Look out! The holidays are coming!
prettymrsnelson
Posts: 27
I looovvveee the holidays and let me just say...I'm an eater. I really struggle with deciding that I've had enough. I will literally eat until I'm sick and miserable for hours. I'm trying to come up with a game plan for this season but I'm not sure where to start. I have always let my guard down in the past but this year I want it to be different. We go to my parents house and to my in-laws every year so I don't have control over how all the food is prepared. I was thinking about preparing a healthier dessert option so I have an alternative to turn to instead of the usual pumpkin pie, cookies, etc. I'd love to hear everyone's tips and tricks to stay on track for the holidays.
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I try really hard to lose as much weight as possible before the holidays so that I can gain it all back. Lol it's a vicious cycle but there is no way that I can resist.
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It's so hard! There is so much good food. And another problem I have is baking. I love to bake and I have an arsenal of recipes I want to try this year! Including...Homemade Marshmallows...YUM!0
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Well to me, the Holidays are all about indulgence. I try to make sure I eat very well and within a deficit for at least a week or two ahead of time. When the day of celebration comes, I go all out. I feel that it's OK to save a cheat day for Christmas (or whatever you celebrate.) I don't intend on holding back.. it's the one day where I feel I can eat whatever I want.
As long as it's just one day and doesn't become a week long thing
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Thanksgiving and Christmas are 2 days out of the year. Eat all the foods, be thankful and be merry! Stick to goal and exercise all other days.0
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Thanksgiving and Christmas are 2 days out of the year. Eat all the foods, be thankful and be merry! Stick to goal and exercise all other days.
This. Although I will say that the past 5-6 months I've eaten less chocolate and less food in general, and even when I've bough candies and chocolates I cannot eat as much as I used to because I get sick really quickly from it now. But I figure that on christmas I'll just be logging protein and I might try to eyeball my intake overall, but unlikely. Just protein so I can make sure I reach my minimum needs, and then eat whatever I want. I find that it's actually not that hard to eat now a bit more intuitively because I know what foods are and aren't calorie dense, so I can tell what foods I can eat in higher volume and which I should eat a bit less of if I need to eyeball my tracking.0 -
My game plan for the two big meals (thanksgiving and Christmas):
-have a little bit of everything that looks good
-bring my own healthy version of the one dish I know I will want a lot of (for me, its sweet potatoes. My family makes them from a can, loaded with marshmellows and butter. I dont even like them that way anymore! I will bring them diced raw, and finish them at my parents house by boiling, mashing, and add a little butter and honey)
-drink a whole glass of water before going back for seconds
Unfortunatly I dont have a good game plan for the piles of junk food that will be around the office the entire month of December...0 -
I love to cook so my trick is I make what I want to eat! I host and I make what everyone else likes too-but I'm a vegetarian. I prefer raw and cooked vegetables to anything like the turkey and stuffing so I make the sides that I like and I fill up on those!0
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One year for thanksgiving I ran 4 miles before I ate dinner. That way I could enjoy the meal and not feel bad about it. But other then that I just watch my portion sizes and try not to worry about it.0
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IMO, the holidays are about family, fun, and food... and enjoying all 3 (at least as much as you can on the family front). Assuming you're on track most of the time, 2 or 3 days aren't going to make much impact in the long run. Enjoy the food, enjoy the cooking/baking... but maybe limit yourself to 2 plates so you don't end up sick and miserable?0
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I'll be logging Thanksgiving and Christmas, but only because I'm kinda interested. I intend to do what I normally do when I eat out, or have a business trip or vacation - eat with moderation, eat lots of vegetables and lean protein, go easy on the dessert, bread and booze, but eat what I want and enjoy the moment. So, I'll be having that almond croissant, but only half of one.
I'll also be working out just like I normally do. We have always had a family tradition that we go for a walk when it's a holiday after breakfast and before the main meal. Doesn't matter how bad the weather is - we all go.0 -
Thanks for all the insight everyone!0
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I have to come up with a game plan, otherwise the entire month of December will be a disaster. 2 Christmas parties, an annual Christmas dinner out with my best friends, a potluck at work, plus Christmas day, Christmas Eve (which is when we have the big dinner with my in laws) and New Year's eve. Yikes.
Right now I'm thinking I will have to sacrifice some that are less important so I can indulge a little at others. I plan on watching my portions and maybe taking extra salad...but other than that I'm not sure what I'm going to do.0 -
I plan to stuff my face on Thanksgiving and Xmas! and try to be as good as possible the days leading up and following. I've decided that from now until the new year I'll be okay with just maintaining so as long as I don't gain, I'm good.0
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It's not what you eat between Christmas and New Year's; it's what you eat between New Year's and Christmas.0
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Well said!melaniebhowes wrote: »It's not what you eat between Christmas and New Year's; it's what you eat between New Year's and Christmas.
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I'm planning on eating small portions just because I'm a creature of habit and do best with a routine...I'll exercise to take a break from family too....I'm going to do meat, vegetables, fruit, and some wine ...I'll avoid stuffing,bread rolls, pie...0
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I take a little bit of everything that I want - that way I'm not filling to the brim but I got to taste everything. I've never been a big one for desserts, I'm more of a salty fan. Stuffing is my weakness. Overall, it's the holidays and I won't count - I'll eat and drink and be merry! I will have less than I normally would have - because I know I don't need two overflowing plates of food in one sitting. Perhaps I will take a small plate of leftovers so I get to enjoy a second meal later and fit it into my calorie count for that day.
One or two days isn't going to ruin my progress.0 -
The holidays are one day. Eat whatever you want on Thanksgiving and Christmas, and keep it business as usual the other days. If you must, squeeze in an extra workout the week of the holidays, but please don't skip any seasonal favorites in the name of weight loss or fitness. There's not one person on this site who is here because they ate too much 2 days out of the year. Promise
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Will probably try and fail at moderation. Will try to fill up on healthier stuff (turkey, green beans, salad), skip the stuff I can make anytime (sweet potatoes, maybe even pumpkin pie as I've made a couple already) and will probably eventually gorge on desserts anyway, as usual.0
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melaniebhowes wrote: »It's not what you eat between Christmas and New Year's; it's what you eat between New Year's and Christmas.
Love it
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prettymrsnelson wrote: »I looovvveee the holidays and let me just say...I'm an eater. I really struggle with deciding that I've had enough. I will literally eat until I'm sick and miserable for hours. I'm trying to come up with a game plan for this season but I'm not sure where to start. I have always let my guard down in the past but this year I want it to be different. We go to my parents house and to my in-laws every year so I don't have control over how all the food is prepared. I was thinking about preparing a healthier dessert option so I have an alternative to turn to instead of the usual pumpkin pie, cookies, etc. I'd love to hear everyone's tips and tricks to stay on track for the holidays.
I don't eat things I can have any time of year, like sweet potato or corn or lima beans.
I eat a slice of the seasonal pies we only have at holidays, my moms sausage balls that are xmas exclusive...you know-those family traditions that have your mouth watering the week before? Eat those. they only come around this time of year. If that means you end up eating nothing but pie that day, it is one day. Have leftover turkey and go back to lean, mean machine the day after.0 -
KandGRanch wrote: »prettymrsnelson wrote: »I looovvveee the holidays and let me just say...I'm an eater. I really struggle with deciding that I've had enough. I will literally eat until I'm sick and miserable for hours. I'm trying to come up with a game plan for this season but I'm not sure where to start. I have always let my guard down in the past but this year I want it to be different. We go to my parents house and to my in-laws every year so I don't have control over how all the food is prepared. I was thinking about preparing a healthier dessert option so I have an alternative to turn to instead of the usual pumpkin pie, cookies, etc. I'd love to hear everyone's tips and tricks to stay on track for the holidays.
I don't eat things I can have any time of year, like sweet potato or corn or lima beans.
I eat a slice of the seasonal pies we only have at holidays, my moms sausage balls that are xmas exclusive...you know-those family traditions that have your mouth watering the week before? Eat those. they only come around this time of year. If that means you end up eating nothing but pie that day, it is one day. Have leftover turkey and go back to lean, mean machine the day after.
This is a great perspective.
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The two big holiday meals are not my biggest challenge. I'm usually cooking at least one of them, and my family appreciates my "whole foods" cooking. It's the sugary gifts and cocktail parties that have a greater cumulative caloric effect. For the gifts, I pick the one I love the most--usually a fine chocolate-- and enjoy it. If it will keep a month, I'll stretch it out and enjoy it a whole month, fitting it in my calorie budget in small increments. I let my teenagers go after everything else.
Parties are harder because they so often occupy the dinner hour without a proper dinner being served (pet peeve). What works best for me is to hit all my macros for the day and to eat protein right before we go (carrots & celery in the car at a minimum). I don't even try to make a meal of the cocktail food. If the food is unusually good, I'll try some in moderation. If I arrive hungry, I turn ravenous after downing a glass of wine.0 -
sweatpants. that's my plan of attack. 0
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melaniebhowes wrote: »It's not what you eat between Christmas and New Year's; it's what you eat between New Year's and Christmas.
This ^^^^^^
You just need perspective, you can probably lose 52 lbs in a year, I figure if I try really really hard I can gain 10 lbs over the Christmas period so still a net loss on the year
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If you threw calorie counting out the window for these days: Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, New Year's Day, Valentine's Day, and your birthday. That's five days out of 365 days. No big deal overall, even if you eat yourself into sickly stupor. Even if you ate 3,500 calories on each of those days, the most you would gain total would be 5 pounds. It's not likely you would eat that many calories all five days.
Eat up.0 -
I will enjoy the foods and time with my family. I will log it all the best I can. Then space out the calories of overage over the next week and burn them. Then eat the leftovers responsibly. All that turkey makes for great healthy meals for the following week. These holidays only come once year and are gone to quickly. I don't plan to miss a minute of it. Happy holidays!0
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I will probably eat more than my allotment at Thanksgiving, but this year that's at my house, THANK GOODNESS! - so I will be able to make some fixins that are delicious but at least have a semblance of healthiness to them. I will probably also eat more than usual or the wrong foods at the family Christmas party as nobody ever feels like doing anything remotely healthy (maybe a vegetable stuck in here and there) and I the family Christmas is not at our house.
I won't need to worry about Christmas Day as we will be at our house (just the four of us) and I will be making probably a turkey or ham, but not doing a gigantic dinner like the family Christmas pig-for-all.
Other than that, I plan to work goodies into my daily allotment. I can't see why that can't happen, I've done it before. It may mean a less healthy day overall, but if I keep those down to a dull roar, I should still be pretty much on-track. No reason you can't fit in a couple bites of your favorite holiday treats as they come into the office, get sent to you and so on, while still staying on plan, at least IMO.0 -
It's the holidays, enjoy them. Log as accurately as you can and try to use moderation.0
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someone once told me eat 3/4 cu of your favorite, then pick at the rest.0
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