Planned Celebration/Party/Holiday Meals

kattbigs
kattbigs Posts: 28 Member
edited November 8 in Health and Weight Loss
So what do you guys do in preparation for a party with friends or instance where you
a) probably can't log or even remember half of the stuff you put in your mouth
b) drink alcohol

do you eat a healthy meal before and save some calories?
factor in the alcohol
pre-workout, post-workout?

need a little help here :)

Replies

  • Branstin
    Branstin Posts: 2,320 Member
    I make sure to workout several days beforehand to have the calories then I enjoy and get back on track the very next day. For tracking, I put in my maintenance amount plus my exercise calories which are more than enough to cover my day of partying and boozing. I don’t waste time trying to figure out the amount of each food. I listed it as Party and Booze.
  • SingRunTing
    SingRunTing Posts: 2,604 Member
    I actually have my work holiday party tonight. I actually have to skip my workout today because of it, but I'm still planning on getting in all my steps (I do 10,000 a day).

    I'm eating light for breakfast and lunch. I will not be tracking tonight, but will try to control portion sizes for dinner and limit myself to one dessert. I'll probably have a glass of wine with dinner, but that's it for drinking. Between those guidelines, my steps, and all the dancing I'll be doing, I think it'll be ok. Besides this is the only party this season where this will be happening. I will track everything else I attend this month outside of the actual holidays themselves.

    It's ok to let lose a little for a party, but the frequency of those times can impact your progress. It's difficult during the holidays, but you really should pick maybe 2 occasions (aside from the actual holiday itself) to do so and track the rest. The month shouldn't be a constant free for all, meaning that sometimes you do have to go into it with a plan and track it.
  • luciasprogress
    luciasprogress Posts: 8 Member
    As far as drinks, I decide ahead of time what I will have (e.g., two glasses of wine) and I log that ahead of time. It may not be perfect, but it's close enough. If you want to get drunk then look at calories vs. alcohol content. May I recommend shots... :wink:

    For food, I give myself a reasonable amount of calories and I do a Quick Add before I go out. 500 works for me, but find whatever your number is. It just means I do have to be more vigilant of what I eat and sort of mentally track as I go so that I'll know my stopping point, even though it won't be nearly exact. I just memorized basic party foods, like generally how many tortilla chips or potato chips are in a serving and how many calories that is, generally how many calories are in a cookie (more if the cookie is huge), and that sort of thing. Fruit plates are my best friend, although don't make the mistake of thinking that healthy options are always low-calorie. I also pay attention to how much I serve myself, like roughly a 1/2 cup of this and 1/4 cup of that. Check yourself at home to make sure you can really estimate correctly. At restaurants, it's pretty safe for me to order whatever I want (but I am vegan so I usually have fewer and healthier options anyway). If I eat about 2/3 of the meal and take the rest home then I always stay within 500 calories. When I am done--preferably that night and not in the morning--I log what I ate, slightly overestimating the calories in case I forget something, and I've just gotten to to the point that it's pretty accurate and the scale seems to agree.

    Plus I think if you only do this once or twice a week and you're honest with yourself, you shouldn't have any problems.

    Good luck!
  • amwoidyla
    amwoidyla Posts: 257 Member
    Since it's planned, I do my best to accommodate during the rest of the week. I eat under my goal for a few days and eat lighter on the day of. I have one work party this evening and since I have to miss my workout, I tried to do high volume/low cals for breakfast and lunch (LOTS of fruits/veg and some protein) so I have some wiggle room tonight.
    I gave up alcohol for December (until Christmas anyway) so I'll be able to have those delicious desserts!
  • kattbigs
    kattbigs Posts: 28 Member
    Branstin wrote: »
    I make sure to workout several days beforehand to have the calories then I enjoy and get back on track the very next day. For tracking, I put in my maintenance amount plus my exercise calories which are more than enough to cover my day of partying and boozing. I don’t waste time trying to figure out the amount of each food. I listed it as Party and Booze.
    mm i really like the party and booze factor, i'll just try to stay away from super irritating foods like grains and really processed stuff FINGERS CROSSED!
  • kattbigs
    kattbigs Posts: 28 Member
    amwoidyla wrote: »
    Since it's planned, I do my best to accommodate during the rest of the week. I eat under my goal for a few days and eat lighter on the day of. I have one work party this evening and since I have to miss my workout, I tried to do high volume/low cals for breakfast and lunch (LOTS of fruits/veg and some protein) so I have some wiggle room tonight.
    I gave up alcohol for December (until Christmas anyway) so I'll be able to have those delicious desserts!

    i gave up alcohol this month too! it was after a big birthday weekend (ahem, week...) so it was a good time near end of november to let all that booze work its way out of my system :) keep it going! grabbing a soda and lime in a tall glass when going out tonight, nobody will know anyway :D
  • kattbigs
    kattbigs Posts: 28 Member
    luciasprogress wrote: »
    As far as drinks, I decide ahead of time what I will have (e.g., two glasses of wine) and I log that ahead of time. It may not be perfect, but it's close enough. If you want to get drunk then look at calories vs. alcohol content. May I recommend shots... :wink:

    For food, I give myself a reasonable amount of calories and I do a Quick Add before I go out. 500 works for me, but find whatever your number is. It just means I do have to be more vigilant of what I eat and sort of mentally track as I go so that I'll know my stopping point, even though it won't be nearly exact. I just memorized basic party foods, like generally how many tortilla chips or potato chips are in a serving and how many calories that is, generally how many calories are in a cookie (more if the cookie is huge), and that sort of thing. Fruit plates are my best friend, although don't make the mistake of thinking that healthy options are always low-calorie. I also pay attention to how much I serve myself, like roughly a 1/2 cup of this and 1/4 cup of that. Check yourself at home to make sure you can really estimate correctly. At restaurants, it's pretty safe for me to order whatever I want (but I am vegan so I usually have fewer and healthier options anyway). If I eat about 2/3 of the meal and take the rest home then I always stay within 500 calories. When I am done--preferably that night and not in the morning--I log what I ate, slightly overestimating the calories in case I forget something, and I've just gotten to to the point that it's pretty accurate and the scale seems to agree.

    Plus I think if you only do this once or twice a week and you're honest with yourself, you shouldn't have any problems.

    Good luck!

    i'm hoping to totally avoid doing this more than once a week for the next couple weeks, i have a few girlfriends who are very aware of eating clean and offer lots of different options for their dinner guests, but then i have friends who schedule dinner reservations at restaurants that strictly serve mac n cheese? haha oh man, that's good though, being aware of what's going in your mouth and not just grazing over the table for 20 minutes is a good idea, i'll be definitely calculating a bit just to make sure i don't get crazy thanks for the advice!
  • kattbigs
    kattbigs Posts: 28 Member
    SingRunTing wrote: »
    I actually have my work holiday party tonight. I actually have to skip my workout today because of it, but I'm still planning on getting in all my steps (I do 10,000 a day).

    I'm eating light for breakfast and lunch. I will not be tracking tonight, but will try to control portion sizes for dinner and limit myself to one dessert. I'll probably have a glass of wine with dinner, but that's it for drinking. Between those guidelines, my steps, and all the dancing I'll be doing, I think it'll be ok. Besides this is the only party this season where this will be happening. I will track everything else I attend this month outside of the actual holidays themselves.

    It's ok to let lose a little for a party, but the frequency of those times can impact your progress. It's difficult during the holidays, but you really should pick maybe 2 occasions (aside from the actual holiday itself) to do so and track the rest. The month shouldn't be a constant free for all, meaning that sometimes you do have to go into it with a plan and track it.

    i always love nights where i know i'll be shaking my booty! occasionally really concentrating on my abs to get that extra workout :D it is a bit frustrating to miss working out on a day when you particularly felt the need for a little push, hope it went well!!
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
    1) I eat at the very low end of my range in the days leading up to the event (1100-1200)
    2) I eat a super light breakfast, but a normal lunch (that way I have fewer calories for the day, but am not starving at the event)
    3) If I know what is going to be available, I have a plan. For example, for Thanksgiving, I allowed myself one plate for each course (appetizers, main meal, dessert).
    4) I get back to my normal plan as soon as I get home. For tonight, I have a normal snack planned for after the early party.

    And if the parties get too frequent, I skip a few. One of my dance groups voted for a house party, then the homeowner remembered that they couldn't host that day and moved it to a sit down restaurant. Nothing to do but sit and eat? No, thank you! I will be doing that the night before.
  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
    Go light on the calories through the day until the party and then just enjoy the party/food/company/drinks/whatever. Maybe try to get some extra exercise in.

    Get back to the deficit/regularly scheduled program the next day.
  • jrose1982
    jrose1982 Posts: 366 Member
    kattbigs wrote: »
    So what do you guys do in preparation for a party with friends or instance where you
    a) probably can't log or even remember half of the stuff you put in your mouth
    b) drink alcohol

    do you eat a healthy meal before and save some calories?
    factor in the alcohol
    pre-workout, post-workout?

    need a little help here :)

    I eat very light the day of the party, and then let it go while I'm there. And get right back to work the next day.

    I should add that I don't do this often, and I think that's why it works for me. This holiday season I've limited these events to one a month (Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas - 1 party each). I also have a company Christmas party I might go to, but if I go I'll eat beforehand and avoid the food and alcohol while I'm there (company Christmas parties aren't my idea of fun, and certainly not worth risking my diet for; the Christmas Eve party with my best friend is another matter).
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
    I pre-log what I plan to eat (and drink) and make sure it fits in my daily or weekly calorie goals, and then go allow myself to eat and drink that much without guilt and to just enjoy and have a good time. If I go a little bit over once in a blue moon, it's not a big deal either.

    And yeah, if I know I'm going to eat a giant feast for dinner, I'll likely skip lunch that day to make it fit.

    As a non-Christian, there aren't many Christmas parties for me to worry about -- just my office one, and that's a pretty low-key affair. When my holidays roll around, I'll have to strategize a bit... I'll probably just eat at maintenance on those days, since it's only like 4 days a year.
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
    I just eat. Honestly, if I have one day where I'm eating more than normal, who cares? But of course I eat reasonable amounts. I might still drink, but I'm not big on alcohol anymore.
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