Anyone else upping cals till Xmas?

victoria_1024

I did this last year! It was great, I didn't feel deprived and I was pleasantly surprised to see I was able to maintain all month. I jumped right back in in January and finished my weight loss. This year I'm in maintenance so it's a bummer not to have that cushion.

nutmegoreo

Nope. I plan to keep a deficit with the exception of a few days of indulgence (hopefully not overindulgence, but who am I kidding). The net result may be a slower loss caused by those days.

CattOfTheGarage

Yes, but not yet. I stop work on the 22nd and plan to go into maintenance until the 6th of January (twelfth night).

For now I'm still battling to keep a deficit, it's meant to be 500 but it's turning out more like 250. That's OK, it's still a deficit.

amusedmonkey

I do it every year to cut myself some slack, but I do it from Christmas Eve to Old New Year (Jan 14). I eat at a slight surplus during that period. Before Christmas I usually lower my calories to offset my planned gain a bit.

leejoyce31

Tacklewasher wrote: »

I'm still trying to lose, but won't be stressed if I don't lose what I want to. Office Christmas party is done and I've lost what it added. And not of lot of treats so it's not a biggie to me. I'll eat well Christmas and Boxing day, but that will be about it.

I had to google Boxing day because I got so confused after so many references have been made to it. So, this is the day after Xmas celebrated in Canada, the UK and some other countries? I just thought it was some huge boxing match. Silly me.

leejoyce31

Machka9 wrote: »

I've actually lowered my calorie limit and am making an effort to stay under it in an attempt to lose a bit of weight before Christmas. Christmas is still a good 2 weeks away.

That was my plan, but it's gotten much harder to lose now. I'm pretty thin now, and it takes me forever just to lose a pound if I need to cut. But I'm still trying. I'm trying to save up for my New Year's Day feast at Cheesecake Factory. I looked it up, and the meal I used to eat there is 5,000 calories from appetizer to dessert. Crazy!!!

My stomach probably will fill up before I can get through it. I figure this will be my treat since I ate at a deficit for Thanksgiving and plan to do the same for Xmas.

dragon_girl26

Yep, though lately I've even struggled to stay at maintenance. Normally it isn't too bad, but I haven't been as inclined to get up off the couch as I do when the days are longer and it's warmer outside. I've put on a couple of pounds since fall, but that's all right. Once the holidays are over, I'll go back to a cut like I did last year.

NEOHgirl

I haven't officially changed my targets, but I am not as diligent about sticking within my targets, and I am choosy with my splurges. As long as my 5-week complete-day projection shows me at or below my current weight, I'm mentally OK with it, even if I've gone in the red for my daily calories.

successgal1

Nope. Or, heck no, in my case. I have a vacation coming up first week of march so I'm going to make a valiant effort to limit myself to one or two days over indulgence (between now and march), and ONLY if I exercise to get the calorie number back down.

It took a full 7 days for me to see the scale go down again after 3 days straight of overindulgence on Thanksgiving weekend, and that was too long for me.

SueSueDio

leejoyce31 wrote: »

Tacklewasher wrote: »

I'm still trying to lose, but won't be stressed if I don't lose what I want to. Office Christmas party is done and I've lost what it added. And not of lot of treats so it's not a biggie to me. I'll eat well Christmas and Boxing day, but that will be about it.

I had to google Boxing day because I got so confused after so many references have been made to it. So, this is the day after Xmas celebrated in Canada, the UK and some other countries? I just thought it was some huge boxing match. Silly me.

I admit I haven't bothered checking this ( ), but I was told as a youngster that it was called "Boxing Day" because that was when the rich folks would box up their Christmas leftovers to give to poor people. This may be entirely fictitious!

And in some families, the day after Christmas might well involve some kind of fighting...

Need2Exerc1se

We attend a lot of parties that involve food and drink between Thanksgiving and New Year's Eve. I like to be able to indulge at these gatherings so I actually lower my non-party day calories during this time. I still usually gain a few lbs, but this helps keep it to a few instead of a lot.

JaydedMiss

Nah i dont have a family so i never really celebrate christmas. Sounds depressing but i guess this year it makes me happy. No temptation. Ill probably buy some shortbread cookies or something delicious and have a few days of higher calories for wine and snacks.

But right now i exercise for excess calories so id eat them anyway if i wanted

Savyna

It sounds fine. Better to eat at maintenance than to overindulge and regain weight. Happy Holidays!

sarko15

I have started to, and I've felt a little guilty about it but it makes me feel better I'm not the only one I love holiday potlucks, I love Christmas cookies, etc etc and I don't see the point in restricting myself from something that makes me happy.

Before somebody jumps and says "restricting is bad," and that I should just factor it in to my normal loss calories, I get it. I do that normally, at normal times of year. But at a 1200-1300/day calorie goal "fitting high calorie things in" means I have to restrict in other areas throughout the day. I'd rather not skip lunch because I want to enjoy a couple glasses of wine or a piece of cake at a friend's Christmas party that evening, and I'd rather not decline the invite because I'm nervous about overeating. It's just easier for me to eat at maintenance and still enjoy the holiday.

emjam99

I've done the same thing, I struggled with binge eating disorder and went from 1310 calories to 1600 ( really 1750 to maintain but I stay at 1600) and the binges have reduced, I'm much happier here.

cwolfman13

leejoyce31 wrote: »

Tacklewasher wrote: »

I'm still trying to lose, but won't be stressed if I don't lose what I want to. Office Christmas party is done and I've lost what it added. And not of lot of treats so it's not a biggie to me. I'll eat well Christmas and Boxing day, but that will be about it.

I had to google Boxing day because I got so confused after so many references have been made to it. So, this is the day after Xmas celebrated in Canada, the UK and some other countries? I just thought it was some huge boxing match. Silly me.

I live in the states and my family celebrates it...but we also have a pretty strong British heritage...in fact, most of my wife's extended family still lives in Britain.

BrittanyCLaccetti

I tend to get a little lazy around the holidays, but I think of it as a nice reward for my hard work during the year.

jennybearlv

Yes, but not by choice. I just seem to be hangry all the time since winter settled in. I've decided to just roll with it and shoot for somewhere between MFP's 1220 and my maintenance calories of 2600. I'm still losing something and I have a feeling I'll be a bit more motivated come spring.

jaedwa1

I just got into a good rhythm with my eating routine and seeing good progress so I'm going to stick to it. I only have plans on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve so I should be okay...**crosses fingers**

ccsernica

Coincidentally, I should hit my "preliminary" goal weight very soon. The amount of remaining jiggle in my gut tells me I need to lose a bit more than I expected, but it certainly couldn't hurt to shift to maintenance mode for a week or two.