So hard not to binge on holiday treats, remind me I’m not alone!!

Noelishere

I have done well for myself but I can feel the urge to binge on holiday deserts on an hourly basis! I stick with two cookies per day, whereas before I could eat maybe 9-10 in one sitting.

This whole holiday has been great for practicing self control. Family bakes cookies and cheese balls (which I have been enjoying but it takes a lot of calories out of my day) fondue set me back quite a bit last week..

How is everyone else handling it?

You’re not alone, this is actually the first time since I started in October that I’m feeling an urge this strong. Just trying to work through it!

Hope everyone has a fun holiday (whatever you celebrate)

Orphia

Good job!

I've been keeping very active and banking calories for the party days.

Most people are on holiday, so they have more time to be active.

http://www.bodyforwife.com/how-to-pig-out-and-not-gain-weight-during-the-holidays/

If you're not on holiday or can't exercise for some reason, there's still nothing to stop you pigging out a bit then getting back on track after a well-deserved diet break.

spiffychick85

Ok so I'm off from work now through the New Year, but I honestly use this time as a mental break from dieting...I eat and drink and be merry and then I'm back at it right after New Years...I've been doing this long enough where I know that as long as Christmas treats don't turn into New Years treats which then don't turn into Valentine's treats and then turn into Mardi Gras treats then I'm ok...just have to cap it at some point and I prefer a hard cap come January 2nd

Whitezombiegirl

Honestly, not tempted I'm the slightest. I'm not trying to be 'good', I just don't want any of it - no mince pies, no chocolates, no fruit cake, no cookies.... It's a bit odd, I know. I'm not complaining though.

Blythmag

Must admit im the biggest moaner on here for telling people to just enjoy yaself, however im weirdly finding it hard to do myself! Im getting obssesed with this dieting, i just dont want to fall off the wagon.Never realised till today that ive become so needy about not binging at xmas.

I want the good work to continue, i will have a few bad days surely?

kommodevaran

I'm actually handling it by reducing temptation. I live alone; I would find it hard if my family insisted on making cookies etc every day. If I were a parent, I think I would have set boundaries for the family. Making and eating cookies every day isn't normal. Hoilday eating is fine, but holidays don't last for months.

sytchequeen

Whitezombiegirl wrote: »

Honestly, not tempted I'm the slightest. I'm not trying to be 'good', I just don't want any of it - no mince pies, no chocolates, no fruit cake, no cookies.... It's a bit odd, I know. I'm not complaining though.

I'm with you. I think maybe we are lucky? The way I feel about having a healthy weight is better than how I would feel about a mince pie right now.

Also, Christmas is on the 25th, not the whole of December

counting_kilojoules

I don't really like the special Christmas treats so this time of year isn't more difficult for me. I do, however have a sweet tooth and would like to have dessert every day of the week all year round! I just try to do as you're doing now and keep it in moderation. It is hard sometimes though!

aemsley05

I normally eat a ton at Christmas but this year I've worked so hard to achieve a healthy weight and I'm not going to let that all go to waste. So last month I sat down and thought about all the food and flavours that I love at Christmas and how I can have those without blowing my calorie goal every day. So I've been having little brie and cranberry parcels (only 150 kcal) with my soups for lunch, having a mince pie or slice of stollen cake as a dessert in tht evening, putting sugar free gingerbread syrup in my morning coffee etc. Basically little things every day and focusing on the flavours (e.g. spices which can be added to many low calorie foods) rather than complete foods.

I've also been trying to take some of the advice I've seen on the forums and blogs and think about what are the foods that it wouldn't be Christmas without and what are the things I don't really mind missing out on. So, while I kinda want to eat a bunch of chocolate yule log, that's not one of my family traditions so I don't mind missing it. However this year I am going to make my Gran's mincemeat bombe recipe and enjoy that, regardless of how far I have to run to get the calories!

In the end, if you're over some days and under some days then you're doing fine. You didn't put on the weight in one day and you won't reset all your progress in one day. Just don't use the holidays as an excuse for weeks of over eating and you'll be fine

LivingtheLeanDream

Great job, just savour and enjoy those 2 cookies, they taste better when we limit them I always think.

brookekaczor

I allow myself a certain amount and usually will keep mostly to what I fix ( I love making candy) and say no to a lot of stuff... It's hard because the yummies are everywhere, but allowing myself some that I have made in my calorie allowance each day makes the biggest difference. I weigh the worth in calories/miles... is that cookie/candy worth a one mile walk/run? Or is it worth a week or two to lose the weight again?

Mr_Healthy_Habits

I use to struggle with this every holiday, the flood gates would open and I would lose all control

Until one holiday when I reminded myself that I had binged out on previous holidays and you know what... I didn't die, I didn't suddenly wake up the next day 100 lbs heavier, it wasn't the end of my journey and did not stop me from succeeding

So if I caved again, big deal, the results would be the same, so why even stress about it...

And almost magically, that urge to just eat a whole freaking pie to myself was gone!

Francl27

Handling it very badly lol. When I was losing, it was relatively easy to stick to 1-2 cookies, now.. not so much. I have to remind myself that unless they are really good cookies, they're probably not just worth the calories... so save your calories for what's really worth it.

And it is easier to get back to it in January...

RckyMtnGirl

You are not alone!!! It also doesn’t help that a lot of gifts are edible and you feel guilt for NOT eating them. But at least you have trained yourself to be conscious of your habits, I’ve honestly given up this last week and am just going to enjoy the holidays with everyone.

CarvedTones

I have the urges big time. I have a BED. Last year I gained 15 pounds between November and February, most of it in December. So far this year, I have kept within goal. I log everything and I have light lunches like turkey and salad. I have not been the poster boy for healthy eating the last couple of weeks; a lot of days macros were skewed towards carbs/sugar. I have been fortunate to not have too much of anything around so far; treats have been in small batches and taking too much would cause someone else to not get any. I have asked that I only get a few individually wrapped small candies at Christmas. In the past I have had my stocking overflowing with chocolate that would be gone within two or three days.

toxikon

I've been working a daily Christmas cookie into my calorie goals lol.

I've also been doing my best to balance my calories over the week to keep a modest deficit.

On Christmas dinner days, I'm allotting myself 2000 calories (my TDEE is 1800) and balancing that out with much lighter calorie days when I don't have commitments.

On the day of the dinners, I also skip breakfast and eat a light lunch, saving around 1500 calories for the dinner itself.

This kind of strategy works well for me!

emcclure013

Out of sight, out of mind. I'm hiding Christmas treats in drawers at work, and in my cupboards at home. So long as I don't see them sitting on my desk or counter tops, I tend to ignore them!

I did change my weight loss rate from 2lbs per week down to 1 and that has helped a lot too. Those extra calories make me feel like I'm indulging even if I'm still technically on a diet. I figure a few days aren't going to hurt me in the least - I'll be back on track in less than a week!

HoneyBadger302

I'm actually not a fan of baked goods, so the "treats" thing isn't too bad.

I do enjoy some drinks, but since I'm just back to the gym a month ago, not even finding that too hard to turn down.

Tasty meals? That's a bit more of an issue, but again, I'll limit it to the rare occasion instead of daily LOL.

That being said, at my most "important to me" Christmas party, I wasn't going to sit there and count my calories - I just didn't stuff myself.

MelanieCN77

We don't really do Christmas and as we work for ourselves there's no office parties or treat piles to negotiate. I might make a nice meal on the day but unless I buy the stuff it's not in the house, thankfully. A couple of our neighbours do bring treats but those come at a manageable volume

LEdmonds2016

I don't usually have a problem with the sweets. It's the savory that gets me. I can pack away some mashed potatoes and gravy or turkey with all the fixings.. Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I put on 6 lbs. I lost 4 quickly, but it took me 3 weeks to lose that last 2 lbs. So, I will definitely not be making that mistake again!

ZigZag_27

Oh, you are not alone at all! I tend to do best when temptation isn't right in front of me. Usually this means not buying certain things on a regular basis or keeping them in a cupboard or the freezer (which works really well with Christmas cookies by the way). However, the last few weeks with Christmas parties and treats in the office I've moved to maintenance calories and am eating about half of my daily calories in cookies and snacks haha! I just know this is only a couple weeks out of my life and what really matters is what I do for the majority of the time. January 2nd I'll go back to weight loss calories and have happy memories of the time spent with family and friends and all the delicious food I got to eat!

cmriverside

I'm just eating whatever I want, I'll get back at it on Tuesday. If there's one thing I've learned in ten years it's that a few "over" days isn't the end of the world and I can't eat enough to do any real damage, anyway.

Okay. That's two things.

mypone

Whitezombiegirl wrote: »

Honestly, not tempted I'm the slightest. I'm not trying to be 'good', I just don't want any of it - no mince pies, no chocolates, no fruit cake, no cookies.... It's a bit odd, I know. I'm not complaining though.

Me either..im finding even looking at treats im like no thanks

caffieneaddict

It's so great to see I'm not the only one giving myself a bit of a break (still keeping to my exercise plan though!)

Also very jealous/impressed at those of you not tempted

JaydedMiss

iv been eating ALOT of potatoes and veggies. I have stopped tracking calories and just focusing on eating only "healthy" non processed foods in the time leading up to christmas. Simply because i know this way im kept full of goodness and am less likely to just blow everything on sweets. Alot more damage to be done with cookies vs vegetables its helping me alot to keep cravings at bay. Seriously its sweet because im a strong willed determined little *kitten*, Until baked goods come into play and i lose control. Which makes me uncomfortable. I hate losing control. Eating nice and low salt/sugar high nutrients has kept me craving the healthy foods and feeling nice and slim. But when the 25-26th come around, Best believe im going to eat whatever i want Maybe by then ill not even want them as bad (will honestly be interested in seeing lol)

Side note- iv actually lost weight eating this way without tracking calories. go figure

Orphia

Mr_Healthy_Habits wrote: »

I use to struggle with this every holiday, the flood gates would open and I would lose all control

Until one holiday when I reminded myself that I had binged out on previous holidays and you know what... I didn't die, I didn't suddenly wake up the next day 100 lbs heavier, it wasn't the end of my journey and did not stop me from succeeding

So if I caved again, big deal, the results would be the same, so why even stress about it...

And almost magically, that urge to just eat a whole freaking pie to myself was gone!

@Mr_Healthy_Habits Great stuff!

Amazing how moderation is psychological and we're not all powerless against The Cravingzzs!!

YOLO145

I’m clearly missing out on some holiday treats