The feast of the seven fishes...

adipace815

I am one of those strict loggers even in maintenance and the holiday weekend is somewhat of a challenge. Our family tradition is the feast of the 7 fishes, which typically bodes well because I can select the seafood and stay away from the other temptations. However, the night will probably include a couple of unmeasured glasses of wine, no scale to weigh the seafood and how can I avoid at least one Italian pastry. And then there is actually Christmas Day at the in-laws, which is way more difficult. A Christmas ham, mashed potatoes, gravy, pies for desert and at least a couple of more glasses of wine. Not much at this dinner in the way of a healthy diet. Rather than busying myself with creating meaningless log entries that will be inaccurate and not give me much information, I will leave the log blank for the next couple of days and get back to the program when the events are over. It’s sort of an uneasy feeling, but I have found that any temporary weight gain comes of pretty quickly once I am back on track.

How are the rest of my fellow MFP friends handling the holiday events? Have a Merry Christmas everyone!

kommodevaran

I eat what I like, I decide for myself what and how much I'm going to eat/drink, I enjoy what I'm eating, and don't deem anything unhealthy as long as it's eaten in moderation. Eating in moderation is, for me, being flexible and to have sensible eating habits, which is how I eat over time, not trying to be perfect each day.

josette06

I'm going to enjoy myself. You won't gain it all back in 2 days. Enjoy yourself and return to logging and weighing food Tuesday.

TavistockToad

2 days out of 365 won't do any lasting harm...

crazykatlady820

I think it's good to have a day or two (or more if you're on vacation) where you just put the scale away, take a deep breath, and trust yourself. The scale may go up, but the majority of it will not be fat (if any of it is). So, I just relax and enjoy myself.

Lounmoun

Christmas isn't a feast day for mey family. My family is eating pretty normally and I don't drink alcohol. Christmas cookies and a cake are the only big calorie extras I expect.
Reasonable portions and staying active are my plan I guess. Not freaking out if the scale goes up a pound.

AmandaDanceMore

Enjoy the festivities and don't worry about your log. The only reason I've been logging the last few days (after falling off the wagon) is to get back in the habit. Other than food I make at home, it has been horribly inaccurate! And, I'm also not doing big celebrations (working today and tomorrow), so not a lot of reason to stop logging.

kimny72

The most effort I attempt on family feast days (maybe 5 -7 days a year) is not to overdo it, and I attempt to log afterwards with vaguely chosen portion sizes out of curiosity.

So basically I enjoy without guilt but also without being a glutton. :drinker:

lynn_glenmont

I log, estimating as best I can for things I can't weigh (I'm not taking scales with me to other people's homes), and using the closest entries I can find for other people's recipes -- actually, most of the "traditional" foods in our family I've made myself at one time or another and have a stored recipe I can log.

Just because I'm logging doesn't mean I feel I have to stick to my normal calorie goal on a holiday. I just want the data.

Everybody should do what works for them. If not logging on a holiday is what works for you, or if you want to try it and see if that's what works for you, that's what you should do.

Happy holidays, everybody.

TonyB0588

Eat a bit of each dish that's provided, but take small portions. Some items you may be able to skip altogether without being awkward.

nowine4me

I use Quick Add in these situations.

Orphia

I enjoy myself, do more exercise, and log guesstimates.

I figure a couple of days of estimates is better than no data at all.

I've never actually gone a day without logging (990 days so far). What happens to your weekly net calories?