sabotage at christmas - just me?

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Replies

  • RoadsterGirlie
    RoadsterGirlie Posts: 1,195 Member
    Yes, yes, and yes to this. Christmas should be a time for celebrating, but with all of the food pushing, it's just put me in a bad mood.

    You are not alone.
  • triathlete5301
    triathlete5301 Posts: 182 Member
    If I have "food" plans with people, I try to figure out where we are going and plan what I am going to eat there. Make sure you go somewhere where you can look up the calorie content etc. Go in with a plan and then stick to it (that's the hard part- its always easier to say I want a salad than to show up and smell a burger). If people want to go out for drinks, plan accordingly. I don't think of it as sabotage, I think if it as peoples excuse that they believe themselves to allow themselves to overindulge. We have choices that we want to make whether or not we want to do.

    Overall, I believe that if we have a goal in mind and we stick to our guns, even though the holidays are full of festive-calorie rich cheer, we can come out where we want to. You just have to decide what you want to allow and not allow.
  • mominwi419
    mominwi419 Posts: 87
    This time of year just sucks for food.

    I've decided that I am going to pick and choose my battles. That means that I'll eat before going to my husband's family's "all-you-can-stuff-in-your-face" pizza buffet. Seriously, they order close to 20 pizzas and everyone pigs out.

    That also means I'll celebrate my best friend's birthday and her engagement the week before. We're going out for sushi. I am going to primarily do sashimi, but may let myself indulge in a roll with my husband.
  • tobnrn
    tobnrn Posts: 477 Member
    I must be that sabatager. I love food. I love to bake. I enjoy spending time with friends. I love going out. I am responsible for what I put in my mouth. The people I go out with are responsible for what they put in theirs. I make it fit period.
  • funkycamper
    funkycamper Posts: 998 Member
    This is why I love zig-zagging having a weekly calorie target vs. a daily one. I can easily eat lower calorie a few days in order to have extra calories to eat at a social event and/or exercise a bit more, too, to offset it. No problem.

    I also pick-and-choose my splurges. At Thanksgiving, there was no way I was going to avoid eating my favorites like turkey stuffing, Aunt Virginia's carrot cake, and such. However, I totally bypassed the mashed potatoes, rolls, pies and such because those are something I can easily have any time and didn't miss them a bit. But I had two servings of stuffing and the carrot cake. Yummmmm. Totally worth it.

    And if you do go over your calories that day/week, so what? I'm set to lose 0.5# a week. So that means I'd have to eat an extra 1,750 calories that week in order to not lose anything. (Sure, our bodies don't always lose according to math equations but close enough.) So I just maintain that week? No big deal. It's not going to derail my lifestyle.

    I've heard it said "It's not what you eat from Christmas to New Year's that's the problem, it's what you eat from New Year's to Christmas". Makes sense to me.

    This is a lifestyle for me, not a diet, and I'm not perfect in any other area of my life so why should I be perfect with my eating? If it takes me a little longer to make it to my goal, again, so what? Studies show that flexible dieters not only are more likely to achieve their goal, they're more likely to maintain their goal.
  • katcunock
    katcunock Posts: 664 Member

    I've heard it said "It's not what you eat from Christmas to New Year's that's the problem, it's what you eat from New Year's to Christmas". Makes sense to me.

    I zig zag too

    and i agree with the statement. My issue is that it's only the 2nd of december and i already have people willing me to indulge (certain obese friends) in the spirit of christmas! It just seems to me that this why they have such issues in the first place.

    We can't leave the house at xmas as boyf is on call - we have a cheese picknic in bed planned. And i will love it.
  • farway
    farway Posts: 1,260 Member
    We can't leave the house at xmas as boyf is on call - we have a cheese picknic in bed planned. And i will love it.

    Just don't have crackers with it :laugh:
  • ladyraven68
    ladyraven68 Posts: 2,003 Member
    the amount of people trying to sabotage you around christmas is mental. It's literally the 2nd, and people are already telling me to 'treat myself, it's christmas'.

    No. I don't want to go to that all you can eat buffet with you, i don't see why my social interactions have to focus on food.

    People's reactions? not favourable.

    I indulge, I workout, but I don't go overboard. What is so wrong with that???

    How do you cope with the sabotage?Am I the only one experiencing this?

    No, I don't think they are trying to sabotage you, they are just trying to spend time with you.

    You need to be able to fit these occassions into your life, and not cut yourself off from your family and friends.

    Eating like that every single day will affect your weight, but enjoying the odd day with friends and family over the holiday won't, just eat a bit less the day before/after.

    Don't let your desire to lose weight rob you of enjoying life.
  • LadyIntrepid
    LadyIntrepid Posts: 399 Member
    Supposedly the average person gains 7-12 pounds between Thanksgiving and New Year's. It sure is good going down, but it's a bi%ch to get off! I prefer to pull back on non-celebratory days, fully enjoy the celebratory days without ridiculously overindulging, and up the exercise to help compensate. I'm at maintenance now, but when I was trying to lose weight, I cut myself some slack -- as long as I didn't gain any weight, that was good enough and that's exactly what happened -- didn't gain or lose an ounce but didn't feel deprived or like I was missing out on anything either. Then I went back to focusing on weight loss again after Jan 1.
  • Gemz321
    Gemz321 Posts: 64
    I have not told people I am dieting, as generally I don't feel like I am just generally trying to have a healthier lifestyle and yes lose weight. I have not lost weight fast so hardly anyone has noticed, a few have recently said you look like you've lost some weight. I then just say yes Ive lost a few just generally eating and exercising better. I don't make a big deal out of it, so nobody pushes me into eating foods as they don't realize I am trying to control what I eat. In the past though if I have been on a diet, I seem to have a lot of people trying to give me sweet and fatty foods. Now its just generally if there are some there, people will say there's such and such there if you fancy some, if I say no im alright thanks, nothing more is said. As its christmas at work, there are chocolates etc out, most days I don't have any, although last week one day I had one as I fancied it, and I didn't feel guilty. I just wanted one so I had one and I know it was still in my calories. In the past I would have had more than 1 but I was satisfied with that bit of sweetness. I do believe on Christmas day I will eat a lot, but I am not worried about that, as long as most of the time I am doing the right thing, that's what matters. :)
  • Pamtime22
    Pamtime22 Posts: 4
    I put on a couple lbs over Christmas but just get back on track. I try to talk more and chew less. Walk around with just one plate of food so no one has a clue to how much i am eating. Lol. Rave about the food instead of actually eating it. Drink lots of flavored wat like Mio. Seems to work.
  • quirkytizzy
    quirkytizzy Posts: 4,052 Member
    Sabotage? I don't know... to be honest, it sounds a little paranoid to think that everyone around me is busy thinking about how much I'm eating, and my weight goals, and intentionally trying to make me fail or gain weight. I'm not saying you're paranoid, but I just don't personally see it as sabotage. People have other priorities than you and in most cultures, food is an important part of social interaction.

    This. It'd be arrogant of me to assume that everyone around me is that invested in making sure I stay fat. I'm just not that important in most people's worlds. Someone wanting me to eat more than I'd like is not doing so because they want me to fail - they are doing so because they don't know other ways of connecting with me. It's not malicious. It's frustrating, but not malicious.
  • Sweet_Pea0107
    Sweet_Pea0107 Posts: 90
    I think sometimes people start losing weight and then become paranoid that people are trying to "sabatoge" them. I don't buy into it.
  • fun_b
    fun_b Posts: 199 Member
    I attended a party where a family friend put food on my plate before I even realised what was happening. I was stuffed but as the food was on the plate already I ate it so I wouldn't hurt her feelings. I think this person was just trying to be a good host and may have thought I was just being shy as in previous years I would have eaten a lot more. But I agree it can be very annoying.

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