How do you plan to handle the holidays?

ahsats

Devour everything in sight, on multiple plates, the day of the holiday. Be selective and only take home higher protein, lower calorie left overs.

loriq41

I think I will probably workout the same or more those days and know that the few times that I indulge that it is just reality that I am not gonna lose any weight..no harm, no foul! Probably put off weighing after the indulgences for close to a week. My indulgences will only be with the foods that I TRULY want..if it is something that I like but don't love..I just won't eat it. Maybe a half piece of pumpkin and a half piece of apple...whatever...I am just going to try to maintain during those particular weeks...

Allimaester

I have already decided that for both Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve I will be changing my weight loss goal on My Fitness Pal to "Maintain my current weight" instead of "Lose 1.5 lbs per week". I'm just afraid that if I cut myself too much slack that I will get back into my old sweet tooth habits, and no piece of pumpkin pie is worth that.

SassyCalyGirl

the same way I handle every day. Self control and portion control.

TheRealParisLove

I'm going to my mother's house for Thanksgiving. She lives 28 miles from my home. I plan to ride my bike there and back. That should help me stay under for the day and still eat whatever I want. :bigsmile:

battybecks

My Thanksgiving strategy the past few years has been to do a hard workout that morning and fast up until meal time (which is early in my family ... we eat around noon). Then I eat whatever I want. No counting calories or feeling guilty. Pretty much the same thing at Christmas.

But I am very disciplined the rest of the time, and I think that is the key to surviving holidays. There's no way that one day is going to totally destroy your progress. It's what you do the next day and the day after that matters. If you can't get back on the wagon, then you're screwed, but it's not because of one day.

This. I'm in the UK - we don't do the Halloween candy so much (and I live in a high rise so no one's going to knock on my door!), and obviously Thanksgiving doesn't register either. BUT at Christmas my family eats and eats and eats.

What I did last year (I wasn't trying to lose weight at the time, I was just saving room) was not eat Christmas morning (the milk in my coffee was enough) and just wait until the 2pm gorgefest. Lovely turkey, ham, Yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes, sprouts, carrots, stuffing ... and my Granny's homemade Christmas pudding at the end!

Boxing Day is also a challenge in my family - we go to my great-aunt's, and she makes the most amazing cakes. There's always a selection of about four or five homemade cakes, and you just have to try a bit of each because they're so nice.

So I'm going to write off those two days, and do a hell of a lot of exercise before and after (and nice low-fat meals too). It only happens once a year!

Also, I've been finding that I can't eat as much as I used to, so my portion sizes are going to be naturally smaller. Hooray!

BlueBombers

Christmas Day I'm eating whatever I want. It comes once a year and I'm enjoying it.

Then I'm back at it the next day.

KANGOOJUMPS

eat.
drink.
be merry

runshellersrun

For Halloween, I am not even buying the candy until Halloween morning. If there is any candy leftover, I will take it to work.
For Thanksgiving and Christmas, I plan on eating maintenance calories and probably will not exercise on those days.

maracuya23

I come from a very food-oriented family, and they definitely are one of those families that kind of keep an eye on what you're eating/ how quickly you're eating it.

My two strategies:
1. I cook. A lot. If I'm making a couple of really complicated dishes in the kitchen, it takes me several hours. I have a glass of wine with that usually (alternating with lots of water, cause cooking's thirsty work!). I am in the center of activity, am busy, but no one seems to notice I'm not eating nearly as many of the munchie things set out before the main meal. Or, if I am, it's usually lots of veggies.

2. For the main meal, I get enormous helpings of vegetables- tons of salad, green beans, cherry tomatoes- to cover at least half of my plate. Then more moderate helpings of everything else I'd like. This strategy both keeps my calories for the day in check, and because I'm eating at the same pace as everyone else, and have a lot of food on my plate, folks don't seem to notice nearly as much.

brenn24179

I feel terrible when I overindulged this weekend, all bloated and icky so I don't want to do this over the holiday. I plan on having turkey, no ham (trigger food for me) green beans and a bit of macaroni and cheese. I don't plan on doing sweets, I don't care for them and I just eat them because they are there.

Plan on eating out thanksgiving so I do well without leftovers and Halloween,I help out at church and hope not to have any candy, just socialize and we have soup and maybe 1/2 grilled cheese.

Christmas, I have been going to adult kids the last couple of years so no leftovers. Also I think I will go easy if not at all on the sweets. Turkey buscuits instead of ham.

SharonCMach

well i start with a drink...early in the afternoon it will likely be a dirty martini. as i sip on that and enjoy it, we'll start to get the cheese and crackers ready, and my wife will get going on the spinach artichoke dip. shoot....i need another drink. this will go on throughout the afternoon as we enjoy hanging out in our pajamas watching a horror movie marathon. sometime around 3 the turkey (laticed in bacon) will be ready, and we'll crack open the wine. at this point, my wife and i differ....she's a jarred gravy girl, and im a drippings and wondra kinda guy, so i'll make my gravy while she opens hers. load up the plates and wine glasses (milk for junior) and feast on bird, potatoes, squash, cranberry sauce, stuffing, green beans, crescent rolls and cheddar bacon biscuits. now that we've hit the wine, we'll stick to it until dessert. whew! got through 2 plates...its best to load the dishwasher now, because i sure as hell aint gonna do it later. dishes in the dishwasher means it must be time for pie, and ice cream, and cookies. well that goes really well with irish coffee, so maybe ill make one of those. i might wander in to the kitchen shortly thereafter and start to pick like a vulture at the carcass. this is an indicator that its time for a sandwich. out comes the bread and mayo so i can load up a thanksgiving sub. wash that down with another glass of wine.....head up stairs and make sweet sweet love to my woman like 2 polar bears wrestling in slow motion. pass out, belching and farting out the days festivities while dreaming of turkey omeletts in the morning.

thats typically how i handle thanksgiving.


ETA: TL;DR - i eat all the food and drink all the booze.

^^^Haha...Love this!!

Im going to eat what I want during the Holidays, in moderation of course. Probably exercise that morning of Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve & Christmas Day that way I don't feel like Im totally taking the day off. I always make a healthy dessert for both gatherings so if I need something sweet I won't feel bad about eating that dessert. Like previous posters had mentioned, indulging on the Holidays is not going to mess up you weight loss. Just continue to eat & exercise as you normally do before and after the Holiday season. Enjoy the time with Family & Friends and try not to think to much about the food.

loserlee123

I am not as concerned with Halloween and Thanksgiving as I am about Christmas because that's just not one day, its a whole darn season. So busy....shopping, wrapping, cooking, lots of quick convenience eating or eating out, not as much time for exercise, parties and more parties, then there are the cookies. It just means really good planning and doing the best I can. Logging in and tracking food and exercise are a must!! Not making excuses, just stating the reality.

silken555

I ate to my satisfaction on Thanksgiving including desert and I was within my calories for the meal...the wine is what pushed me over. The fun thing about Thanksgiving is most of the food is actually quite healthy...:)

Just eat what you want in moderation and you'll be fine. Those two days are blips in the road over the course of the journey you're taking...:) I just spent the last two WEEKS eating everything and the kitchen sink and even those two weeks aren't going to screw up what I've accomplished previously or in the future.

Good luck!

SarahofTwins

Portion control and have a dessert or two. I use to be very strict on what I would eat but ended up regretting it because I would indulge later.

PaulHalicki

This is my first time trying to lose weight over the holiday season. I know I need a plan... I just don't know what!

The abundant Halloween candy is already sneaking up on me, and I've caught myself making trips to the candy bowl. I log every peanut butter cup, of course, but they sure add up fast!

I have NO idea how I plan to balance Thanksgiving and Christmas. I want to be able to indulge (and not have mine or my boyfriend's family tell me to eat more!), but I don't want to blow my progress, either.

Any suggestions?

I work snacks into my calorie budget. So when there's candy around, if I eat that, I do without a typical snack (hummus & crackers, an orange, etc.) I found that the Fun Size candy bars are pretty low in calories (relatively speaking) so try to stick to the smaller sizes (Kit Kats Fun Size are only 70 cal each; even if you eat three it's only 210 calories, not bad for a snack if you've planned for it.)

If you're at a holiday party and you use MFP on your smartphone, get the phone out and enter stuff *as you eat it* to keep you on track. Don't try to put it in after the party, by then it's too late, especially if you've gone over your limit.

As far as the actually holidays where you eat a big meal, don't worry too much if you go over on those days, as long as you stick to your budget the rest of the time. If they are just one-day blips and not part of a sustained binge, sure you may gain a pound but once you get back into your routine it'll come back off.

And when all else fails, when you see that you're going over, go for a walk. Walk for an hour and you can make up for lots of that stuff you shouldn't have eaten.