Is it stupid starting diet so close to Christmas?

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Replies

  • davidylin
    davidylin Posts: 228 Member
    I would say that any time is a good time to start, but personally, I think it's wise to be realistic about what you expect to accomplish and what you think about your longer-term ability to adopt new habits and behaviors.
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,129 Member
    duskyjewel wrote: »
    I agree with the others who suggested just starting to track but not actually reducing calories at this point. Getting back into the habit takes a little time.

    I started again December 1 and had the same thoughts as you.....maybe I shouldn't bother. But I don't have any fun travel coming up and Christmas is only one day, and any holiday parties will only be one or two more days. All other days, I can track and eat for weight loss. I'm trying to lose 20 after gaining it back from the 50 I lost 5 years ago. I went to nursing school and doing that while also working full time caused me to gain. But two years after nursing school, excuses about why I still have this weight are pretty dumb, so I might as well start now instead of later.

    Just start tracking, to gain awareness and re-form the habit, and then go into weight loss mode in the new year. Good luck! And enjoy lots of carbs and fat during your trip! ;)

    I actually started December 1st last year, and aside from a couple of breaks from deficit whilst I've been travelling or on special occasions I have kept it up longer than I ever have before. Hopefully this time next year you can tell someone the same :smile:
  • smantha32
    smantha32 Posts: 6,990 Member
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    Don't go on a diet. Enjoy holidays and vacations and birthdays. Just stop the consistent, day in, day out overeating.

    This. You can use the time to get used to tracking again and being mindful of how many calories you're taking in.
  • MelanieCN77
    MelanieCN77 Posts: 4,047 Member
    edited December 2017
    Not stupid. I wanted to get off a 5lb gain and started at the beginning of November, knowing full well it would take me through Thanksgiving and holiday parties and food. Even with some big meals and a couple of off the rail days I'm right on 1/2 lb a week target because 90% of the time I stick to the plan. Eating it up on a celebration day doesn't have to mean going to town every day of the month. Just start logging and slowly grow an awareness of your habits and intake and adjust.
  • Good_Morning_Glory
    Good_Morning_Glory Posts: 226 Member
    There is some BAD *kitten* advice here!!!
  • steveko89
    steveko89 Posts: 2,215 Member
    "There's no time like the present" is a saying for a reason. Though be realistic about your results and that all nutritional choices have consequences, even on vacation, birthdays, and holidays.

    Also, with 20lbs to lose your best bet is probably to aim for a 1.5lb/week deficit or less (guessing that would be in the ballpark of 1% body weight). Based on your comments I can see you wanting to be aggressive and set MFP calories to lose 2 lbs/week or just bottom it out at 1200 but trying to be that restrictive on calories won't be as sustainable.
  • passenger79
    passenger79 Posts: 257 Member
    steveko89 wrote: »
    "There's no time like the present" is a saying for a reason. Though be realistic about your results and that all nutritional choices have consequences, even on vacation, birthdays, and holidays.

    Also, with 20lbs to lose your best bet is probably to aim for a 1.5lb/week deficit or less (guessing that would be in the ballpark of 1% body weight). Based on your comments I can see you wanting to be aggressive and set MFP calories to lose 2 lbs/week or just bottom it out at 1200 but trying to be that restrictive on calories won't be as sustainable.

    I got 30lb to lose now and I 've never said I want to 1200 cal a day there is just no way I could manage that.
  • passenger79
    passenger79 Posts: 257 Member
    Thank you everyone I didn't expect this many responses and they are really helpful.
  • edlanglais5
    edlanglais5 Posts: 172 Member
    Not pointless at all. I would go ahead and start logging. It’s not as if there will be full table spreads every day between thanksgiving and New Years. Even if you don’t meet your goal every single day, getting over the holiday hump is actually a great start. If you at least get in the habit during this time, you should be on the track to success once the confuses are over and “excuses” are less prevalent.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,876 Member
    edited December 2017
    With a trip planned and the holidays, I personally wouldn't start a diet. I would just enjoy those things.

    I did lose a good chunk of my weight over the holiday season 5 years ago...but I had started in earnest in October and didn't have much planned for the Holidays outside of the actual holidays themselves and I was already well into the swing of things by the time they rolled around.

    If I would have considered starting a diet a few days before a big vacation and a weekish away from Christmas and then New Years, I would have just put it off for a couple weeks and started in January. Waiting a couple of weeks isn't going to be a big deal and you can enjoy your trip without being all fussy about *kitten*...

    I need to drop about 8 Lbs that I've put on over the last few months...I'm leaving for Tanzania next week which is pretty much a once in a lifetime adventure...I'll worry about dropping weight when I get back in January...I'm not going to be miserable on my vacation dieting.
  • Good_Morning_Glory
    Good_Morning_Glory Posts: 226 Member
    edited December 2017
    jemhh wrote: »
    Good_Morning_Glory wrote: »
    There is some BAD *kitten* advice here!!!

    What advice are you referring to?

    Mainly the ‘only three days out of nineteen’ advice. That hit me as being such a great reminder. :)

    Edited to include that the overall general consensus to just start is also great advice.

    Edited again to state that in retrospect I’ll need to be more specific. Thank you for the call out. :)

  • RachelElser
    RachelElser Posts: 1,049 Member
    Not at all! This best time to make good life decisions is now! I wouldn't think it as 'going on a diet' though, because that implies that you'll go 'off' at some point and probably gain it all back. You have to make life long conscious decisions about what you eat.
  • steveko89
    steveko89 Posts: 2,215 Member
    passenger79 wrote: »
    steveko89 wrote: »
    "There's no time like the present" is a saying for a reason. Though be realistic about your results and that all nutritional choices have consequences, even on vacation, birthdays, and holidays.

    Also, with 20lbs to lose your best bet is probably to aim for a 1.5lb/week deficit or less (guessing that would be in the ballpark of 1% body weight). Based on your comments I can see you wanting to be aggressive and set MFP calories to lose 2 lbs/week or just bottom it out at 1200 but trying to be that restrictive on calories won't be as sustainable.

    I got 30lb to lose now and I 've never said I want to 1200 cal a day there is just no way I could manage that.

    I didn't say you did, you didn't give any specifics so I was just cautioning against an overly aggressive deficit as a common reaction to frustration.
  • passenger79
    passenger79 Posts: 257 Member
    Relser wrote: »
    Not at all! This best time to make good life decisions is now! I wouldn't think it as 'going on a diet' though, because that implies that you'll go 'off' at some point and probably gain it all back. You have to make life long conscious decisions about what you eat.

    When I say "diet " I mean logging/tracking/hitting calorie goal consistently not following some crazy fad ,so it's just different choice of words .

    I know MFP works just last few months have hit me hard and with that my confidence and motivation. Thank you for your comment.
  • ForeverPrimed
    ForeverPrimed Posts: 17 Member
    edited December 2017
    Eat at maintenance and you can also try to back load your calories till the end of the day so you'll get stuffed much quicker and you'll be less likely to over indulge. That said relax a little. Even if you gain 2-3 lbs it'll come if in 1-2 weeks.

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