How do you plan to handle the holidays?

Eat, Drink and be merry within reason!

I plan to eat an exercise as per usual.

Eat what you want lightly and do cardio like a beast numerous times during the week.

I have already decided that the only two days I will allow myself to go over my calories are Thanksgiving and Christmas. And I am not going to go nuts! I figure 2 days won't kill me. If anything else comes up, I will deal with it but will stay within my goals.

I agree 100%. You'll be miserable sitting there trying not to eat while watching what everybody else is eating. Go head & get it in (w/in moderation) don't eat like you did last year of course. & if you find you've ate waaaayyy too much on Thanksgving &/or Christmas just remember to get a good workout in that next day- maybe the next few days to help even things out. it'll be ok, those 2 days shouldn't cause you to gain massive amounts of weight back

Last Thanksgiving I used a smaller plate than everybody else. I didn't feel like I was depriving myself because my plate was full, but in actuality I was eating less than I normally would have.

Very good idea!

As I always do.

Train hard---eat everything in sight.

I don't buy halloween candy (sorry trick or treaters!).

For Thanksgiving, I plan accordingly, and the holiday meal is the only meal of the day. I usually don't get seconds on anything and I portion my plate with as much veggies and salad, and the rest is smaller portions of the vegan-turkey and stuffing and such. I let myself have a slice of pie because it is a holiday and I realize that we have to still let ourselves indulge occasionally. Plus I love pie!

For Christmas, that is harder. My mom makes a ton of christmas cookies and there's always so much food in the house. I try to stick to my daily workouts as much as possible (Except Christmas day) and I don't weigh daily during this time. I also tell myself, it's okay not to lose during Christmas. Focus on trying to stay the same weight.

I use portion control. I weigh &/or measure my food and count the calories. I have a portion of all the things I like. If I go over, I do some extra cardio exercises to make up the difference. I did fine last year and we were at DD's house so I didn't have as much control over food.

We don;t celebrate Halloween or Thanksgiving in my country... However, for Christmas my plan is... to eat... Its's one meal, one day. I don't think that letting yourself go for one day is a recipe for disaster or that I won't be able to stick my regular eating regime again. I believe that if you are not able to eat whatever you want for a day, and go right back to your healthy habits the next one, then there's still something wrong with your relationship with food.

With all the foods? In large amount?

And then sleep.

I made it through the holidays last year, enjoyed every single food and treat I wanted, and didn't gain a single pound. :bigsmile: On New Year's Day, I was not making resolutions to start over or get back to anything, I just planned to carry on as I had been and continue enjoying my results.

My "secret weapon"? Knowing my BMR and my TDEE - my high and low calorie limits. And logging everything, absolutely everything as best I can, and stick to the regular exercise as best I can. I know as long as I stay close to TDEE, I won't gain.

As far as staying in control - planning ahead as much as possible helps me, and pre-logging when possible helps as well. If I've logged on slice of pumpkin pie and three pieces of fudge, and see how my estimated numbers are stacked up, I'm more likely to stick with the plan.

Another good one is to remember how terrible I feel when I do overindulge and end up feeling all bloated and yucky. I want to feel good and satisfied at the end of my meal, not like a busted can of biscuits all spread out on the sofa. So I take small portions, even if I think I can go bigger - take the small portions, and go back for the favorite thing if I've still got room. This makes dessert time much more enjoyable too - a treat tastes much better if I'm not stuffing it down because I already overate at dinner.

And through it all, remember, it's just a season - all the goodies are going to go away with all the festivities and parties, and normal meals and snacks will resume.

I plan to relax and give myself a break! Seriously, part of learning learning to maintain a healthy lifestyle is learning to enjoy the holidays still. Being in "diet mode" ALL the time is tiring and honestly, no fun!

So, my plan is to allow myself 5 (and only 5!) days off: Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Years. On each of those days, I'm not going to count, I'm not even going to keep a general idea of where I am in my head. I'm going to eat what I want, when I want, but just not overdo it (as in, making myself feel sick). I'm going to take a complete BREAK on those days. I'll also do extra cardio during the week surrounding each of those days. All other days during the holiday season though, I'll be on track and in diet mode! I may make a couple exceptions and allow myself a half-day break for a party or something though. We'll see.

No, No, NO!!
It is too soon for these threads.
Forum rules state you must wait until at least 72 hrs prior to any holiday before freaking out and worrying about nothing!


Just log food, exercise and keep moving forward and enjoy the new life you have chosen for yourself.:flowerforyou:
You got this!!:drinker:

I'm skipping Halloween this year and not planning on eating but a piece or two. I decided last year it's not like it's Easter or Christmas where there are things you don't the rest of the year (my hometown's candy store jelly beans/Christmas candy/cherry cordials) the things I'd eat on Halloween are available year round. The Easter/Christmas candies I make last months.

As for Thanksgiving and Christmas...

Thanksgiving, I'll make a plate that has everything I love on it in smaller portions. If I am eating at home I'll keep some leftovers and if I'm eating at my mom's I'll take some left overs and I'll have Thanksgiving all weekend. Not just massive portions on one day. I only love pumpkin pie and I hate whipped cream so I'm saving myself calories with dessert having one piece.

For Christmas I'll have three gatherings to deal with, Christmas Eve dinner that will be the hardest to deal with. There will be turkey sandwiches, many kinds of potatoes, casseroles, dressing, many desserts and so many other foods. I'll try to be sensible, but if I don't succeed I'll just try not to go completely crazy, the problem is that every item gets made by different people every year, you never know what will be there or how much. It's a do your best as you go kind of meal and guesstimate log when you get home. The next two meals will be pretty easy Christmas Day breakfast and dinner, I've been having both in the same place for so long with the same menu I can plan to the calorie exactly what I'll eat on those days tonight if I wanted to.

I've been doing this for two years and have had a harder time with impromptu dinner parties, banquets, and such than I've had for holidays. If you're doing the same thing you always do try and guesstimate before hand if you're doing something that is never the same try to implement calorie saving ideas, drink only water, eat loads of vegetables (without dips, butter, sauce...etc.) pick lower fat meats (simply because they have less calories) go light on dessert. Try to get in extra exercise or rework your calories 3 days before and 3 days after the holiday meal. Take a little from each of the 6 other days (say 50 cals each) and add that to the holiday meal gives you 300 extra calories. Assume you are eating more calories than you'd think when you guesstimate.

And I always have to remind myself 1,000 times, holiday gatherings have little to do with the actual food--they're about the people and what you share outside of the food.

What you eat on a couple of days of the year are not going to make you or break you in either direction.

Take a little of everything. Try to be moderate, but don't sweat it if you aren't.

Life, it's for enjoying.