Logging at Christmas

NattyJayne1991

Okay, so I know there is a long time yet until it's Christmas! But with all the sweets, cakes being shelved in stores at the moment you can't help thinking it's only around the corner!

I've never really been on MFP long enough to be logging at Christmas, wanted to know if you log at Christmas or whether you decide to go crazy and get back to it after the festive season has passed!

I know that come every Christmas I always struggle so I'm curious as to whether how many of you continue logging and being good or decide not to for a few weeks.

Natty

summer8it

I keep logging, personally. On a few major food holidays I might just add a generous amount of quick add calories rather than logging everything, so I may do that on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. On those specific days I don't worry about going over my calorie goal, but I keep myself to it throughout the rest of the festive season. At a maintenance calorie level, I can fit in a few Christmas cookies without going over!

One of my pals did a bulk last year that happened to fall during the holiday season from Thanksgiving through New Year's, and then she started a cut in January. She said it worked so well to do the bulk during the traditional overeating season that she might make it an annual thing!

ZenInTexas

Christmas day and Thanksgiving day I don't worry about it. All the other days, yes. I keep on logging.

melsinct

I know that come every Christmas I always struggle so I'm curious as to whether how many of you continue logging and being good or decide not to for a few weeks.

To break it down in honest terms, you aren't talking about letting loose on Christmas itself (aka 1 day), you are talking about "going crazy" for 3 weeks. That is a recipe for disaster, IMO.

I started MFP in early 2011, lost 30 pounds and have been maintaining for close to 2 years, so this will be my 3rd holiday season coming up. What I have found is that kind of mentality will be exactly what will do you in. You have to eat healthfully and mindfully the bulk of the time or you will gain weight, period. When I was actively losing weight, what I did was instead of reducing calories, I ate at maintenance. This gave me some extra calories in that danger period of Thanksgiving to New year's, but I didn't undo all of my hard work. I also do not count calories on Thanksgiving Day or Christmas Day. One day off once in a while won't set you back. Eating whatever you want, whenever you want for a month's time will.

Don't undo what you have worked hard for.

palmerar

With all of the homemade foods around the Holidays I find it almost impossible to log accurately. However, I will log as best I can. Yes I go over on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years Eve, but having a rough estimate of how much we eat on Holidays is interesting to me. Also, you can do some damage control by eating light before the main meal of the Holiday. I think that you will find it harder to eat as much as you have at past Holidays if you have been calorie restricting up to the Holiday. Another thing, take your time to eat...make sure you let your body realize when you are starting to get stuffed.

BlueBombers

This will be my first Christmas on MFP and I am not planning on logging on Christmas Day. It comes once a year and I plan on enjoying every minute of it :bigsmile: I'll be back on track the next day!

dunnodunno

This will be my first Christmas too on myfitnesspal & I plan on logging Breakfast, but it will be hard to log some of the other foods. I might make a guesstimate & add that for my lunch.

cwolfman13

I only log occasionally now at maintenance. I won't bother logging at Christmas. I also won't be going "crazy" with everything either. I will enjoy my Christmas dinner and what not and I'm sure a few holiday parties...but I'm not one to just sit around and eat Christmas cookies all day long during the entire holiday season. That's simply glutenous and you're looking for trouble. Nothing really changes for me that much...yes, I will most likely over indulge on Christmas day, but I'm not spending a whole month or two just sitting around gorging myself...that just seems stupid.

happysherri

I've always been bad around the holidays too. I vow this year to keep on logging through those months (I usually tapper off end of October through December -on healthy choices and exercise). I probably will not log food on Thanksgiving day nor Christmas day.

bex4health

Christmas time will be hard for me also, and my first one while one MFP! I love baking and cooking and I know I won't stop, just hoping I won't consume too much of it!! My husband is a firefighter so I'm planning on still baking and cooking, just sending it to the firehouse after I taste it lol

55in13

I usually do not log except every now and then I log a day or series of days to get a sense for some specific things I have added to my diet. I tend to eat from pretty much the same set of breakfast and lunch selections nearly every day. IOW, I don't eat the same thing for lunch every day but most days it will be one of about 6 different things. Same for breakfast. So I have these building blocks that I know will keep me under or near goal. When the scale starts to move, I make sure there are more "under" blocks than "near goal" ones. I won't let myself go crazy just because I plan to offset any damage but I won't worry over the content of every little thing either. I really don't get how people can eat at a deficit to lose weight for several months and then can't put together a few deficit days without measuring everything using meals you had plenty of times before while dieting and know they have good macros and low calories.

kirkor

> festive season

> few weeks

tread carefully, that's dangerous

jen4relient22

this will be my first christmas logging too! i know i always gain at least 5-10lbs at christmas time (and i too view christmas as a wonderful few weeks to eat, enjoy family, and just be happy) so i'm hoping that continuing to log with help eliminate that from happening! i usually stop exercising in the winter (was previously just an outdoor runner and could never handle running in 20 degree, snowy weather), but now that i've joined a gym i hope that will help as well since i don't plan on stopping working out ANYTIME soon. i think i'll probably try not to log on thanksgiving and christmas (i'm a compulsive logger and have to either pre-log or log immediately after i eat something or i feel out of control), so i'll try to give myself those days off. otherwise i'll keep logging.

nikkylyn

I might skip logging on two Days. Thanksgiving and christmas day, not the entire season. But still make healthier choices on those days. I will have my treats one piece of pie maybe a few cookies but Im not gonna pig out...ya know. I still will log the rest of the time. Just because stores are selling the sweets.doesnt mean i have to eat it.

highervibes

I keep logging good or bad. I fully expect to be eating at maintenance levels over the holiday... maybe a bulk? lol

gabrielleroberts3

I haven't been on here long enough for Christmas, but I plan on logging even if I go over. It's all about accountability for me!

Ldbg289

Last Christmas and Thanksgiving, although I was not on mfp at that point(I was using another program)I took the day off and figured I'd get back to it. Also I am not gonna worry so much about logging accurately on my birthday(coming up in 2 weeks).

nicholawelch

I Logged at christmas and new year and found it helped to keep me accountable but at the same time I did eat what I wanted to, I did not go without but found ny self being ore sensible. This paid off for me as I only put on 2lb over the whole festive period, even with cake, chocolate and buffets

sobriquet84

i just think about it this day--- Christmas is a DAY, not a season. Personally, its really hard for me to screw up my numbers in one day so bad that its absolutely catastrophic. I've logged before on Thanksgiving/Christmas and the most I've gotten to was 3,500. With that being said, I just put 3,500 calories for Thanksgiving/Christmas, I don't log specific foods, just put down 3,500 calories for the day. I have a good idea of calorie counts in the foods typically eaten in our home on holidays and at 3,500 calories I made myself sick. So, I "over shoot", just put 3,500 calories for Thanksgiving/Christmas, and go at it.

Enjoy the day, log if you want, don't if you don't, just keep it to that one day and don't make an entire season out of it.

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Deipneus

I know that come every Christmas I always struggle so I'm curious as to whether how many of you continue logging and being good or decide not to for a few weeks.

We've said it so often it's a cliche': It's a lifestyle change. But it's true. I don't change my behavior for Christmas. But when I'm at a party, whether or not it's Christmas, I either avoid the buffet table altogether or eat just a little and log a calories-only estimate.

JADEPH0EN1X

We usually go to stay with family for a week and get invited round to different family members for meals everyday !!
I intend to be polite & accept but be cautious of the kind of foods I eat .
I intend to keep the carbs & sugars restricted & go for the veg - unless it's smothered in sauce or butter ! I haven't got a sweet tooth so that won't be a problem.
On the DAY itself we are taking my parent out for lunch so it will hard to calculate exactly what calories i ve had but am still going to log as best I can ! & will be taking the dog for a loooooong walk & she might even get a doggy bag !

littlelaura

I ate in moderation last year and just used quick add to guestimate my calories on Thanksgiving and Christmas ensuring I put that I was over for the day. I think I am not going to do that this year because making my own thanksgiving stuffing derailed me the entire month between the two. I think I am sticking to the healthy stuff and logging exactly what I ate to avoid temptation is best for me.

PikaKnight

It's September.


ETA: And no one got fat in a day...or even a week.

BeachIron

My birthday is this weekend..

I have bigger cakes to fry.

Or something like that.

dcapulet

Natty, I am with you all the way. I planned out my Thanksgiving menu just yesterday. It works out better for me to plan.

I "hope" to stay within my calorie limits for the day. I found healtheir alternatives to some recipies for the actual meal, and made sure to be reasonable with breakfast and lunch items to not go overboard. With that being said, if I did choose to go over, I am prepared for that too. It is a holiday, and one day of going over would not be the end of me. But, I also don't want to undo my hardwork.

Bottom line - know your personal limits, enjoy yourself, and move on

jofjltncb6

I do both. I go crazy *and* I log everything.

dandelyon

It's hard because the best treats are hanging around at Christmas.

What helped me was having the flu a week prior to Christmas and day of. Red and green popsicles for all, ho ho ho.

In past years, I've taken control of my menu and that helped - for those particular days. The killer for me are things like little cheesecake squares or truffles hanging around in the communal work areas. Even if you eat just a little of this and a little of that, it adds up so quickly.

Plus, when money's tight (and that seems to be the case at Christmas for me and all my loved ones) we share the holiday joy with baked goods instead of spending money at the store.

Knowing the pitfalls helps, but it's definitely the hardest time of year to maintain a reasonable number of weekly calories.

Contrarian

Now I am stressed about Christmas shopping.

KANGOOJUMPS

I sure do log.
its the holidays
go eat and drink your face off.

CyberEd312

I got a cookout with a bonfire and Smore's tonight, Bowling and Pizza and Ice cream tomorrow night, a wedding and full on reception Saturday and a Birthday/Family Cookout (Wife's B-day) where I am hosting and baking 48 chocolate frosted cupcakes and homemaking 5 gallons of cookie and cream ice cream and that is just the next 4 days lol.... My point is "Its Life" there is nothing happening tomorrow or the next day that won't be happening at Christmas. You have a caloric intake and macros you need to reach each day and there will always be temptations at every turn. Just learn to fit things into your day and move on..... Best of Luck.....