tips on not gaining weight during this time of year

brenn24179
brenn24179 Posts: 2,144 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Last winter I gained 15 lbs and I don't want this to happen this year. Guess I got carried away over holidays and cold weather. This year I plan to be more mindful. I wasn't on MFP last yr. What helps ya?

I eat more protein now and I hope to eat small amounts at all the holiday gatherings. I plan on eating a lot of chicken, beans, soup, peanut butter, oatmeal, found 100 calorie cheddar grits. I know I want warm foods that don't have many calories. There is stuff like pumpkin pie, I can eat the pumpkin out, don't care about crust. Mashed potato and gravy, macaroni and cheese, different story. Definitely have to limit this and eat more veggies. I am having turkey this yr and not ham, not chancing it!

What do ya plan to do to keep your weight down especially holidays. We need a plan!

Replies

  • la8ydi
    la8ydi Posts: 294 Member
    Well I'm trying to take one holiday at a time - what I'm doing for Halloween is buying a VERY small bag of candy (I only get about 5 or 6 neighbor kids) for Trick or Treating and NOT opening it until Halloween night. Stay AWAY from the candy aisle and just not even think about it. Christmas will be the hardest for me...all the baking and parties. Yikes.
  • tuckerrj
    tuckerrj Posts: 1,453 Member
    Don't buy Halloween candy. Give the kids toothbrushes, that way you'll get plenty of exercise cleaning up the eggs and toilet paper they cover your house with. :laugh:
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    This content has been removed.
  • tuckerrj
    tuckerrj Posts: 1,453 Member
    At Thanksgiving dinner & Christmas parties, I fill up with a large salad and a glass of water at the beginning. Give it a few minutes. Then have a small amount of each of the wonderful dishes. By then I'm full and I got to enjoy all the food.
  • Lleldiranne
    Lleldiranne Posts: 5,516 Member
    I remember that Thanksgiving is one day (possibly two, if you have to do both sides of a family :laugh:) It's not going to derail me to enjoy one day, but it is if I start eating leading up to it, and overeat on the leftovers. I plan to not log Thanksgiving, but log every other day.

    As far as all the holiday parties, I don't have many, but I think I will plan ahead for that day, leave a bit of extra room, and indulge a little. My challenge will be to stop after the little, since I have a tendency to just eat if there is food around, or if others are eating. And it will be important for me to be extra good on the other days (as in staying within calories and macros), make sure I hit the gym 4-5 days a week, and take it from there. We tend to have several parties right around Christmas (again, the my family and his family thing :tongue:) but I generally get to plan the food for at least one of those, so I will control what I can, accept what I can't, and don't let a few "bad" days derail my entire season.

    I'm interested in seeing what others are doing, too :smile:
  • Lleldiranne
    Lleldiranne Posts: 5,516 Member
    Well I'm trying to take one holiday at a time - what I'm doing for Halloween is buying a VERY small bag of candy (I only get about 5 or 6 neighbor kids) for Trick or Treating and NOT opening it until Halloween night. Stay AWAY from the candy aisle and just not even think about it. Christmas will be the hardest for me...all the baking and parties. Yikes.

    I didn't even think about Halloween! :laugh: I have no idea how many kids to expect (we just bought our house a few months ago), so it's going to be a balance. I think I'll just have to log everything and stick to my IIFYM plan - if I have calories but need protein, the leftover candy will sit in the cupboard for another day. Or get eaten by the kids instead.
  • mamabisme
    mamabisme Posts: 59 Member
    I absolutely plan to indulge at every holiday. I will plan for it and keep it to one day for each holiday (not bringing home leftovers). Enjoy and move on. Same with holiday parties. We have never had more than one party to attend per weekend. The rest of the year, we typically go out or cook a more indulgent meal once per week. So, if we have a party to attend that will take the place of any other indulgences. Thankfully, I have learned how to enjoy foods and drinks that I wouldn't usually ha e without binging. I'm actually really looking forward to that not being a problem for me this year.
  • dynamitegalxo
    dynamitegalxo Posts: 299 Member
    Fortunately I really have no interest in candy so Halloween isn't a problem for me at all.

    When I want warm food, I make my own chili so I can reign in the sodium and use high quality cuts of meat. I use a lot of spaghetti squash in the winter, and make room in my calories for pasta when I want something gooey and warm. I also switch to oatmeal for breakfast or as a snack, it's heartier than eggs and pancakes and warms my tummy up.

    I'm not planning on tracking my calories on Thanksgiving or black Friday, and I'm not going to weigh myself until the Monday following in order to avoid making myself crazy. As much as it kills me, I also probably won't be bringing leftovers home from my mom's house - unless my boyfriend really wants some, but they'll be his. I'm going to enjoy myself on the day, and that's it.

    My birthday is the 16th of December, and instead of cake or other sweets this year, I'm going to make that the day I indulge in Christmas cookies. Again, not going to bring leftovers home from Christmas gatherings.

    Also fortunately (?), I don't drink, so I won't have to worry about those calories at any gatherings I attend.

    So basically, I guess my advice is to eat oatmeal and squash and be a homebody haha.. good luck! Now that you have MFP this year, you can definitely enjoy treats and still be aware of/responsible for your choices!
  • Yooperm35
    Yooperm35 Posts: 787 Member
    Go into maintenance and just maintain your weight until after the holidays :) It's easier to maintain than it is to lose the weight you could gain - JMO
  • brenn24179
    brenn24179 Posts: 2,144 Member
    had not thought about Halloween. I will freeze those candybars that are left over. For me out of sight, out of mind. I do good when I freeze food,leftover pizza especially.
  • gmallan
    gmallan Posts: 2,099 Member
    In terms of winter more generally, start making a list of go-to warm comfort foods that are low in calories. Lots of soups that are packed with vegatables and lentils are great and super low cal. I also love dahl and plenty of curries made with low fat coconut milk and healthy carbs like beans, lentils and sweet potato (also try sweet potato mash, it's amazing). We're just coming out of winter here down in Tasmania and I've made it through without much weight gain.

    The second tip is to keep up your exercise routine. Make it a regular schedule and make it as hard as possible to skip (i.e. involve others, a PT or workout buddy). Go before work or before getting home at night if possible. Having an indoor option helps
  • aszwarc
    aszwarc Posts: 200 Member
    I started tracking last year at the beginning of November, and I just watched it on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Luckily, turkey itself is pretty awesome for macros. So indulge in all the turkey you want, and just watch it on the sides. Heck, I think one Christmas dinner I attended (had 3 between all the family gatherings), I had a 700 calorie DAY. Not the dinner - the day. (I was doing a version of 5:2, and that day fell on a fast day.) So it is possible. But you do also need to be prepared with responses for people who want to keep pushing food at you.

    This year, I've got a gym membership. I plan to go early in the morning every day that we have some sort of holiday dinner and just work my butt off pre-burning dinner. Luckily, I'm hosting Christmas Eve for my husband's family, so I can prepare some things I know won't be too bad, calorie-wise. And have a big plain salad to fill me up before guests arrive.
  • Jestinia
    Jestinia Posts: 1,153 Member
    Running. Lots and lots of running. Less sweaty when it's cold, no bugs to inhale, gotta keep going to keep warm. Love it.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    We're not having family over this year I think so it should be pretty easy... Turkey is great, and we'll just have homemade mashed potatoes and green beans with it or something... not that bad at all. Maybe I'll make pumpkin muffins for dessert or something.

    Christmas, we'll probably do about the same thing. Main worry is Christmas eve where we visit friends with delicious food, but whatever, I can cheat one day...

    Of course if plans change and we're invited somewhere... it's going to suck big time, because it means several days with unhealthy food...
  • Huffdogg
    Huffdogg Posts: 1,934 Member
    Eat a big salad first, then a large serving of lean protein. Once your belly is loaded with lots of protein and fiber, it's much easier to resist stuffing it full of anything else you can lay hands on.
  • AllonsYtotheTardis
    AllonsYtotheTardis Posts: 16,947 Member
    I just don't waste my 'treat' calories on foods that I don't completely LOVE. If it's just 'ok', I wait for the good stuff.
  • Cranquistador
    Cranquistador Posts: 39,744 Member
    ONE...one holiday thread...AH AH AH HAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.
  • Athijade
    Athijade Posts: 3,300 Member
    I eat at a calorie deficit for all the "normal" days. I then allow myself to splurge on the actual holidays. On Thanksgiving and Christmas I do not log. I still try to eat more vegetable then pie, but I don't turn down pie! I do allow myself cookies and the like throughout the holidays but I log them and restrict myself to 1-2 a day.

    My thinking is this. Thanksgiving and Christmas did not make me fat. It was ALL the other days of eating way too much that made me fat. So why should I give up my favorite food traditions?
  • RobynMWilson
    RobynMWilson Posts: 1,540 Member
    Moderation. Enjoy the holiday treats, but plan ahead and eat small meals often throughout the day so that you don't end up overindulging during the festivities. And no deprivation, rather just small portions of the treats. And EXERCISE!
  • SkimFlatWhite68
    SkimFlatWhite68 Posts: 1,254 Member
    Being Australian, we just had our winter and are now in Spring, so it's not a problem weather wise.

    I still lost weight over winter. My goals are bigger than the weather!!! (mind you I live in Sydney and we just had the warmest winter in about 40 years or something) it's not like it gets really cold here.

    As for holidays, don't buy junk food. You can still celebrate with good healthy food and eat within your calorie targets. For big celebration days, like Christmas, I'll eat what I want, but then pull back the next day (calorie cycling). Or if I have a few parties on, I'll eat at maintenance for that week.

    If you goals are clear and you focus on the end result, and WHY you want to reach those goals, nothing will stand in your way.

    For me, this is a marathon, not a sprint.
  • ChrisS30V
    ChrisS30V Posts: 157 Member
    I usually find myself gaining 15 or 20 lbs during this time of year, mostly due to inactivity and eating like crap all the time. I'm going to try really hard to gain only a little (like maybe 5 lbs) if any weight. I plan to continue my exercise routine as well as my maintenance diet. It's worked the rest of the year, why not now?
  • MrGonzo05
    MrGonzo05 Posts: 1,120 Member
    Don't eat as much.
  • dawnmcneil10
    dawnmcneil10 Posts: 638 Member
    I'd suggest stick to eating the seasonal favorites and skip mashed potatoes (can have those anytime) or if mashed potatoes are a must mix in cauliflower. Offer to make a side dish if you're going to an event so you can be sure at least 1 item is healthy. During snack time load up on the veggie tray just avoid the dip and keep a beverage in hand to avoid mindless nibbling.
    For Halloween simply buy fruit snacks, pretzels, boxed raisins, stickers, tattoos and so on. Parents love it when we hand out things the kids can take to school in their lunch bags, done this for 3 years and no toilet papering issues.

    You can still have those comfort foods just modify them. Most of the time we could from behavior and habit, change that and you'll see a world of change. I gave my family cookbooks (my recipes) 2 years ago for the holidays, all our favorite comfort foods made healthy.
  • sharleengc
    sharleengc Posts: 792 Member
    1. I buy candy I don't like...suckers, starbursts...things like that. If it's chocolate, I'll eat it so I get other things.

    2. I don't stress about holidays. The more I stress or focus on what I can/can't eat, the worse I tend to do. I just watch the portions and have a little bit of everything. If I want more, I stick with the meats or lower calorie things.

    It's always easier to manage if you are the one cooking. However, if you're not, it's mostly just self and portion control. I'm much better at that then I used to and that's really the ticket.

Categories