just tasted totally disgusting.0 -
I'll be OK for Halloween, just won't have candy in the house. We have very few trick or treaters and plan to give out packs of Davids sunflower seeds.
For Thanksgiving, I love stuffing. In my past, I've even made stuffing sandwiches. I'm fine with just meats and veggies and will have a small portion of stuffing then move on. I'm not big on pies and cakes so that won't be an issue. I think I'll make a low carb cheesecake version just in case.
Christmas is much the same, except for the holiday work party. Last year we went to a Brazilian steakhouse with all you can eat meats so I was in heaven and couldn't help but stay on plan. With a different boss this year, I'm not sure how that will play out. I can usually make do with a meat and a vegetable. As a norm, I don't drink alcohol so I don't have to worry about making that work.
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Halloween will be okay because I'm in my late twenties so I'm over the going out to the club for drinks scene. It's not really a cooking holiday and I don't have kids so candy in the house is not an issue. I'll probably get candy for the kids in the neighborhood but honestly the idea of any added sugar milk chocolate candy does not appeal to me like it once did.
Thanksgiving, well I'm skipping that with my family who lives out of town so I'll be at home so no need to make a really big meal for just myself.
Christmas and New Years....this will be tough not because of the actual holiday but because I'll be in Costa Rica and Panama for 3 weeks. I KNOW I'm going to eat high carbs, I'm just going to accept it. I'll surely kick myself out of keto and resume it when I get home, hopefully it doesn't mess me up for several weeks after. I'll try to look for low carb options that are NOT salads when I can. I can't do salads for 3 weeks.0 -
We have lived out in the boonies for 18 years and not once have we had a trick or treater. So Halloween is not an issue. Thanksgiving, we go to Golden Corral and meet up with our son and his wife, and can choose what we eat there. The holidays, sadly, are not an issue for us since most of our loved ones have passed and our other child lives too far way. My husband's company has not had a Christmas party in years. I guess you can say, my plan is avoidance.2
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I'll be OK for Halloween, just won't have candy in the house. We have very few trick or treaters and plan to give out packs of Davids sunflower seeds.
For Thanksgiving, I love stuffing. In my past, I've even made stuffing sandwiches. I'm fine with just meats and veggies and will have a small portion of stuffing then move on. I'm not big on pies and cakes so that won't be an issue. I think I'll make a low carb cheesecake version just in case.
Christmas is much the same, except for the holiday work party. Last year we went to a Brazilian steakhouse with all you can eat meats so I was in heaven and couldn't help but stay on plan. With a different boss this year, I'm not sure how that will play out. I can usually make do with a meat and a vegetable. As a norm, I don't drink alcohol so I don't have to worry about making that work.
@MiamiDawn - Last year someone posted an awesome recipe for low carb stuffing based off of almond flour muffins or something. Also, soul bread seems like it would work really well for this, without carbivores noticing a difference. Just FYI...1 -
I plan on sticking to keto foods only during holidays. My family always has cookouts and parties and so far I've done very well staying away from carbie foods. Practice of will power I guess lol. I'm going to make a low carb dish and bring it so I know Ill have a side that I definitely be able to eat.0
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I'll be OK for Halloween, just won't have candy in the house. We have very few trick or treaters and plan to give out packs of Davids sunflower seeds.
Great idea! I've been trying to think of alternatives to candy because I don't want to contribute to increased sugar consumption. Both young children and teens come here so little toys are not appropriate for all.
Anyone else have other ideas for alternatives on Halloween? I'm trying to stay away from peanuts and tree nuts too because one grandchild was diagnosed with serious peanut allergy earlier this year and another was just diagnosed with a tree nut allergy. I'm sure there are other kids who may come to my house with allergies as well.
I found a great website about the teal pumpkin project, which promotes an allergy-free Halloween.
http://www.foodallergy.org/teal-pumpkin-project#.V-6ERyR0ewg0 -
Last year I stayed keto on Thanksgiving. I had just meat, a deviled egg, and a bit of green beans at my FIL's. At my mom's I made twice baked cauliflower casserole, a low carb broccoli salad, and sugar free cranberry sauce to go with the turkey. I made a keto pumpkin cheesecake recipe for dessert. Honestly staying on plan was pretty easy because I don't have many cravings when I'm low carb. I followed the same plan for Christmas and Easter. I just ate the low carb portions of the meal and made a dish or two.
As for Halloween candy no longer temps me. When I want something sweet I have a square of 90% dark chocolate.
Hang in there...the longer you are on plan the easier it gets.
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This year for Thanksgiving I'll be roasting a chicken, my hubby is tired of turkey so I'm not complaining. Our meal will be low carb, with carb options for sides, ie stuffing and sweet potatoes. Treat it like you'd treat an allergy and just keep them separate, but available for those who want them and aren't trying to lose weight. If you aren't doing the cooking, bring low carb sides with you to have with your meat.
So for example, Thanksgiving could be:
Low carb: Roast chicken, roast turkey or ham, roasted broccoli with garlic and olive oil, Mock mac n cheese (cauliflower instead of macaroni), caesar salad with parmesan crisps instead of croutons.
Dessert: Low carb pumpkin cheesecake.
Carb options: Sweet potatoes, honey glazed carrots, stuffing.0 -
I'll be eating carbs on thanksgiving and Christmas. It's only one day off and then back to LC after.
Even if you ate carbs on all major holidays, birthday, etc., it's still only a few days out of 365. Just don't eat like that for everyone elses birthday! LOL4 -
I try not to indulge during family gatherings, only because there's a family gathering every other weekend! It's either a birthday, or a sweet 15 (quinceanera), or baptism, or just to have a BBQ with the fam.
Last weekend it was a birthday. They were serving chicharrones(fried pork skin), carnitas, grilled chicken, rice, beans, macaroni salad. I skipped all the carbs and dove into the meat. Then they brought out the cake and ice cream. I REALLY miss ice cream. I stood my ground and politely said no.. referencing I was so full from all the other food (I was the only girl who got up to get seconds) and family still shook their head and looked at me in disapproval.
I will give in during special occasions, such as extremely fancy and expensive dinners with the hubby (2 year wedding anniversary, Valentine's Day, promotion) because those restaurants are known for their handmade bread. But I try not to order any dessert. I will choose bread over creme brûlée anytime. Everything in moderation.
This thanksgiving, I might have a tamale or two..only because my mother in law makes the best tamales in the world and only on special occasions...but that's as far as I go.
For the record, every time I indulge, I wake up fine the next morning. No carb induced hangover. Back to eating LCHF like nothing happened.
Also, I'm planning on bringing mashed cauliflower, flan, and a low carb pumpkin pie cheesecake.1 -
For Halloween just buy lots of Atkins candies. You'll be swearing off candy in a day. lol. (Laxative)
Yes, I'm having Thanksgiving Dinner - whatever I want. But then back to LCHF next meal.4 -
The holiday season is not too bad for me, I am glutenfree so that immediately limits my carb choices. One of the great side effects of having a food intolerance.
I will however have a roasted potato with my dinner and maybe some ice cream, then go straight back on it the next day. Luckily my SO is also now a low carber so that makes it a lot easier to stay on track.0 -
I'm going on a one week all inclusive vacation next week.
Me too. I have not yet decided what I'm going to do.
I'm below my target weight, so calories are not an issue.
There's some pressure to carb up. (I'm diabetic and I'm going diving. The guidelines are written for people taking medications that make them prone to hypoglycemic incidents - which could be deadly underwater - and suggest 150 mg/dl starting blood glucose level. I have not intentionally seen that level for 2-days shy of a year, now. My doctor says I'm no more likely to have a hypoglycemic incident than someone without diabetes - but dive buddies, and the dive op may not agree, and have the power to prevent me from diving.)
I'm stopping (as of Monday) my VLC Blood Sugar Diet, and taking 3 days to ramp up to maintenance calories. When I went to maintenance during cancer care, my average BG elevated. It seemed to be more related to calories (which increased) than to carbs (which didn't increase significantly).
The place I'm going thrives on rice, beans, tortillas, etc. So getting more calories without more carbs may be a challenge - as will sorting out exactly what is in everything so I could actually choose low carb anyway since my high school Spanish is rusty and wasn't focused on nutrition words.
Whatever I eat won't kill me - but it may undo the work toward remission I've been doing (like the cancer treatment did).
I try not to think about that aspect of my trip too much. 0 -
Here is a little "pearl" I see come up every year:
It is not what you eat between Thanksgiving and Christmas that matters. It is what you eat between Christmas and Thanksgiving.10
