Christmas Day

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  • fit30s
    fit30s Posts: 20 Member
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    Last November, I began sticking to a healthy eating / exercise lifestyle. I continued to lose through Christmas (about 10 lbs in 10 weeks - I was a high-healthy weight to begin with, this time anyway). I wasn't weighing myself daily, or even weekly, but maybe every 3-4 weeks.

    I don't mind over-indulging for one day. However, for my family, Christmas may involve multiple large dinners with different people hosting or different sectors of my family. Throw in staff parties and other outings and you could be in for trouble. I hear so many people lament over weight they've gained over Christmas, or temptations they've had to face, or feeling that they've denied themselves something, or that they deserve to binge at the holidays.

    My philosophy is that it's just food. Go ahead, enjoy your meal, try that item that you're curious about, but stay away from the snacks, fillers, and be careful about high-cal alcoholic beverages. Enjoy the people instead. If you'll be having two similar meals (turkey dinner), think "This is not a new taste for me, I can have a moderate amount, and be satisfied that I have enjoyed my meal."

    And make time to exercise.
  • neverstray
    neverstray Posts: 3,845 Member
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    First, if you eat healthy all year, one day won't do a single thing.

    Second, I'm at a stage where I don't think I would stuff my face. I'm not into it anymore. A lot of the food served is pretty good. It's the munchie food that always used to get me. Simple answer, stay away from the crackers, chips, dips, and all that. Just don't eat it. When it's time for dinner, just have a plate of food, and be done with it. Don't obsess about it from September to December. Just chill out.
  • kaylaandthestarcatcher
    kaylaandthestarcatcher Posts: 836
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    My mom usually has ham for Christmas dinner, and I'm not a big fan of ham (or pork or bacon. hmm.) so I usually eat everything but that, but even still I tend to give myself a 'free pass' on special occasions like Christmas and Thanksgiving and the like. How often do I get to enjoy a giant meal with my family?

    And I will never ever give up the homemade waffles and fruit topping and whipped cream that has been the traditional Christmas breakfast in my family for the past 20 years or so. It's just not Christmas without a waffle. Mmmm.
  • Whitezombiegirl
    Whitezombiegirl Posts: 1,042 Member
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    I dont celbrate Christmas as i'm aethiest but i do go to my parents for a 'Sunday roast' (Beef usually). I hate rost dinners- so I'll probably pick at it and munch on chcolates later, as usual.
  • okidoki7
    okidoki7 Posts: 151 Member
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    omg.....im so excited for christmas always am lol....i shall be eating what i want on christmas eve and christmas day..

    all the food i cook is the type of food id eat all year anyway, i dont drip it all in fat just because its christmas etc, im not a huge chocolate fan, so thats fine,......for me its the christmas pudding with brandy cream, cheese and bisuits that will be my sticking point, but i dont binge or eat to bursting, so im not that fussed :happy:
  • eyestylemom
    eyestylemom Posts: 107 Member
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    Well...I typically make a lot of sweets this time of year. And I am lucky enough that my DH takes them off my hands to all his work guys.

    As far as Christmas meal goes, we started our own tradition a few years ago of NOT having the traditional Christmas dinner. So we have Carne Asada Tacos every Christmas. My DH is the bomb at carne asada. We make homemade salsa too. Its fantastic! And we only have it twice a year (because its so much work)...once in the summer and on Christmas. :drinker:
  • Ruxie
    Ruxie Posts: 21 Member
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    My family usually has a fairly healthy Christmas dinner because we eat vegetarian and have a nutroast. But of course we do have our yorkshire puds :D. Let me know if you want some of our recipes. xoxo
  • AquaFitQueen
    AquaFitQueen Posts: 218 Member
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    Christmas has changed for me. It used to start on Thanksgiving with more food than you can imagine. Both my mother and father love cooking and baking....and the whole family was obese...so it was not out of the ordinary to over indulge the holiday season away.

    Now that I live in the UK Christmas is a very different story. My in-laws prepare 1 meal, usually a roast turkey with some sides, but nothing over board. My in-laws are also a whole family of thin people...the whole season is different when you aren't surrounded by disordered eating.

    I'm not worried about Christmas at all. What I DO worry about are my trips home, lol. yikes!
  • jcpmoore
    jcpmoore Posts: 796 Member
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    Since I'm now the one who cooks Christmas dinner, it gets to be the way I want it to be. I'll make the traditional Christmas ham for the family. Followed with mashed potatoes for my son (he loves them), which I probably won't eat 'cause I don't like 'em that much. Then I'll have roasted sweet potatoes, green beans, and maybe some whole grain stuffing if I can bother with the energy to make it. That'll do. We'll have a dessert, though I have no idea what. I'll have a small serving b/c a large one will leave me feeling bad.

    For us it's not about the food itself. It's about spending time with family and appreciating what the holiday actually means. The Birth we celebrate.
  • TrimAnew
    TrimAnew Posts: 127 Member
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    On Christmas what I eat would probably depend on who I'm with, and it's not a time that I would count calories, although I probably will watch potion sizes just to keep from going overboard.

    If I'm with my rural Kansas Grandparents, breakfast food for dinner time on Christmas Eve is probably on the menu, so fresh homemade biscuits with butter and jam or honey or "white" gravy (or combinations of all of the above), bacon, sausage, and fried eggs. The cookies of choice are frosted cut-out sugar cookies, chocolate no-bakes, snicker doodles, and an old family recipe for awesome oatmeal cookies (no raisins). (Seriously, what most people know of as oatmeal cookies don't hold a candle to these lovelies.) And usually someone else makes peanut brittle.

    If I'm with my parents, for lunch it's probably more likely food that my late (also Kansas) Grandma used to make, like a cheese soup very similar to this one http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/cheese-soup-recipe/index.html served with oyster crackers. (I've made it with regular whole milk, low sodium broth, no wine and cheddar cheese before and it's still very tasty. It reheats well and was a great excuse for me to buy a stick blender.). Dinner would likely be ham and beans with cornbread. The cookies of choice are "peppernuts" (flavored with anise and very addictive, although my husband swears they aren't "cookies" since they are hard as rocks/nuts) and soft chewy gingersnaps (loaded with molasses, and they disappear quickly when I take them to parties). Flavored popcorn is also on the snack list.

    With my husband's family, seeing as how they are Jewish, it's Chinese food. :P Apparently all Jews have Chinese food on Christmas. I did not know this before I married one, but it's been confirmed to me by every Jew I've meet since.

    Left to my own devices, in the Carolinas where I've grown up and live, it's biscuits and "sawmill" gravy for a late breakfast/brunch and cheese soup later in the afternoon or evening. Cookies of choice are all the family recipes I know, but I box most of them up as gifts, so hubby complains that he don't get to eat nearly enough of them. :P
  • corn63
    corn63 Posts: 1,580 Member
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    Thanksgiving comes before Christmas in my house.


    One fattening holiday at a time.
  • magj0y
    magj0y Posts: 1,911 Member
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    Thanksgiving, birthdays, Christmas and the Christmas parties are off limits.
    sadly, there are 3 birthdays, a 3 day weekend christmas party, club christmas party, and a Christmas party I host before Christmas..and one of the b'days is mine. Come January I stop drinking for 6 weeks, so that's always good. I should probably do a LOT of clean eating from Nov 1st to T'day.

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