How do you guys cope over the holiday season?

dave_in_ni

The holiday season is almost upon us with Thanks Giving for you guys in the US & Canada and then Xmas. So my question is how do you guys cope?

This will be my first holiday season since my weight loss. I'm wondering what I should expect? For me I have no problem saying no, I've had various parties through out the year where I've happily went hungry as nothing but junk food was on offer, that doesn't bother me, what does bother me is the pressure from other people. " Aw go on its Christmas" I can hear it already. We don't do thanks giving in the UK but make up for it at Xmas with a massive dinner of Turkey, stuffing and all the trimmings, again doesn't bother me missing this but I can hear the wife already, or the Xmas parties, again I can go and eat and drink nothing but again it's the social pressure.

I worked hard to lose weight and I have no intention of messing that up by going mad over the holidays,

Have you guys any advice?

Need2Exerc1se

I do what I did for the decades that I wasn't overweight. I enjoy the holiday season and usually gain a few lbs. But it's always gone quickly once I get back to my normal routine. I've never been one to maintain a steady weight. I've always bounced around a bit so I'm okay doing that now.

cwolfman13

Thanksgiving is one day...Christmas is one day...I enjoy spending time with my family and friends and celebrating...they're pretty irrelevant to the whole. You can enjoy yourself and not "go mad" either. I never eat to the point that I'm going to pop...but I enjoy myself...a good plate of food and some good drink. Two days doesn't mess anything up...it's two days...get out of the minutia.

lorrpb

"I worked hard to lose weight and I have no intention of messing that up by going mad over the holidays"

^^ This. Just say, "not now, thank you", don't get into the weight loss reasons. If they persist, walk away. Beyond that, it's all about portion control.

capaul42

Typically for holidays, I just eat at maintenance for a few days (when I was losing) during big family dinners and parties. Means I won't lose as much that week but that's okay.

Sabine_Stroehm

Thanksgiving in Canada was a couple of weeks ago. I was there. I did what I normally do. I ate what I normally ate. I knew I would likely eat a bit *more* than I normally do, so I was careful the day before and days after.
I typically don't eat foods I wouldn't normally eat. I don't give myself carte blanche. I just figure I'll eat a bit more, and it will all work out.

malibu927

Thanksgiving=a normal Thursday (I work that day) with maybe a bit more food that I can cut back on in the days leading up to it. Christmas=diet break.

Chef_Barbell

I eat all the foods and drink all the drinks.

TR0berts

I'm going to enjoy the time with my family. I'm going to have some of almost everything (not green bean casserole - F that). What I'm not going to do is overindulge. I'll have at least a taste of whatever I want, but I won't eat the entire pumpkin pie.*


*Yes, I did that one year when I was much younger. Not a good move.

laur357

I generally have about 7 (Thanksgiving day, Christmas eve, Christmas day, 2-3 parties/happy hours with friends, NYE) days where I eat anything I want. I still track it, but don't pay attention to calories. Balances just fine with the 35ish other days where I eat normally and exercise. Going crazy for the entire season can get you into trouble, but a day or two here and there are not a big deal in the grand scheme of things (for me, anyway).

Therealobi1

i enjoy xmas, but dont eat as much as i used to.

Spliner1969

I look at it like this, it's a holiday, and you're going to over eat. There are things you can do to prepare for it though. The preceding week, stay a couple hundred calories under your goal each day. It's like saving up those calories for Thanksgiving. Then, log everything you eat as accurately as you can, and if you are still over, try to do some extra exercise the days following the holiday. I did both of those things last year, ate whatever I wanted on Thanksgiving and Christmas, including leftover days, and managed to gain maybe a pound or pound and a half over that week, which dropped off the week after. Don't make yourself miserable about it, just handle the extra calories before and after if possible.

Oh, and on Thanksgiving (and Christmas for that matter) if you're going to eat extra, eat more ham or turkey, at least it's high protein!! Pile that stuff high on the plate and moderate the rest, it'll help.

TavistockToad

Christmas day and boxing day I eat what I want. The rest is business as usual.

WinoGelato

Curious what your definition of "junk food" is OP and what kind of parties you'd go to where nothing but that is on the menu? Personally I don't view any foods as "junk" and I believe in working in all foods in moderation.... My Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners, while calorie dense and delicious, are hardly what I would call "junk food". Roasted turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, green beans, yeast rolls, pies and assorted other delights... none of that is junk food. Why would you pass on those things? As others have said, it's also one day or a handful of days out of the year. Enjoy yourself. Passing up food prepared by a host and going "hungry" just doesn't sound like a pleasant or sustainable attitude.

snickerscharlie

dave_in_ni wrote: »

The holiday season is almost upon us with Thanks Giving for you guys in the US & Canada and then Xmas. So my question is how do you guys cope?

This will be my first holiday season since my weight loss. I'm wondering what I should expect? For me I have no problem saying no, I've had various parties through out the year where I've happily went hungry as nothing but junk food was on offer, that doesn't bother me, what does bother me is the pressure from other people. " Aw go on its Christmas" I can hear it already. We don't do thanks giving in the UK but make up for it at Xmas with a massive dinner of Turkey, stuffing and all the trimmings, again doesn't bother me missing this but I can hear the wife already, or the Xmas parties, again I can go and eat and drink nothing but again it's the social pressure.

I worked hard to lose weight and I have no intention of messing that up by going mad over the holidays,

Have you guys any advice?

Christmas is one day. You have 364 others to make up for it. Enjoy yourself, life's too short as it is.

the_new_mark_2017

I plan on sticking to low carb - that still leaves me with yummy ham, turkey, some nuts, salads etc etc. I think being smarter will help me this year.

MsBuzzkillington

You can eat what you want and enjoy the holidays without going hungry and without messing up. If you do "go mad" two days out of the year, it's not really that big of a deal and you aren't going to undo all your progress.

Advice would be, eat what you want and don't go hungry but portion control if you feel like you need to.

peleroja

I've found the trick to successful weight maintenance at this time of year is not to let every day become a holiday.

For example, I indulged a bit on Thanksgiving and went a little over my maintenance, but I didn't keep sticking my face in the leftover stuffing all week afterwards. Same with December stuff...it's fine to indulge a bit, but not every time someone offers you a cookie or at every dinner/party/get together you go to because in my experience those happen every day for two months if you let them. Pick the important ones, enjoy them, try not to eat for the sake of eating and choose the stuff that's worth it to you, but keep most days business as usual.

LAWoman72

I figure I will eat more or less as desired on Thanksgiving day and Christmas day, and otherwise will enjoy leftovers and treats within my daily calorie goals. I know it can be done because I did it for many, many years and was very thin.

kshama2001

By increasing activity and watching my portions, I managed to lose a little weight over the holiday season last year and not feel deprived.

Normally my activity level goes down when gardening season is done but I committed to walking outside every work day at lunch time unless it was pouring rain and stuck to this. I bundled up and found walking trails where skiers and other hikers had packed down the snow.

I also joined a gym for nights and found an indoor skating rink for rainy days.

Getting some cardio at lunch was key to raising my energy level for the rest of the day so that I was motivated to be active at night as well.

everher

I feel the reason people gain weight over the holidays is usually because they eat too much. It's not that what they are eating is so unhealthy they just eat in excess.

The holidays will be a test, but I plan to do what I do everyday - portion control. I'll have a little of this and a little of that, but I have no plans to stuff my face. If I feel tempted to I will just remind myself there will be left overs.

CMNVA

This will be a first for me, so not sure how I will handle it. I'm not worried about the two days: Thanksgiving and Christmas. Those will just be big dinners. It's all the special (and wonderful) treats that are made this time of year. There are these Cranberry-Date Nut Bars that I make (and my neighbor makes) that are to DIE for. I swear, I cannot stop eating them once I start and I can probably pound down 800 calories in about 5 minutes. Then there are the other special cookies etc. The two meals won't do me in, but those treats will. I'm still trying to figure out how I can manage them without totally denying myself.

WinoGelato

I wrote this post after the holidays last year and think it might be relevant/helpful to OP and others here who are going through their first holiday season on MFP...

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10303793/who-gained-weight-during-the-holidays-i-have-a-solution/p1

VeganRaptor

I make and bring along my own dishes to share That way I know they're vegan and don't contain anything weird/scary

Wynterbourne

Honestly, for me, it's like any other time of the year. I'm in the US, so if I count from Halloween to New Year's Eve I've got 62 days. In those 62 days I have Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Eve. Sometimes I have a friend's birthday, but this year she's combining it with Thanksgiving due to conflicts. So I have 4 days with an above average availability of food and 58 normal days. I normally average my calories by the week. During this time of year, I continue to do so and just balance everything out. Last year, I weighed a decent amount less New Year's Day then I did the day before Halloween and I anticipate it will happen again this year. I plan ahead, I shift weekly calories around, and I don't stress about it. And to the comment regarding "all the special treats made this time of year", apparently all my friends are lazy because I only see treats on the actual holidays and at the parties/gatherings, never in between. lol

Packerjohn

cwolfman13 wrote: »

Thanksgiving is one day...Christmas is one day...I enjoy spending time with my family and friends and celebrating...they're pretty irrelevant to the whole. You can enjoy yourself and not "go mad" either. I never eat to the point that I'm going to pop...but I enjoy myself...a good plate of food and some good drink. Two days doesn't mess anything up...it's two days...get out of the minutia.

Yep 2 days, makes no difference. Make it 2 months another story.

VeganRaptor

Packerjohn wrote: »

cwolfman13 wrote: »

Thanksgiving is one day...Christmas is one day...I enjoy spending time with my family and friends and celebrating...they're pretty irrelevant to the whole. You can enjoy yourself and not "go mad" either. I never eat to the point that I'm going to pop...but I enjoy myself...a good plate of food and some good drink. Two days doesn't mess anything up...it's two days...get out of the minutia.

Yep 2 days, makes no difference. Make it 2 months another story.

I think the issue is that lots of people end up being invited to endless Christmas/holiday parties!

dragon_girl26

VeganRaptor wrote: »

Packerjohn wrote: »

cwolfman13 wrote: »

Thanksgiving is one day...Christmas is one day...I enjoy spending time with my family and friends and celebrating...they're pretty irrelevant to the whole. You can enjoy yourself and not "go mad" either. I never eat to the point that I'm going to pop...but I enjoy myself...a good plate of food and some good drink. Two days doesn't mess anything up...it's two days...get out of the minutia.

Yep 2 days, makes no difference. Make it 2 months another story.

I think the issue is that lots of people end up being invited to endless Christmas/holiday parties!

Well, that and the endless parade of food that shows up at the office/workplace over the holiday season. Still, if you can limit your celebrations to the main days and pass on the daily barrage of treats and excesses, that's a good start.

SingingSingleTracker

dave_in_ni wrote: »

The holiday season is almost upon us with Thanks Giving for you guys in the US & Canada and then Xmas. So my question is how do you guys cope?

This will be my first holiday season since my weight loss. I'm wondering what I should expect? For me I have no problem saying no, I've had various parties through out the year where I've happily went hungry as nothing but junk food was on offer, that doesn't bother me, what does bother me is the pressure from other people. " Aw go on its Christmas" I can hear it already. We don't do thanks giving in the UK but make up for it at Xmas with a massive dinner of Turkey, stuffing and all the trimmings, again doesn't bother me missing this but I can hear the wife already, or the Xmas parties, again I can go and eat and drink nothing but again it's the social pressure.

I worked hard to lose weight and I have no intention of messing that up by going mad over the holidays,

Have you guys any advice?

I try and burn at least 1000 calories a day with cardio Thanksgiving week, Christmas week, and NY's few days.

Meghanebk

The holidays themselves are no problem for me. I will eat over my limit those 2 days, I balance it out by eating below my limit other days - but it's the rest of the season that's hard! Everything from cookies to pies to rum balls will show up at work, and saying no to those is almost impossible. If I start eating any of those at work though it's hard to limit portions. After all at home I can freeze some for later, at work it will be gone so I may as well eat some before we run out...

jenilla1

If every day during the season is a party, I guess that could be a problem. But the holidays for me are just a couple of days in the year where I don't worry about it. Going over calories a few times a year for special occasions doesn't seem to affect me much, since the majority of the time I'm on track.