How did you make it through Christmas without gaining ?

sargemarcori

I have been learning PORTIONS in a not-difficult way. In my efforts to eat home-cooked more often, I bought a bunch of glass containers for leftovers and lunches instead of just using whatever (old cottage cheese buckets, lunch meat snap-ons, et cetera.) I know the size of each container, and I've been learning how much is a reasonable portion of most things. (Half or less of the portions I ate for years!) So for lunch and then for leftover dinners, and then for meal prep breakfasts, I have been eating sort-of enforced normal portions.

enter the holidays, and I actually knew how much was a reasonable amount to put on my plate AND since I'd been eating that for a while, I didn't feel deprived. Being mindful of that--and yes, having half again for seconds if i wanted them instead of a whole 2nd portion, and not worrying too much--I went for maintenance, and I lost a pound by Christmas Eve. That's the hard part of the holiday for me, because I work at a school and there are a LOT of sweets in those last few weeks before the break.

Have I lost or maintained over the actual holiday? We'll see tomorrow, but I'm not worried. I'm learning how to LIVE here. If I flubbed it, I will simply learn to do better.

cupcakesandproteinshakes

I ate at maintenance calories. Planned diet break for 2 weeks. Happy days. No gain no loss

BufSabres

Ack! I didn't! I let up on exercise and calorie logging for the past week and paid the price with some extra pounds back on. Back on track today.

sbelletti

I ate under my calories for a few days prior, then pre-logged my holiday calories and stopped eating when I hit my target. If I know in advance what I am allowed to eat, it's a lot easier than guessing and getting a bad surprise when logging afterwards.

makinlifehappen

I just moved my long fast to the two days after christmas eve and christmas. Let everyone go wild, then got back to normal myself.

kenziestabes

Planned for maintenance, actually lost 2.5 pounds. Ended up losing in a very very social way, since I am a social person. My dad goes on 4 mile walks every morning. It was an opportunity to bond with him. My mom likes to try sweets but can't handle much. We split small portion desserts. I used the smaller dessert plates as my dinner plates and loaded on protein (Cajun style turkey) while sampling the carb heavy sides. Ate a little bit of everything and complimented the various cooks. At social meals, I made a point to play games and socialize in the living room, not the kitchen. Ate like I normally do outside of social meals. Gave my puppy lots of attention with playing and walks. Had fun and didn't sweat it. Didn't really care if I came out of it a pound heavier.

Overall, food centric social gatherings can be a pitfall. I decided to try to reframe Christmas dinner from being foo-centric to activity centric, which seemed to help keep me out of the kitchen and snacking.

Scott58nos

I did terrible! But I started back on my plan and I'm throwing in the towel. I know I can loose the weight and today has been a great start.

killergazecode

I actually had no money so I ate very little and the rest of the day I spent it sleeping 😂

Christy_1988

Though it was hard, I tried maximum to avoid junkfoods and focusing on having protein rich homely food.

chrish1992

Luckily my girlfriend supports my weight loss and it being just us i got to prepare lighter foods then typical holiday fair. we ate a lot of turkey instead of honey ham and alot of sugar free low calorie alternative deserts. i came out of the holidays weighing the same as i did going in but at least i got to feel like i didn't miss out of enjoying sweets with her

KarmaKamen

I gained 3 lbs, but I think it was partially water retention, stress, lack of sleep. Luckily, I was able to lose them pretty quickly. I would have gained more, if I didn't try to limit things as much as I did. The main thing I did, was continue to track, and portion things out. If I had a holiday snack, it was like 2 pieces of candy or a cookie. Nothing more than 150 calories at a time. The thing I did wrong was too much salt / sodium and carbs.

Kaitensatsuma

I did and I didn't.

Did I eat my usual calorie target of around 1500 through most of the week? Yes I did.

Did I also down a slab of prime rib today with roast potatoes and am currently enjoying some tea with biscotti, waiting for the ball to drop? Yes I am.

One day doesn't ruin my life or erase the last 364 days progress, nor decide the next 365 days of my life. I have a calisthenics workout plan, I'm up to 100lbs in my sandbag for squats, stairs and short walks around my condo complex, and up to 50lbs in my rucksack for longer 5 mile walks. I'm down to 11 miles per minute on my longer 8-10 mile jog/walks and up to 14 miles per hour on my bike for 24 mile rides, most everything is closed tomorrow so I'm going for a nice, relaxed, long walk, and into the new year.

makkimakki2018

I just ate a normal meal like always and didn't change my diet even if it's a holiday. It's good that people enjoy the holidays, but it's also a good idea to understand that sometimes the mission comes first too. Happy Holidays.

KL1887

Gaining over a one day holiday shouldn’t reflect on the other days of the year, provided you have a consistent downward trend (it will spike, flatline and drop, not only drop) or lose what you’ve gained if you’re at maintenance weight then the holidays should be fine. Just eat at your allowance for the rest of the time and it’ll be fine.

anneg50

I did not.

ginamyrmel

I expected to be a little loose with calories and carbs, but went way over. My sweet potatoes are to die for, so I indulged. I still logged and weighed myself daily, seeing in horror that I gained 9 pounds. I was happy to get back on track the day after Christmas and have already lost 5 pounds. Four more will be a breeze. I'm delighted to see how easily and quickly I can lose weight if I just stick to my plan.