How to NOT Gain Weight During the Holidays

Bumping for easy referral over the next few weeks.... but absolutely agree about not using the "cheat" word.. I never consider I've cheated at all... I strive to make the best choices I can every day (I often ask myself if something falls into the good, better or best choice daily...and sometimes its just a good, and sometimes its the best.. .I still make poor choices, whether it be on purpose or because I still find myself sometimes falling into an old habit of an emotional dive bomb into a bag of chips....but those times are finally becoming the exception, rather than the rule, and that's my true goal.

But I don't want to be afraid of food for the rest of my life, and being here with all the information and knowledge available from so many people, is helping me learn how what I eat affects everything, and why exercise is so important to my overall being, and that once I lose the excess fat from my body, I will not have to think so much about my choices - they will be habit. I will absolutely always have to pay attention to my calories and my choices - but I'll be damned if I'm going to go the rest of my life freaking out over a piece of pumpkin pie....or someone pushing me to eat their luscious cookies (and yes.. I lie thru my teeth when necessary.. if I don't want something and the person offering keeps insisting, I either lie or suddenly see someone across the room I need to speak to for escape; whatever works, I'll do it. Because I'm worked too freaken hard at changing. :bigsmile:

I am here because of a lifetime of bad habits; and we all know habits are hard to break; but the choice is always mine and mine alone. and I'm not going to berate myself or flog myself when I stumble on the way.... but there's no doubt this time of year can be tough, so if having a great reminder like this to refer to when the going gets tough... bring it on... II will use any resource available to help me along the way.. I may even print a copy and keep it in my purse LOL.

My goal is to make healthy eating my norm. Down the road I fully believe I will NOT need these reminders.... because I will be comfortable with my weight and my fitness and overall health... and my habit!

So thanks for posting this fellow MFP.. much appreciated!

@ jwiley: just my 2 cents worth.. but i think it's great your planning to log your TG dinner.. I recently went out for a nice steak dinner; took me almost 1/2 hr to LOG everything, and when it went over 2,000 calories and I wasn't done I thought I was going to faint LOL.. (but fortunately a hot flash hit and distracted me from passing out :laugh: !) I enjoyed every bite, but it was also good for me to see the numbers of just how MUCH I had eaten (and about an hour later when my tummy decided to tell me in no uncertain terms what it thought about the huge AMOUNT of food I consumed...:sad:

Learn to love the 80/20 rule. If you are going to attend your office and family parties and plan on eating and drinking whatever the hell you want, that means you need to be incredibly diligent in your normal days. No more, “okay just one” which leads to four or five. Instead, aim for great week days – eat great breakfasts before work, bring your lunch in, and cook a great dinner. Then, on weekends or holiday parties, eat what’s available.

Eliminate the term “cheat day” or “cheat meal” from your vocabulary. ”Cheat” implies that you’re doing something wrong or immoral and should thus feel ashamed afterward, which I don’t think is true. Last weekend, I ate pizza, drank beer, and ate a dozen hot wings on a Sunday while watching football, and didn’t feel an ounce of guilt or shame about it – it wasn’t a “cheat day,” it’s just simply part my eating plan. Eating great 80% of the time and eating what I’m in the mood for during the other 20% allows me to feel good, look good, and have fun.

Now, after that “whatever” meal is done, I immediately go back to my normal healthy eating schedule – not because I was cheating or because I felt guilty, but because that’s just how I operate. No momentum loss, because it’s business as usual!

Also take into account...how many Thanksgivings and Christmases have you had? 20? 30? 40? Why can't you skip this ONE to save your life, to get healthy and feel good about yourself?

its called SELF CONTROL

How about double jeopardy, all married people know what I am talking about. Dinner at her parents place, dinner at your parents house . Same at Christmas, and you can bet there will be food for 40 when only 12 are showing up. All the bad food choices, sweets, bad carbs, you feel like a alcoholic in a bar with open bar.

I just accept its going to be a bad month, and look forward to January so I can resume my diet. I figure it won't be so bad when I reach my target weight, then falling off the wagon won't feel so bad.