How am I going to survive Halloween, Thanksgiving & Christmas on 1,200 calories a day?

This post reminded me of these pictures I saw in Cooking Light:



I'm sure this principal can be applied to all holidays. However, it is only 3 days. 3 days that aren't even next to each other but a couple weeks apart. I'm sure you will survive eating at maintenance calories or a little over for 3 days. There are another 362 days for you to worry about sticking to 1200 calories.

Kudos to you for being able to stick to 1200 calories. I'm hoping to never have to cut down to that...not sure I could do it.

onefortyone wrote: »

Some people suggest eating what you want on those days only (my fav. plan) and keeping your deficit the rest of the time.

Some people suggest eating at maintenance around that time to keep the cravings at bay. (My second fav. plan)

Other people will say eat what you want at all times and exercise off the difference. (Go away plan no one likes you)

Most people will just fall off the wagon and will emerge next Spring to the forums with another 15-20lbs to lose. (Me, last year)

So really, pick whichever works with your personality and give it your all!

I like the first 2 options.

Last year I fell into the last category, but I was also pregnant so I guess I have to cut myself some slack there.

AKChevy wrote: »

buy smaller plates

Good idea and maybe plan some physical activities instead of sitting around.

I hide candy where I cant see it. I have it from before I started here. I think portion control is the rule. Don't think with a few will kill the diet. Just be truthful and count them in your diet diary. I think when do I look at quantity I could have if I eat healthy. Like if I have a craving for sweets my body needs surgar. I eat a frozen bannana with lite Cool Whip with shaves or chocolate sprinkles. You can eat a lot of cool whip that is only 20 calories for 2 table spoons and I eat about 8. I tend to eat that every night. That way I feel like I'm cheatting. And during the day I drink a cup of cocoa when I have the erge. It takes time to drink because its hot. This a few ways. Hope it helps.

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You don't.

A few bad days won't derail your efforts. Also, I'm guessing that if you're at 1200 with a decent amount of weight to lose (just going by your profile), you've set your loss goals to 2 lbs a week and you have a LOT more calories available at your disposal to eat at maintenance.

I don't really like any candy outside of gum and kit kats but I plan on enjoying Thanksgiving and Christmas to the fullest. I'll be responsible with my calories throughout the week and stay within my goal so I have a good deficit. I'll kick in extra exercise for some more calories to spare. And I will eat ALL of the delicious holiday food with my nana's sweet tea and some wine and just maintain for the week.

Maintaining isn't a bad thing. My daily deficit is typically around 300 calories on a good day and eating back exercise calories. Add that up for a week. That's how much you have to spare for your holiday. 2100 calories? I can manage that for thanksgiving. Heck, throw in some extra exercise and I can have a real feast. And I will...we fry our turkey...delicious! I will be awful bloated...but oh well, that'll go away.

For Halloween, maybe get some candy you don't especially like. I have bad self-control around chocolate but mini twizzlers don't really excite me. Or, buy a small serving of something delicious and eat that before so you don't feel deprived.

JoRocka wrote: »

chrisdavey wrote: »

one word: refeed

This covers all my fatty cake days. And it's glorious.

Hmmmm, I think I may need a refeed this weekend....

independant2406 wrote: »

Thanksgiving is actually pretty easy as long as you keep your portions under control and fill up on the lower calorie items.

1 piece pumpkin pie (1/8 of 9-in pie) 180 calories
6 ounces white turkey breast (oven roasted 231 calories
½ cup sautéed green beans 50 calories
½ cup candied sweet potatoes 150 calories
1 dinner roll 110 calories
1 pat butter 45 calories

Total: 677 calories

If you do some exercise that day and burn off 300 calories or so it'll be just like what you probably already consume on a daily basis at meal time.

Make a plan. Pre-log everything. And stick to it. You'll be fine.

Exactly. This is what I did (in the past when I lost weight/dieted/ate healthy). I figured out what was going to be there and planned the exact meal I was going to eat. Sure, I didn't bring a scale, but I did the best I could, and continued losing weight. I just ate a small, healthy breakfast and lunch, and then ate in moderation for Thanksgiving (or Christmas) dinner!

Learn to have self-control… There's candy all over my house and I haven't had a piece.

Cheat days: Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas. Note: Cheat does not mean eat until you feel like you are exploding. It means, enjoy yourself and worry about it another day.

ClemonsLemons, Here is what I recommend (and I have done). Hope is helps:

*** For Halloween ... don't buy the candy and turn off all your lights. You know you can't handle having it around, so don't do it.
*** Don't get large portions of chocolate/candy/sugar. If you need candy, go to one of the grocery stores with bins and just buy one or two pieces. Then eat it in very small bites so that the enjoyment will last.
*** Drink lots of water. Several months ago (before I started dieting), I started drinking 100 oz or more water a day and I feel a lot better (and also more satisfied with lower calories).
*** For Christmas and Thanksgiving, choose wisely. Turkey has about 30 calories per ounce (eat lots of that as it will make you fuller for less calories than everything else), vegetables are low cal (depending on how cooked), and salad can be eaten with salsa or use dressing in moderation (maybe bring your own healthy dressing). Limit the amounts of stuffing, mashed potatoes, and deserts to just a few bites and skip the rolls, butter, sauces and gravy (bring your own slice of healthy bread such as sprouted wheat bread to replace your rolls).
*** In general, enter everything in myfitnesspal that you are going to eat before you fill your plate so that you know what you are doing ahead of time. Plan your meal and your day.
*** if you aren't sure what you should eat, see if your health plan will cover seeing a nutritionist to help you understand the best food choices.
*** Read labels ... a lot of foods have sugar as their 2nd or 3rd ingredient including most salad dressings, cereals (even those at seemingly healthy stores like Trader Joes)
*** avoid eating out unless calories are specified or you can easily calculate them ... and also if you can stay within your daily allotment.


I do understand what you are going through. I am 53 years old, weighed 255 lb at the beginning of 2014, and am 5'2" ... so I am morbidly obese. I have had a sugared soda addiction for years. Additionally, I am pre-diabetic due to all the years of sugar. When I eat sugar, my whole body swells, I get rashes, and I get specific joint pain that makes it harder to walk. It took me a while to realize that simple sugar foods were causing ALL these symptoms. So I had to do something about it. And obviously I needed to do something about my weight. I have a back injury which limits exercise. I wanted to mention this because years of your chocolate habit will eventually cause you lots of problems other than continued weight gain. You probably already know that though.

At the beginning of this year, I made a commitment to have an achieve-able monthly goal; the purpose being to work myself to a lifestyle where I felt like I could diet. I've had different goals each month and I've haven't had a soda this year. I'm mentioning this because I know it is easy to start out with a bang and then realize that it is just too much to manage (which can lead to failure). And it sounds like you are frustrated.

About 6 weeks ago, both my husband and I started counting calories with myfitnesspal. For me to lose 2 lbs a week, I am on a 1300 calorie diet. I have lost 17 lbs since then. I eat a lot of lean protein (grilled chicken, plain tuna, eggs), sprouted wheat bread, salads (with balsamic vinegar), fresh veges, fresh fruit. I do eat red meat a few times a week, but usually 2 or 3 ounces. I go to the movies every day so I eat a half of a medium popcorn, no salt/no butter (which is 250 calories so I have to subtract that every single day). Most of what I eat is grab or quick food (but mostly very healthy and somewhat varied) and I am not finding myself hungry at all. I eat a slice of pizza occasionally, but plan the rest of my day around it. I do sometimes have cravings, but I can get over that with some water and some walking. I've also got a fitbit and have worked myself up to 10,000 steps a day (for 4 weeks now), which is good for me considering my back injury. My husband is 6'2" is on a 1700 calorie/2 lb a week diet and has lost 20 lbs. It does help for us both to be counting calories. We have both concluded that we will have to count calories for the rest of our lives even after we get down to our goals in order to make sure we stay where we are.

I have absolutely 0 plans to stick to my calorie limit on Thanksgiving. I will probably eat less than I have in the past, simply because I'm used to eating less and feel full sooner than I used to. But I fully plan to heap my plate full of stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole and gravy and enjoy every single delicious calorie. And then the next day, I'll be right back to weighing, measuring and counting my calories.