What are people planning to do over the holidays?

2

Replies

  • cassiegal724
    cassiegal724 Posts: 63 Member
    I won't be logging during Holiday celebrations because it's too difficult to track how many calories are in each food. I definitely won't pig out, I get uncomfortably full quicker than I used to. I will continue my regular exercise routine during the holidays to counteract some of the extra calories I eat. Here's a great quote for everyone:

    "It doesn't matter what you eat between Christmas and New Year's; what matters is what you eat between New Year's and Christmas"
  • rebeccap13
    rebeccap13 Posts: 754 Member
    Eat yummy food but don't end up like a stuffed pig on the actual holidays. Trying a little moderation this year because really that bloated sick feeling isn't quite worth it anymore. I'll be spending the whole week of Thanksgiving with my parents in a condo in CO so I'll probably cook a couple meals. But my "healthy" food is friggin' delicious so they usually don't complain when I cook. :) Plus, I'll probably be skiing or boarding so I'm not too worried about gaining.
  • Lady_Taylor
    Lady_Taylor Posts: 46 Member
    I plan on working out during the holidays, but I won't log my food. Portion control is my focus
  • makemewannadie
    makemewannadie Posts: 401 Member
    Christmas is so difficult for me because we spend 3 weeks at my in-laws' house, and there is just sweets and candy and cookies and cake and cheese and crackers and food, food, and more food from the minute we step into the house. And of course I'm away from home (and the gym) and it's -30C there so it's so easy for me to just stop exercising and stuff my face for 3 weeks. :)

    This year I'm going to try REALLY hard to keep to my calorie goals every day except for Christmas Eve and Christmas day, because the food we traditionally have those days is so high-calorie I'd be over my limit after one meal. I'm not sure what to do about the exercise part of it, but maybe I'll solicit some creative ideas from here when it gets closer. Try out 3 different free-trial-week offers at 3 different gyms? ha ha ha....

    Wow that sounds like a challenge! I'm only going up to visit my family for one night on the 23rd, i'm spending christmas with just my boyfriend in our own flat with our cat for the first time, i'm going to attempt to cook us a roast dinner and we'll make some mince pies (with amazing pine sugar!) It'll be over i'm sure but one day won't kill me :)
  • julieh391
    julieh391 Posts: 683 Member
    I'm doing a 5k Thanksgiving morning, and I'll eat and drink what I want but in moderation that day. Christmas will be two full days of family and food for me, so I'll get a good workout in Christmas Eve morning, and not worry about it Christmas day. I'll try to take it easy on calories the week before and get some good runs in. There's a 5k New Year's Day I should probably register for too.

    I won't log those few days, mostly because it's near impossible to be accurate when everything I'll be eating will have been prepared by someone else.
  • Sarabeth1980
    Sarabeth1980 Posts: 62 Member
    I'm am going to eat and enjoy. Just not over-indulge. A little bit of everything in moderation. Make some swaps to make things a little healthier. Luckily I am the host for most things, so I have a little more control :)
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
    I'm going to basically eat what I want, but try to be a bit more mindful and not eat to the point of feeling ill, just because it's there. I plan to log it purely because I'm a geek and I'm really curious to see how many calories are in my Christmas Dinner! I'll probably also intentionally eat at maintenance for a few days (I may even be maintaining by then anyway) and get in plenty of exercise.
  • m1311
    m1311 Posts: 103 Member
    Christmas is so difficult for me because we spend 3 weeks at my in-laws' house, and there is just sweets and candy and cookies and cake and cheese and crackers and food, food, and more food from the minute we step into the house. And of course I'm away from home (and the gym) and it's -30C there so it's so easy for me to just stop exercising and stuff my face for 3 weeks. :)

    This year I'm going to try REALLY hard to keep to my calorie goals every day except for Christmas Eve and Christmas day, because the food we traditionally have those days is so high-calorie I'd be over my limit after one meal. I'm not sure what to do about the exercise part of it, but maybe I'll solicit some creative ideas from here when it gets closer. Try out 3 different free-trial-week offers at 3 different gyms? ha ha ha....

    Wow that sounds like a challenge! I'm only going up to visit my family for one night on the 23rd, i'm spending christmas with just my boyfriend in our own flat with our cat for the first time, i'm going to attempt to cook us a roast dinner and we'll make some mince pies (with amazing pine sugar!) It'll be over i'm sure but one day won't kill me :)
  • Cheval13
    Cheval13 Posts: 350 Member
    Do a lot of activities with my family that don't involve eating. With holidays comes more time to play soccer with my bro, take walks with my parents, and crazy ping-pong matches. :) I also have my marathon training which I try to get rid of early in the morning, but I have to learn to relax too. I also make an effort to replace a lot of my normal foods with the treats that I can have only during the holidays (this way I don't add snacks on top of my normal calories), and I developed a taste for things made-from scratch like cranberry sauces so I can control the sugar, and the leaner cuts of all the excellent meats. I usually log only to make sure that I am getting enough vitamin/protein rich foods without too much fat or sugar, because I know I won't feel good then and won't be happy... and that's what the holidays are about, right? Being happy with other people. :)
  • LeenaRuns
    LeenaRuns Posts: 1,309 Member
    Business as usual: eat healthy, in moderation, and exercise.
  • m1311
    m1311 Posts: 103 Member
    Oops...so that didn't work...(iPad and my fingers post too fast).

    We're going to the in-laws too for an extended visit to, in a house where there is also lots of sweet stuff around. As soon as possible into the visit, I'll take a look at what's in the fridge and get some of what keeps me sane as soon as we make a grocery run.

    I really don't like just letting myself go, because it feels awful, and I don't want to have to deal with the scale bumping up over the days.

    Luckily everyone in the visiting house and all the visitors need to be working out, so we'll probably go to the Y as a huge group, and we can go on walks in the area too. I'd like to spend some time walking and talking with each of my children (since I don't get to see them during the year now), so that's a good option for being away from food too.
  • sarahharmintx
    sarahharmintx Posts: 868 Member
    I havent decided. My husband logs as well and he said he is taking Thanksgiving and Christmas off. I will probably do the same. I like to sample everything so I end up with lots of little portions which might be hard to log. Im cooking at Thanksgiving but Christmas is still up in the air.

    Eating at maintenance one day is not going to throw off 6 months of progress so I think it will be ok.
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,584 Member
    I'm treating the holidays like the rest of my days. Gonna try to stick within the calorie range, going to prepare/take something that I know the exact calories of, and exercise when I can. I plan on logging everything. At least for Thanksgiving, we're hosting this year... so I can at least guarantee that I'll have something that I can count AND enjoy. Go go smoked turkey, roasted sweet potatoes, and grilled apples.

    For me, over-indulging in the slightest is a slippery slope... so I do my best to keep it all on track... all the time.
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
    I'll still log over the holidays and if there is a day when I eat more I still log it, but don't worry if I go over. Sometimes I am surprised that I don't go over as much as I thought I would. Other times I am surprised that it went over more than I would have thought. So, it's interesting. I find calorie counting fun. But, if it gets too complicated to log I will not log, or I'll partially log, or I'll guess and quick add that number. I don't consider holidays and special occasions to be very accurate in my logging.
  • sarahharmintx
    sarahharmintx Posts: 868 Member
    Or maybe this:
    Eat and drink.

    and take naps.

    then eat and drink some more.
  • schparks
    schparks Posts: 74 Member
    Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and Christmas will be days off from tracking, using moderation and common sense, but not passing up on tasty once-a-year treats. This has been my approach for all special occasions since I restarted in June, and it's working just fine without any serious derailments!
  • KAR1959
    KAR1959 Posts: 4,334 Member
    Thanksgiving and Christmas I plan to eat, drink and have as much fun as possible. I will eat what I want...hopefully within moderation. If I'm exercising and eating in moderation those two days will not make that much difference. It's a lifestyle change not a diet...
  • tlinval
    tlinval Posts: 175 Member
    It seems my holidays last for days and days...gulp! I'm a tad nervous!

    Thanksgiving: I'm running a 5K that morning, yay! I plan on just eating in small portions at the IL's house, which I can handle. Friday my mom and grandma are coming up, so that'll be burgers or something at the local restaurant for dinner I'm sure. Saturday I'm hosting Thanksgiving for my family, and it's usually an all day eating extravaganza! Perhaps I should run a 5K that day, too! :laugh: :wink: I'm just hoping I can do small portions all weekend, I think that'll be a good strategy. Hmmm...maybe I should plan an after-dinner walk around the neighborhood with the family?

    Christmas: oh boy...I think I have 5 or 6 dinners??!! Planning for portion control and exercise! Our basement will be finished by T-day, which means I can work out on my treadmill again (it's in storage during construction and it's killing me!!) Maybe I should sign up for a 5K in December just so I have something to train for!!

    New Years: we really don't do anything for this, we're usually in bed by 9pm. :laugh: :yawn:

    Now, the tricky part will be to keep my hands out of the cookie exchange cookie jar!!!

    ETA: I don't have a computer at home, so I can't officially track here, but I plan on writing everything down.
  • I have slightly modified my Thanksgiving and Christmas menus to help me keep to my goals but will allow my family to sit back, eat and enjoy. Other than that, I'm planning on keeping portions under control but I'm not going to log, I tend to have snack size portions of some things and full size portions of others and it will just be too much of a pain to enter the recipe and then figure out how many "snack" size portions there are. The way I see it, if I go over, I go over, one day a month isn't going to undo the last 10 months. Also, I usually have those dinners ready around 2pm on the holidays so it's easy to skip lunch and save myself those calories.
  • DLKeeble
    DLKeeble Posts: 200 Member
    I plan on trying some of everything I like. A tablespoon of each thing fills a plate and I probably won't be able to eat it all. I am not going to stress over one day. I am planning on logging just so I can see the damage. :)
  • Cliffslosinit
    Cliffslosinit Posts: 5,044 Member
    Just gonna be me....that's all I can do.
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
    IIFYM! Lots of turkey and lots of pie! As long as I'm under my TDEE and it fits my macros I'm eating it.
  • specialkyc
    specialkyc Posts: 384 Member
    No matter how gluttonous I am over the holidays, I know I'm not going to do anything that will make a lasting negative impact. Even if I eat 1000 over TDEE on Thanksgiving, Christmas AND New Years, that's not even one pound.

    If I eat like it's a holiday EVERY day, then, yeah. That would be a problem. But I won't, so it won't.

    ^^^ This
  • Lucky over Thanksgiving I'll be on vacation with just my Hubby, Sister & Bro in Law so I will not have a huge meal in front of my face the entire time. Unluckily...I will be on vacation an entire week so instead of one day of temptations I have a weeks worth. But my plan is to use the hotel gym every morning, PLUS walking everywhere in the city will burn major cals. I'm still going to log in & log everything and still aim to lose. I'll have to eat restaurant food the whole time but the plan is to only eat a real meal once a day & split with the hubster.

    Xmas I will be at the in laws for a week & my plan is business as usual, working out on their treadmill, running on the beach, eating as healthy as possible, watching portions. I"m not a huge fan of home cooked food so I shouldn't be too tempted. I hate pretty much all Xmas food. I don't eat meat. Hate mashed potatoes. (or any potato except French Fries LOL). NOt a fan of sweets except Kit Kats & M&MS. so pies, etc don't interest me. ONly temptation will be the plethora of sweet wines available at all times. I may have to pretend to be going sober to get out that. :)

    I have a personal goal of not missing a workout until April 1st. Working out every day inspires me to eat right so hopefully all the good habits will continue. Good luck everyone!
  • lizziebeth1028
    lizziebeth1028 Posts: 3,602 Member
    I don't log on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and I eat and drink whatever I please. But I will make sure I get as many kick *kitten* work outs in as I can!
  • What the difference between cool whip and ready whip
  • hattie491145
    hattie491145 Posts: 85 Member
    Thanks for all the great responses :)


    Valerie I think one uses real cream and one uses fake, but I could be wrong.... :)
  • KANGOOJUMPS
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,474 Member
    EAT, DRINK, BE MERRY.
  • kimmymayhall
    kimmymayhall Posts: 419 Member
    I plan to EAT! My boyfriend and I will be doing our first Thanksgiving dinner on our own, still working out the menu but the main will be duck. We are going to my parents' house for Christmas for our traditional cinamon roll and mimosa breakfast followed by roast with all the trimmings for dinner. I will still count calories but not be so strict about getting the portions right (OMG is that 3 or 4 oz. of beef?!) while trying to excercise restraint and eat in moderation. Also just excercise. My brother's wedding is a few days after Christmas and I have a hot dress that I need to look good wearing :wink: