Christmas diet break

logarcia3217

Does anyone change there weekly goal loss to maintain weight during the holidays so they can indulge the food that is offered, why or why not. Thinking about having a 2 week break during Christmas from losing weight just because I have not had one since June/July. Then after it’s over back to losing weight again.

nossmf

I'm not changing my every-day goal; most days I will continue with my current daily calorie budget. But on days when a party or holiday meal presents itself, I'll not stop myself from going ahead and eating and enjoying.

cwolfman13

I read an article several years ago that was talking about how for much of the population, the slow and gradual weight gain is attributable to the holidays and winter in general where, for example, someone puts on 10 Lbs over the winter but loses 5 afterwards in the Spring/Summer...rinse and repeat to where 5 years later the person is 25 Lbs heavier and wondering how they got there.

I totally buy that as it was pretty typical for me to put on 8-10 Lbs over the winter when I was in maintenance...some of that was holiday type foods and whatnot, but a lot of it was just a decline in activity overall, including exercise. I think a goal of maintenance during this time is perfectly reasonable and you're probably doing better than gen pop with that.

For myself, this is not a particularly good time of year to actively try to lose weight and so far I've maintained this winter rather than putting on my usual poundage so I consider that a win. I have put a greater focus this winter on keeping up with regular exercise and being consistent in the weight room and come January I will get back into actively trying to lose my COVID Lbs.

MadisonMolly2017

I lost most of my 70 lbs during Oct -April throughout my life - most recently 2016,2017,2018.
And have reduced a recent uptick in year 4 of maintenance this Fall.

One of the advantages of long term maintenance is you notice your unique patterns- @cwolfman13 & myself as different examples. I gain a couple of pounds “overnight” with the first full week of hot weather (usually around July 4) and easily drop 2 pounds during the first week of cool weather in sept/Oct.

Now that I know that, I can plan to go into the summer a little lighter & not stress too much. I’m also going to actually get air conditioning this year. I just get so uncomfortable that I eat more.

AnnPT77

I'd point out that you've posted this question in the "maintaining weight" part of the Community, so probably quite a few people reading your post are eating at maintenance over the holidays because they're eating at maintenance most of the time now. But that's OK - we do have past experience, most of us, or minor seasonal weight loss needs.

For me, a key factor in handling this season is not so much where I set my calorie goal, but to consciously think of this season as about holidays, not holiweeks or holimonths.

There are many events and celebrations, but not all of them require me to eat in some extra-heavy way. I can go out for the happy hour, order the lighter appetizer, stick to limited/low-cal drinks, especially if this is happening at just some regular restaurant (not a special place). I can sample the foods at a potluck/buffet and be selective . . . and may decide to exceed my calorie goal if there's something really special on offer in a particular case. If FOMO drives me to sample multiple types of pie at the actual main holiday dinner, they can at least be small pieces. And so forth.

Sometimes it's worthwhile because of the food itself to eat more than goal, but a lot of times, the point is social, and the food is just a part of the picture . . . not the most important part. Earlier in life, I would've overeaten just because of my own expectations that that was the thing to do at any/every celebration (or lots of other excuses to overeat, actually).

Looking at total calories over a week(ish) and aiming to stay at or below maintenance calories (on average) can be a way to implement that, and allow more flexibility. Unless someone's bodyweight itself is an acute health threat, what's the downside? Delay in reaching goal weight - that's pretty much it. Is that delay worth it? That's an individual-specific question. Also, there's value in maintenance practice, before actual maintenance arrives, I think. Why not do it at holiday time?

I admit, at this point - around 7 years into maintenance - I don't worry much about an over-goal day here and there, as long as they're more rare than frequent. It's a drop in the ocean of life. Usually, there's a little water weight jump on the scale, then I go back to normal routine, and weight steadies out to normal within around a week. It's not a big deal.

Early in the process, during loss and the early months of maintenance, I was more worried about this sort of thing. In a way, I think there was a little magical thinking going on, some subconscious belief that I would gain all that weight back from one or two over-goal days. That's just not how it works, but it took a while to absorb that idea viscerally.

You might like this thread (not from me, but started by another MFPer with experience, with comments from others):

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10878914/holiday-challenge-maintain-not-lose

Best wishes for great holidays!

Retroguy2000

After six months you're overdue for a diet break imo. Yes, go back to maintenance for a couple of weeks. Enjoy it.

But... that doesn't mean you should get ridiculous with snacking, having two plates at dinner, not working out at all, etc. You didn't say that was your plan, but you also didn't say it wasn't.

My current plan is to keep working out, eat healthier than normal before and after the 25th, and I anticipate going way over maintenance for a couple of days. I don't expect it to balance out, however I do want to remain in control.

This new video from biolayne (Dr. Layne Norton, PhD nutritional sciences) about holiday dieting is relevant. Six mins.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPSZB_gPzaE

JaysFan82

Nope. Sticking with the plan. It's a very slippery slope for me.

rosiekin

I’ve been maintaining my weight since 2015, and it’s important to me not to deviate from my weekly goal too much, if at all. I’ve had lots of Christmas meals out, and I manage this by under eating my maintenance calories some days, to balance out the days I eat over my maintenance calories.
I usually always eat more at the weekend, and with Christmas falling on a Sunday this year, I’m not really thinking things will be much different than usual. However, just to make sure, I have got a few extra calories banked. For me, the peace of mind (and pleasure) I get from maintaining my weight, far outweighs any pleasure I might get from overindulging.
Sometimes I wish I wasn’t so rigid, and could actually be a bit more relaxed about sticking to my weekly calorie goal, BUT would I ever want to go back to the way I used to eat, or the weight I used to be, the answer is a definite NO, so I plan just to keep doing what I’m doing as it’s working for me.

westrich20940

I know this is past, but there are many other days/times of the year where it's applicable.

I don't do anything specifically for the 'holidays' to avoid gaining weight. I am naturally less active, I eat more, I eat the sweets and good stuff that we only have at Christmas/Thanksgiving time. I don't do a damn thing. So I naturally gain some weight.

I just get back to my normal routine and things go back to normal.

onyxgirl17

This year I didn’t track over a period of 3 weeks; more for my mental health. Sometimes it’s good to let go. I gained 1.5 pounds over holidays but now I’m tracking again. I’m about at maintenance so I only eat 100-150 calories under maintenance average currently. I lost 30 pounds over 2 years which is very slow but I needed to build the right habits to keep it off. The other mental diet break I take is when we go on vacation. I don’t go crazy but I just don’t track calories for that week. Everyone is different and this just works for me.

sofrances

I don't calorie count on the evening of Christmas Eve, and on Christmas Day. On Christmas Day, I eat whatever I like, no limits. After that I return to normal, except I give myself a week off from weighing myself (usually I self-weight more or less every day). Seems to work OK for me the past couple of years. The key for me is to take a few days off at most, not a few weeks / months. But it is easier for me given that I don't live in a country that celebrates Thanksgiving, so the whole "season" starts a good deal later.