Little victories

zingeber

I think I'm finally starting to get the hang of eating while on vacation visiting family. This is huge for me and I want to record some things I can come back to. I have to eat at maintenance for sure - limiting in this circumstance just sets me up for feeling like I can't do anything right (and it's only a little step from that to giving up). I can enjoy things like mom's mac and cheese and dad's ultra rich scones, but have just a little scoop of the mac and eat the scones without butter or jam. When mom leaves out goodies on the counter, I put them away (because she raised me to be neat and tidy, wink wink). If I offer to cook, we eat well all week (yay vegetables!) and I have a solid base of items in the house I know the exact nutrition info and can fall back on. Plus I told them I've discovered dairy upsets my stomach (white lie), which probably cuts out 500 calories a day in half & half and cheese snacks and toppings that they aren't offering me. I was so nervous for this week because normally a trip home completely derails my efforts at health, weight loss, whatever. This time is different. My family comes together around rich, delicious food, and I've decided to stop fighting that and to recognize it as a beautiful thing. I'm just going to keep learning and experimenting and making it work.

Can anybody else relate? What tricks do you use to enjoy celebrations and vacations with family, without derailing your weight loss efforts?