How do you plan to handle the holidays?

well i start with a drink...early in the afternoon it will likely be a dirty martini. as i sip on that and enjoy it, we'll start to get the cheese and crackers ready, and my wife will get going on the spinach artichoke dip. shoot....i need another drink. this will go on throughout the afternoon as we enjoy hanging out in our pajamas watching a horror movie marathon. sometime around 3 the turkey (laticed in bacon) will be ready, and we'll crack open the wine. at this point, my wife and i differ....she's a jarred gravy girl, and im a drippings and wondra kinda guy, so i'll make my gravy while she opens hers. load up the plates and wine glasses (milk for junior) and feast on bird, potatoes, squash, cranberry sauce, stuffing, green beans, crescent rolls and cheddar bacon biscuits. now that we've hit the wine, we'll stick to it until dessert. whew! got through 2 plates...its best to load the dishwasher now, because i sure as hell aint gonna do it later. dishes in the dishwasher means it must be time for pie, and ice cream, and cookies. well that goes really well with irish coffee, so maybe ill make one of those. i might wander in to the kitchen shortly thereafter and start to pick like a vulture at the carcass. this is an indicator that its time for a sandwich. out comes the bread and mayo so i can load up a thanksgiving sub. wash that down with another glass of wine.....head up stairs and make sweet sweet love to my woman like 2 polar bears wrestling in slow motion. pass out, belching and farting out the days festivities while dreaming of turkey omeletts in the morning.

thats typically how i handle thanksgiving.

I got lost reading this. Sounds like the best day ever. Except for the jarred gravy (no offense to your wife who is surely awesome)

Eat, Drink and be merry within reason!

THIS! I haven't snuck any Halloween candy at all! I think part of the reason is that we put 3-4 pieces in a bag and staple it shut. Do I really want to open some little kid's candy bag to steal a piece? Uh,no, I don't! And I haven't had any cravings for candy, anyway, so I'm good.

I'm lucky with the holidays - my husband is a chef and he knows what I like to/don't like to eat. He's always very careful to make sure there's plenty for me, too - he avoids salt, sugar and fat as much as he can - and if he does use any of it, he'll tell me how much or make a special "low-cal" version for me. That being said - we'll see how this year goes!!!!

Hey there...I have only been using MFP for just under 2 weeks...I cannot tell you the magic plan for holiday eating, or I wouldn't need MFP, now would I? I CAN tell you what I plan to do as I was thinking the very same question, especially since we are hosting a big shindig with lots of fam this year...
I plan on eating mostly protein, so turkey will be the big deal on my plate...also green salad, takes up lotsa room for little cals and others will not notice so much what you aren't eating. I will either share a roll with someone else or not eat one, cuz I am also a carbaholic, can ignore forever but once tasted my resolve is pretty much shot all to heck...also means I will forego my specialty, pecan pie and chocolate pecan pie (sigh). I would warn you off of things you already know are high cal, but I personally think it's sacreligious to eat thanksgiving turkey with out gravy and stuffing! LOL I just plan on getting very small helpings of these, just enough to taste and satisfy...BTW a little thing I found is, well at least it works well for the diet cake you can make with a box of cake mix and a diet soda...hard to get used to eating dry cake, but if I eat most of the cake first then just eat a little frosting out of a spoon with the tail end of the cake, I only eat like a teaspoon of frosting instead of like 2 TBSP...Im gonna put it to the test turkey day as well...eat the green salad first as I am so not a rabbit food person, then I'll feel fuller on the healthy stuff and not as inclined to binge on the rest of it...I will look now and know my cals and portion sizes so I can eyeball without feelin like a freako dieter busting out with my measuring cups in public! haha I will not save all my cals for dinner and only eat once, bad idea for me unless we eat late afternoon...my weak time...I will eat slow and talk a lot especially since our fam is chock full of multi-platers! And if for some goofy reason I do eat more than I'm supposed to, I have two backup plans: 1) where I live is absolutely gorgeous! I will invite everyone to go on a mass walk, sight seeing adventure...OR I will wait until all are asleep and I will play Wii until I've burned enough cals to make up for the overage!

Not so much a foolproof plan as it is a plan for a fool but hey least I have a game plan, and ya know what? I cannot , it is a physical impossibility to, eat enough in one day to gain back all I've lost (meaning to put me back at my high weight which was 250ish!). So hope some of this gives you something you can use to help you handle your holidays!


PS I live 15 miles from town and even when my kids were still home we never had trick or treaters so no candy in the house 'cept my big girl candy bars - I simply refuse to give up my dark chili chocolate, and yes it is worth doing extra wii time for! Good luck this year!

I plan to eat small breakfast, small lunch and not care so much in the evening. Maybe try to eat at maintenance level.

My only advice is to see it as a normal day and keep your portion sizes to the same you would normally do.If those around you are over indulging allow them to do so, but relax and join in events on your terms.

If you think you might eat a little more than planned go for a brisk walk or plan to add an extra 30 minutes of exercise to your program. If you do put on a couple of lbs or don't lose weight don't panic or see it as a failure.

I was on here 2 years ago and 4 months into my weight loss when I faced this problem, I gained 3 lbs, but.... the next week when I weighed in I lost 5lbs. I think there is no right or wrong result. Just enjoy the holidays.

i've actually lost weight before over the holidays...candy is not an issue for me, so halloween doesnt scare me

but thanksgiving/christmas i can do okay sticking to the turkey, deviled eggs, veggie sides and a small bit of dressing...oh, and pumpkin pie...never have to leave out the pumpkin pie, i don't binge on it, but i enjoy it even with a dollop of whipped cream

On days I know there are Christmas parties (or birthdays, etc) I eat a small good breakfast (usually only 200 calories, mostly protein), and then only the party food. Then I exercise enough to bring myself back to maintenance only. I don't try for a deficit on these days. If need be, I have a protein shake for dinner.

It is only one day, and once I have resolved to keep under maintenance by cardio, it means I am less likely to binge to the extreme. I still have fun though .

My first time back in the states after spending the last 3 in Europe, I'm going to Eat, drink and Drink some more. The next day I'll burn a few thousand calories with a headache but,oh well.

the only days Im going to go over are christmas eve and christmas day. Wer off to the in laws on christmas day so will expect lots of treats and Im not worrying about it at all.