Holiday Sabotage ....... be prepared or wear sweatpants

IowaPrincess

So it dawned on me today (probably to it being Halloween)...
Wow Crystal you started an intense diet plan a month before all of your favorite feasts; :drinker:

2 Birthdays
1 Wedding
Halloween
Thanksgiving
Christmas
New Years

YIKES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :explode:

So I thought maybe a quick way to combat this would be to identify what I love soo much about these meals.
I need to find alternatives or identify what is an appropriate portion to eat of that food!! :sick:

My biggest road block or should I say worry is that I have no control over the food my family makes....99 % will be unhealthy and delicious. :ohwell:

SOOOOOO that means portion control.

Here are my favorite feast foods and what portion I will try my hardest to eat.... and the things I am going to have to tell myself to keep me from losing my mind :noway:

Birthday Party :
Food: Cupcakes, Cookies, Rice Krispie treats
Portion: NONE
Thought: I have no self control or a "just one" mentality when it comes to these pastries.
*****10/27 birthday party "I succeeded!!!!" and I have no regret ****

Halloween :
Food: Nerds, Twix, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
Portion: NONE
Thought: Crystal you can get these things any day of the year. They are not in short supply OR even seasonal.
You can even get them from a vending machine. Get over it!
****My test will be tonight ******

Thanksgiving :
Food: Turkey, Mashed Potatoes, Stuffing, Gravy, Rolls, Corn Casserole, Cranberry Sauce, Cheesecake, Sweet potato Souffle
Portion:
Turkey = size of chicken breast
Potatoes = none ..... I just realized they have little to no flavor really, I just want the gravy!!! Reality check (empty calories)
Stuffing = One ice cream scoop worth
Gravy= two tablespoons (instead of the cup I usually eat)
Rolls= ONE not six .... I bread, but my jeans dont.
Corn Casserole = 1/2 cup
Cranberry sauce = NONE... tons of sugar
Cheesecake = NONE
Sweet Potato Souffle = 1/2 cup (this is pretty much a desert) and has more nutritional value than cheesecake

Thought: Every Thanksgiving I put on 5-7lbs in two days... Not this year. I will take TURKEY home with me and nothing else.
Rolls are not a rare item, but happiness is. Cranberry sauce.... why have I been eating this???? Its like cranberry jello???
Has everyone seen the sugar content on this?? LOL, WHAT was I eating this for?? Kidney health??
Cheesecake... i love you cheeseake and I always will, but you are like a bad boyfriend. You show up when times are good and leave me feeling fat and stupid. I'm sorry its not me its you. I cant take you back again.
Not too mention the most important thing of the holidays... I get to see my family, why let food take away from that???
I spend the rest of the day moaning on the coach when i should be laughing and having fun. Its such a special day :flowerforyou:

Christmas: this holiday is 2 days in my family, a huge Christmas eve dinner and Christmas day Breakfast AND dinner. YIKES. :sad:
Food:
Ham, Casseroles (hashbrown etc),Rolls, Christmas cookies, potatoes au grautin, Pancakes, waffles, bacon, toast, spaghetti, garlic bread, cake....... i could go on and on, but I wont bore you.

Portions:
Ham: NONE .... I eat to be polite
Casseroles: Green been yes, Hashbrown NO
Spaghetti & Garlic Bread: One of my favorite meals!!!!! For this meal I will do a Insanity DVD and walk twice that day to make it worth it :bigsmile:
Christmas cookies: You are seasonal and amazing... I will allow myself two.
Breakfast Foods (pancakes, bacon, etc..) : I will take a protein shake with me and only have toast with apple butter

Thought: Christmas is about Jesus.... and not trying to end up looking like Santa.
You want your family to see a new you and be proud.... gorging yourself infront of them probably doesnt scream "I've changed"
By now you should be within 25lbs of your goal weight, you cant let one holiday set you back an entire week :huh:

New years:
Food: Lets be honest here = ALCOHOL :drinker:
Portion: Drunk
Thought: Its one day. You deserve to end the year celebrating your success.
However, the next day you will clean the whole house, walk the dogs, and take all your fat clothes to Goodwill.
Regardless if you are hungover and feel like you have been kicked in the back of the head! :sick:


So.... I am going to check this at every feast that goes by to see how I did.
i will also post what i ate and my AFTER thought.

I hope all of you feel positive about the family days to come, not only how you feel about yourself but how your relationship with food may/hopefully has changed from last year if you struggle with emotional eating like I do.

i still have to remind myself.... dont stuff your face because your happy!!


Happy Halloween everyone!!!!!


IowaPrincess

cakemewithyou

"Cheesecake... i love you cheeseake and I always will, but you are like a bad boyfriend. You show up when times are good and leave me feeling fat and stupid. I'm sorry its not me its you."


AHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAAAAAAAAA


I'M DYING.

IowaPrincess

Sad but true. LOL :flowerforyou:

GrandmaLynn1

Great post and definitely a reality check for myself as well . . . why does being with family ALWAYS involve food? Coming from a large Italian family with 12 siblings that is what we always did together, celebrate and enjoy the food. I am definitely focusing on "me" this holiday season and will practice restraint and try, try, try to make good choices and exercise in the midst of my holiday frenzy. Thanks for the encouragement :flowerforyou:

El_Ivers

Great idea to challenge all your "food enemies" in the next few months. I might have to do this myself!

jasonp_ritzert

Nicely put. Having a game plan is part of the battle. Have you ever thought about providing a dish of your own that you cooked that may be more on the healthy side?

VryIrishGirl76

I totally love this post!

Fyi on the cheesecak.....try yogurt over a crunched up graham cracker....is a decent substitute.

Icelandic_Saga

So good to have a plan! To be honest I'm kind of terrified of the holidays coming up. I just love food. SO. MUCH..

cmriverside

Really well written and well-thought-out post. You had me laughing, and it's pretty early here.


New Year's
Alcohol
Portion: drunk :laugh:

And it's about Jesus, not ending up like Santa: hilarious.

Well done on the birthday. You've got this.

HermioneDanger118

Ive gotta remember to do this later...

bokodasu

Thought: Christmas is about Jesus.... and not trying to end up looking like Santa.

Bwah! Love this!

I already make most of my own food for the holidays, since I don't eat meat, and this year Thanksgiving is going to be all about the lean protein and ignoring the side dishes. Green bean casserole? Really kind of yuck, when you get right down to it. Potatoes, might as well eat paste. And my family refuses to leave the marshmallows off the sweet potatoes, so they're right out. But you will pry my can-shaped cranberry sauce out of my cold, dead, hands - it is the only thing that makes Thanksgiving dinner worth bothering with.

Halloween, I will eat all the Blow Pops out of my kid's bags. This is not much of a danger, though, since in the last two years our neighbors have only given out Tootsie (a.k.a. "Satan's Own") Pops instead of their deliciously bubbly cousin.

Christmas, I'm not even thinking about. For a number of reasons it's going to be tough this year, so I'm just going to focus on making it fun for my kids and if that means we all have PBJs for Christmas dinner, then so be it. I grew up with "Celebration = Gorging on Treats", so I've been making a real effort to do it differently with my kids. It's hard! I never realized how my natural followup to "wow, good job!" is "let's go get ice cream!" before this year. I like your approach of breaking it down - will have to try this.

IowaPrincess

Thats how I grew up!
Its the holidays. lets all eat our body weight in sweets n fat :drinker:

I am definitely trying to break the cycle with myself, which is a huge battle!

IowaPrincess

Nicely put. Having a game plan is part of the battle. Have you ever thought about providing a dish of your own that you cooked that may be more on the healthy side?

I bring the diet soda LOL
I am also considering gorging myself on salad right before I leave :sick: that way i wont even have room to eat.

AmberJo1984

I think I have to be more prepared. I thought I was... but, you've inspired me to make sure. I don't think I am. Especially when it comes to family get-togethers.

AmberJo1984

Thought: Christmas is about Jesus.... and not trying to end up looking like Santa.

:laugh: LOVE THIS!!!

MelisMusing

Really good reality check!
I especially like your thought on Halloween candy- we CAN get it whenever, so it's not like we have to treat it as special. What a great way to look at it.

One of my strategies for the holidays is to contribute as many dishes as I can. For instance, I always make a dessert that I know has less calories in it and is healthier. In fact, my low sugar dessert almost always beats out the fatty one that someone else brings. Same thing for stuffing, and cranberries (*I make a KILLER cranberry sauce with vanilla, apples and oranges, and coconut sugar, that doesn't have the same effect on your blood sugar as regular sugar does). I also am in charge of making the "big salad" and fill my plate with that and some turkey before I even think about anything else. By the time I get to the stuffing, etc, I'm basically full, and don't end up having as much.

And- if I decide I'm going to indulge with no regret (what's the point?) I make sure to adjust accordingly with my exercise.

LOVE all your thoughts on the upcoming months- with a good plan, you can accomplish anything!

hopefulsheena

Great idea to challenge all your "food enemies" in the next few months. I might have to do this myself!

Agree!

MarianneDarroch

I love this post, your so right, most of these things are available at all times, so why when it's a special occasion this is used as an excuse to overindulge!

Luckily living in the UK my next holiday is Christmas so plenty of time to prepare, def going to focus on turkey and limit the sides, they are tasty but also moreish and calorie laden!! Lol.

For New Year am heading to a Ball so whilst there will be dinner and drinks am hoping the dancing will burn off some of the calories too!!

cindybowcut

Great job planning ahead. I have learned that if I don't care for it why eat it. On the cranberry, I make the fresh stuff not the canned jelly one. I know that I got the holidays under control. Last year I aced the holidays, my first ones as a diabetic. When I had my A1C blood test in February I passed. So I am going at the holidays head strong this year.

Chuckle_n_Dwindle

Have I told you lately how awesome sauce you are?? Well YOU are!!! Check and Check..Printing this out to be my holiday food intake guide! Woo Hooo...no stretchy pants for Chuckle!!!

IowaPrincess

Thanks MelisMusing!!!!

I have to plan ahead or I am going to EXPLODE like that turkey in Chevy Chase's Christmas Vacation!!! :explode:

I am seriously thinking of just gorging on a salad BEFORE I head to my families house.

piersons

This is an excellent post! I am definitely dreading the holidays but a game plan should help keep me on track.

IowaPrincess

Have I told you lately how awesome sauce you are?? Well YOU are!!! Check and Check..Printing this out to be my holiday food intake guide! Woo Hooo...no stretchy pants for Chuckle!!!

Chuckle N Dwindle you shut your sexy mouth!!!! LOL. :bigsmile:
I got to stay on this or I will be going to work in stretch pants!!
Baby got back!!!

lsulli2004

LOVE this post! I will be thinking about everything you've said as I make my plates on those holidays. Thank you!!!

jlapey

I'm feeling a bit like a hypocrite this Holiday season. I'm trying to lose weight by eating healthy and exercising but my gift every year to everyone else is baked goodies. I may have to rethink this.

WillLift4Tats

Haha this is AWESOME! Well written and witty, but painfully true! I have about the same schedule as you too: 3 birthdays, Halloween party (yes another one this weekend), Thanksgiving, Wedding, Christmas, New Years...and of course almost all of the holidays are doubled since we have to visit both my family and my husband's family. Initiate nom-fest. I'm so glad I found this though, some good tips. Thanks and good luck! :flowerforyou:

sunnshhiine

My favorite sentence in this post:

"Christmas is about Jesus.... and not trying to end up looking like Santa."

because CHRISTmas really is about Jesus.

Good luck to you as you set out to conquer these next couple of months!

IowaPrincess

Haha this is AWESOME! Well written and witty, but painfully true! I have about the same schedule as you too: 3 birthdays, Halloween party (yes another one this weekend), Thanksgiving, Wedding, Christmas, New Years...and of course almost all of the holidays are doubled since we have to visit both my family and my husband's family. Initiate nom-fest. I'm so glad I found this though, some good tips. Thanks and good luck! :flowerforyou:

Yes, lol.... being truthful with myself is usually really painful!!!

Cheers!!

amydee714

I LOVE LOVE LOVE seeing a post that is not about making excuses why its OK to eat all you want because its a special occasion!!

This is the same thing I did last year and lost weight over the holiday season and because I made my own delicious healthy food, I didnt feel cheated in the slightest! The holidays are about family not food!!!

Plates559

That feel when you always bulk during the winter so even after eating all that food you still need to eat another 1,000 calories to fit your macros.

jynxxxed

Seven meals over such a stretched period of time isn't enough to sabotage you or anything even worth stressing about.
Just enjoy your smaller portions, eat right inbetween the events and enjoy the season! :drinker: