Anxiety over my meal

RunningTowardsFit

Hi there,
Merry Christmas! I am celebrating Christmas with many friends and family tomorrow and we are having an array of food. Turkey, ham, rice, butter-peas, rolls, etc. and so on. The food will be delicious!
However, I am getting a little nervous that I will not be able to eat well because it will be so much food. I am more concerned about the weight gain if anything.

I have not been able to exercise because of surgery and have really not been hungry until today. Last week I had a deficit of 700 calories at the end, and my week ends on Friday and starts again Saturday. Thus far I only have 200 extra calories which may get used up tonight.

What should I do in regards to tomorrow. Should I just eat what I want and jump back on the wagon the next day or should I eat only a few bites of each, etc. Suggestions?

phyllisbobbitt

it is only for 1 day.! have fun with your family but just try to eat in moderation and everything should work out fine! let us know how it went. enjoy!

RunningTowardsFit

You are right- thank you for the encouragement and help!
Does anyone else have suggestions?

mjrkearney

Nope. That's about it. Savor in moderation and try to enjoy everything.

Graelwyn75

It is a single day. Have a little of the things you fancy the most, eat until you are comfortably full, and just enjoy, life is too short to fret over a single day, or even two days. Just eat mindfully, and make sure you savour the taste.

JesterMFP

Please don't be anxious. It's one single day. Enjoy it, and don't let your efforts to lose weight spoil Christmas Day. If you want to exercise moderation, then do so, maybe just have a small taste of each dish or food that you want. But really, any weight you gain will be mostly water weight and will come off again very quickly. One day of indulgence is not going to derail your efforts, unless you choose not to get back on track afterwards.

Sarauk2sf

Please don't be anxious. It's one single day. Enjoy it, and don't let your efforts to lose weight spoil Christmas Day. If you want to exercise moderation, then do so, maybe just have a small taste of each dish or food that you want. But really, any weight you gain will be mostly water weight and will come off again very quickly. One day of indulgence is not going to derail your efforts, unless you choose not to get back on track afterwards.

^^seconded

kuderstadt

Same anxiety here... don't want to blow it and not get back on the wagon! I don't know that I can do 'just a taste'. I think it's going to be tough to guesstimate how many calories are in some things... Hubby brought home Timmie's hot chocolate's the other day and I didn't want to say no, (a multitude of reasons, but mostly because I don't want to pass on an unhealthy food related thinking to my 4 boys), so I drank half and gave the other half to top up the kids drinks, and then logged it on here and realized I drank 200 calories in 1/2 a large (14 oz) Tim Horton's Hot Chocolate. Boo.

SideSteel

I guarantee you I cleared at least 15k calories over the past 3 days. And that's a conservative estimate. And IDGAF it's a holiday.

Now I'm not suggesting you must binge but I'd encourage you to let yourself enjoy life.

Contrarian

Just enjoy the meal and being with people you love. It's just a day.

tigerlinly

i agree with other posts here its one day dont sweat it. if u over eat fine wensday get back on track i had same fear at Thanskgiving. i got sick night before but was fine wheni woke up that morning i was worried i would over eat and get sick again plu the gain. i wound up getting less food then normal at dinner and even then i couldnt eat it all

SweetestHoney

I decided Christmas Eve would be my holiday cheat day. I feel the same anxiety so you're not alone. My advice is to enjoy it. A binge for a regular calorie tracker can be like a normal day for our less healthy friends. Don't sweat it. It's one day. And do not restrict the rest of the week. And don't forget to eat dessert. It's required on Christmas.

pagoubupa

I decided Christmas Eve would be my holiday cheat day. I feel the same anxiety so you're not alone. My advice is to enjoy it. A binge for a regular calorie tracker can be like a normal day for our less healthy friends. Don't sweat it. It's one day. And do not restrict the rest of the week. And don't forget to eat dessert. It's required on Christmas.

I agree with the above. Consider it a cheat day.

serenapitala

Some people do the "cheat day", but I have trouble with that because it makes my normal days feel like I'm denying myself what I really want. I have to make everyday one where I try to stay in target. If I'm off, I'm off, but I go into each day planning to succeed. I eat things in moderation. Today I had some of everything and ended the day close to my goal. Honestly, I didn't even want more, but if I had thought of it as a "cheat day" I probably would have just kept eating. While I was at my family xmas, I overheard my grandpa telling my mom how good I looked and asking how I lost the weight just as I was shoving a deviled egg into my mouth. They looked over as I turned their direction. The egg was literally hanging halfway out of my mouth. My mom just burst out laughing. Clearly, we can still eat and lose the weight :-)


Edit: I just want to add that I don't think the "cheat day" is bad, it just doesn't really fit into my mindset. "Cheat days" make me focus on food. Counting it as just another day means that the only special parts of the day are my family, friends and the fun. If you do "cheat", you will be fine. We all have different things that work for us.

bbgughj

Enjoy your food tomorrow , I'm sure you'll be able to enjoy some great eating, and still manage to not stress out about it ...
Go for the turkey , Lean meats , Veggies .. Enjoy the day with your friends and family . Don't forget 2013 is a new year and new beginning.

calamity71

Make a plate...but just one plate. Don't go back for seconds. Make sure there is space on your plate. Meaning don't heap it. try to leave a little space inbetween food item. Pick and choose what you want. You don't have to have everything and don't go back for seconds.

Same with snacks...don't graze. make a plate.

It is always a battle. I get anxious too. Today I didn't eat lunch prior to going to Christmas eve and when I got there the few crackers and cheese I had for hor d'oeuvres was considered my lunch. I had one plate of dinner.

Tomorrow I am baking and I have scaled our dinner way back from our normal traditional family holiday meals.

NordicAlien

I would say eat what you want, but ask yourself beforehand if you really want it. If you do, then eat it, and concentrate on it. It's easy at Christmas to just shove things in your mouth without noticing, especially if you have bowls of snacks around the house. Mom and I are awful at this, so we don't put food in bowls anymore. I found myself eating a bowl of sugared dates a few days ago (at a friend's), and I don't even LIKE dates - I was just mindlessly eating because they were there, and I felt like I should be eating them at Christmas.

If you really want to eat things, though, then do so, and don't feel bad about it. You won't wreck your diet in one day, or even a couple days. Just don't let the couple days stretch into a month the way I've been known to do.

Robin_Bin

I agree that it's only one day. Don't let anxiety ruin a good day. It's more important to focus on the important people in your life.

That said, there are a few things you can do. Don't eat the things you don't like. Enjoy your favorite holiday foods -- really enjoy them -- so no mindless eating just because it's in front of you while you're catching up on the family news. Some portion control may actually increase your enjoyment of what you eat and the day -- don't eat so much that you hurt, and keep in mind that the amount you can comfortably eat may have changed. If you want, eat and fill up on the healthier choices that you like first.

Celebrate and have fun -- if that involves having 3 different kinds of pie, it's a special day, but if the 3rd slice doesn't add to your enjoyment of the day, don't have it. You don't have to be a member of the clean plate squad -- that is, just because it's on your plate doesn't mean you must eat it. If you're done eating, or ready for a break, push the plates away for a bit or go sit somewhere you can talk without the food right in front of you. Focus on the other good things, the people, fun activities, etc.

Don't worry about targets and limits. Whether you log or not is your choice. I log even days when I give myself permission to eat differently. Others have found that some of their new habits stick, and they didn't actually eat as much as they expected.

nicleed

It is Christmas night here and I am sitting here feeling like a stuffed turkey myself! I ate lots (including pudding and custard AND a slice of oreo cheesecake for desert). I ate mince pies and white christmas and chocolate and roast potatoes and bread with butter and gravy and and and.....you get the picture.

And I will probably overeat at least a couple of other days in the coming week with family commitments (and the chocolates that Santa brought)

But you know what, I don't care, it's Christmas! I can get back on the wagon in 2013

Enjoy!

JustANumber85

go for the healthier things- Turkey, corn (without extra butter and salt), green beans....skip bread and noodles.

sandra152

yes foget the diet and enjoy lifes to short :happy:

tigersword

I guarantee you I cleared at least 15k calories over the past 3 days. And that's a conservative estimate. And IDGAF it's a holiday.

Now I'm not suggesting you must binge but I'd encourage you to let yourself enjoy life.

This, very much this.

Cr01502

Enjoy it.

Eat in moderation.

One meal isn't going to hinder your weight loss.

BarbaraC47

Enjoy the day - and DO NOT WORRY, it is only once a year so you can afford to let go a bit, I am gonna!!! :drinker:

PJ_73

I think if we start getting anxious about food, we have problems.

It's Christmas, it's but one day a year - although I imagine some will allow to last longer - and we should have no reason to feel anxious or guilty about wanting to enjoy all the goodness that will be around.

I concur, that if done in moderation, yet without denying ourselves anything we would like, you're on to a winner. Great work achieved will not be undone in one day and come tomorrow or Thursday we can jump back on the bike, or hit the roads and burn the cals off.

Eat, drink, be merry, laugh with your family, sneak a cheeky chocolate or two and most importantly, enjoy yourself and let those anxieties melt away....

beachdiva2010

Please don't be anxious. It's one single day. Enjoy it, and don't let your efforts to lose weight spoil Christmas Day. If you want to exercise moderation, then do so, maybe just have a small taste of each dish or food that you want. But really, any weight you gain will be mostly water weight and will come off again very quickly. One day of indulgence is not going to derail your efforts, unless you choose not to get back on track afterwards.

Absolutely true!! Also, try drinking a protein shake an hour before, it will help with over indulging. Just take a little of everyrhing ( not heaping spoons), and enjoy your day!

Merry Christmas!!

nz_deevaa

I have not been able to exercise because of surgery and have really not been hungry until today.

In addition to what has already been said about it only being one day..... You really shouldn't be eating in deficit if you are recovering from surgery. Your body needs extra energy to heal.

deksgrl

Unless you eat 3,500 calories over your TDEE which is perhaps 1800 or 2000 calories for a sedentary woman, then you won't gain a pound. You may see a temporary gain of water weight from sodium, depending on what you are eating, but that should go away in a couple of days.

I plan on eating whatever I want, just not huge amounts of it. Normal portions so that I'm not stuffed to the gills. And dessert and wine too. Whatever, it won't add up to 5,500 calories.

hifromjamers1984

I agree with everyone else. Enjoy. I had Christmas with 1 side of my family last night and ate in moderation, had 2 glasses of wine and still came in under calories. Not being able to workout might put you over but so what, like another poster said you'd have to be 3500 calories over before you would gain.

LorinaLynn

The ONLY way eating everything you want to eat today will cause any permanent weight gain is if you give into the stupid little voice in your head that says, "You screwed up. You're a failure. You might as well quit." Otherwise, just get back on track tomorrow and the holiday will just be a little tiny speed bump.

Enjoy the holiday.

I'm having cookies for breakfast.

TheRealParisLove

I tend to lose weight after over eating a day or two in a row. Just get back on the plan as soon as possible, and you'll be fine.