How do you all deal with holiday parties with all the food?

Monklady123
Monklady123 Posts: 512 Member
edited November 20 in Health and Weight Loss
This is my first holiday since I've joined MFP and gotten serious about my way of eating. My husband's office overlooks the Washington Monument in DC so there is always a fireworks-viewing party there. It's a lot of fun because we can watch the fireworks in the comfort of air conditioning (DC summers are brutal). Yeah, I'm a wimp. :#

Anyway, people bring lots of good food. omg... So my plan is to eat an egg white omelet with veggies for breakfast, a large salad (using salsa as the dressing, a trick I recently discovered) for lunch, and then dinner at the party. I'm going to try to keep a list on my phone of everything I eat so I can try to estimate calories when I get home. And I plan to take small portions, so for instance instead of eating four deviled eggs halves I'll eat one or two. etc.....But I'm going to eat some of whatever I want, including desert, and even have a beer or some wine (I need to go look up which has fewer calories before I make that decision).

So will I regret this "take a small bit of whatever I want" strategy come Monday when I weigh myself. My first thought was that I'd skip weighing myself this week but that's silly. I mean, it's probably a good thing to know what a party will do for the weight loss, right?

Anyway, just wondering what you all do to deal with parties/holidays.

oh, and p.s..... Not a good idea for me to try to type so early in the morning before I've finished my first cup of coffee. omg...the mistakes I've had to fix in what I just wrote. sheesh... :o

Replies

  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    I eat normally for breakfast and lunch and then eat within my calories for the party. I don't know, most parties I go to don't actually have food that is so great. I think people tend to conflate the fun of the party and the big table of food and end up overstating the greatness of the latter.
  • Glinda1971
    Glinda1971 Posts: 2,328 Member
    edited July 2015
    I do what you're planning and eat less beforehand.

    But, as long as it's not a party everyday, eating over one day isn't going to undo all your progress. It might slow it down a bit but losing weight is never going to be an over night thing.

    ETA: if there is a lot of sodium in the party foods you may see a slight increase in water weight on Monday.
  • Monklady123
    Monklady123 Posts: 512 Member
    jemhh wrote: »
    I eat normally for breakfast and lunch and then eat within my calories for the party. I don't know, most parties I go to don't actually have food that is so great. I think people tend to conflate the fun of the party and the big table of food and end up overstating the greatness of the latter.

    Yeah, but this one does. Have good food I mean. This is the State Department and most of the people who are invited have lived overseas and usually show up with something that they learned to make in one of their countries.
  • Glinda1971
    Glinda1971 Posts: 2,328 Member
    And, you seem to have the right mindset towards the party food as well. Smaller portions will help keep the calories down.

    Eat all the foods but don't eat large amounts of them.

    Enjoy the party!
  • MrFitness225
    MrFitness225 Posts: 54 Member
    JUST SAY NO!
  • rachelbouc
    rachelbouc Posts: 65 Member
    Monklady123 wrote: »
    jemhh wrote: »
    I eat normally for breakfast and lunch and then eat within my calories for the party. I don't know, most parties I go to don't actually have food that is so great. I think people tend to conflate the fun of the party and the big table of food and end up overstating the greatness of the latter.

    Yeah, but this one does. Have good food I mean. This is the State Department and most of the people who are invited have lived overseas and usually show up with something that they learned to make in one of their countries.

    Jealous! Definitely do what you plan to do. I would hate to miss an opportunity to try something different. Scan the offerings first to see what you really want (two ir three items). Take decent portions for that and if you're still hungry., take smaller portion of two or three other foods that you want to try. You can make these ones that look interesting but no so thrilled to try. This would work well with cultural food!
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    its a holiday. eat. enjoy. log.
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    The same way I deal with all the food at the grocery store: I use my personal responsibility to make choices.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    Monklady123 wrote: »
    This is my first holiday since I've joined MFP and gotten serious about my way of eating. My husband's office overlooks the Washington Monument in DC so there is always a fireworks-viewing party there. It's a lot of fun because we can watch the fireworks in the comfort of air conditioning (DC summers are brutal). Yeah, I'm a wimp. :#

    Anyway, people bring lots of good food. omg... So my plan is to eat an egg white omelet with veggies for breakfast, a large salad (using salsa as the dressing, a trick I recently discovered) for lunch, and then dinner at the party. I'm going to try to keep a list on my phone of everything I eat so I can try to estimate calories when I get home. And I plan to take small portions, so for instance instead of eating four deviled eggs halves I'll eat one or two. etc.....But I'm going to eat some of whatever I want, including desert, and even have a beer or some wine (I need to go look up which has fewer calories before I make that decision).

    So will I regret this "take a small bit of whatever I want" strategy come Monday when I weigh myself.     My first thought was that I'd skip weighing myself this week but that's silly. I mean, it's probably a good thing to know what a party will do for the weight loss, right?

    Anyway, just wondering what you all do to deal with parties/holidays.

    oh, and p.s..... Not a good idea for me to try to type so early in the morning before I've finished my first cup of coffee. omg...the mistakes I've had to fix in what I just wrote. sheesh... :o

    Sounds like a good plan. Sure, you might be higher on Monday but this is a rare occasion for you and you don't want to be so obsessed with weight loss that you miss life.

    I'd also add:

    - Eat mindfully and savor every bite.
    - Get in some extra exercise.

    I have a family party tonight and on that note I am going to push away from the computer and get in some extra exercise myself.

  • TracyV125
    TracyV125 Posts: 100 Member
    Sounds to me like you're planning your day out right. I'd add in a workout today before the party if you could. Enjoy the party, sample the foods that interest you and then get right back at it tomorrow. I've found drinking extra water and another workout the following day helps me. But the scale will go up due to the sodium. It's fine because it'll come back down. Just keep doing what you do. Enjoy your party! It sounds fabulous! I've been to D.C. twice and can only imagine how spectacular the fireworks will be there.
  • DeterminedFee201426
    DeterminedFee201426 Posts: 859 Member
    it's not much of a problem for me ..
    If iam losing weight phase .. I'll Eat at maintenance
    If iam in the maintenance Phase I'll Eat about 700-1k cals above it..
    I then balance out everything through out the week and if i need to eat
    at a small deficit I do to make the balance .
  • clhobbs09
    clhobbs09 Posts: 24 Member
    I had this "issue" last Saturday when I didn't bring my lunch for a meeting. I was so nervous. I am not that far into my journey and I went over my calories that day by a striking amount. I've been trying not to weight myself often but I did that following Monday just to see if it would make a different and I lost just a small bit. I posted about going above my calories and received great feedback and encouragement. I agree with those that say if you don't do it everyday then you are good. Just be smart about it and don't allow counting to keep you from enjoying your day. A holiday is only one day. Remember that.
  • Angierae75
    Angierae75 Posts: 417 Member
    This is my way of looking at it: thin people indulge occasionally, too. I am not going to spend a holiday or a birthday obsessing about what I eat.

    I'm going to a party tonight. I walked 3.5 miles this morning to make sure I got my steps in. I ate a reasonable breakfast and will eat a reasonable lunch. And then I will go to the party and eat _reasonably_, but I will eat what I want. Will I be over calories? Probably. Will I be over maintenance? Maybe. Will I have a slightly smaller loss this week? Yup.

    Oh well.
  • MommyL2015
    MommyL2015 Posts: 1,411 Member
    I'm gonna eat. :) Then I'll log every calorie of it and realize I ate too much, then I'll get back on track tomorrow. I did my weigh-in today instead of tomorrow just because I know I'll be up due to all the crap I plan to eat later today.

    One day doesn't ruin anything as long as it's only one day once in a while. My last pig-out was memorial weekend.

    Life is short and just know that one day is just that. One day.
  • PaulaWallaDingDong
    PaulaWallaDingDong Posts: 4,645 Member
    Enjoy the party. Don't miss out, especially with the variety of foods from other countries you're looking at. You'll get caught up on what little damage you did during one party just by returning to your normal deficit. If the scale doesn't go down one week, so what?
  • daniwilford
    daniwilford Posts: 1,030 Member
    I walked this morning and am swimming this afternoon and eating every calorie back. Go easy on bread, chips and desserts. Best thing about summer parties is all the fresh fruits and vegetables.
  • softblondechick
    softblondechick Posts: 1,275 Member
    I eat my food before going, a piece of salmon, large salad. Then, at a party, I may have a piece of watermelon.
  • cmwc123
    cmwc123 Posts: 45 Member
    unless you're training for a competition, have a special event that you have to be a set weight for, enjoy the party, no stress, no guilt, and get back at it tomorrow.
  • DeterminedFee201426
    DeterminedFee201426 Posts: 859 Member
    I normaly eat in a defict.. If an event comes up and I want to eat more i'll eat at maintenance for that day or even go slightly over it .. later on I continue my normal deficit days...

    If I were in maintenance I would for sure eat 500-1k calories above it and balance the remainder of my week
    by eating at a slight deficit of 200 or 300.
  • Monklady123
    Monklady123 Posts: 512 Member
    Lol... Did you know that there are actually several entries in the MFP food lists called "omg too much food!" or "ate way too much food". :lol: I picked the first one that came up and stuck it in there. It took 1,000 calories from my day. rofl.

    Well the party was fun. I made sure to eat some raw veggies and guacamole. As well as Vietnamese spring rolls, and Persian chicken, and Chinese noodles, and even a brownie. I only had a very small glass of wine and no other alcohol so that was a calorie saving right there.

    Tomorrow is another day, as Scarlett O'Hara was known to say. :)
  • 85Cardinals
    85Cardinals Posts: 733 Member
    I stay home alone and watch Seinfeld reruns instead of going to holiday parties. Works like a charm.

    Seriously, I'd eat right before I went and then just nibble perfunctorily to throw them off the scent. Also avoid alcohol altogether. Not a lot of fun, I'll admit.
  • BWBTrish
    BWBTrish Posts: 2,817 Member
    edited July 2015
    A couple of options it all depends on my mood

    1. i squeeze everything in my calorie allowance ( which means eating less and training more if i have too)
    2. idem as 1...plus i eat just below maintenance level.
    3. i go over and dont give a ****


    All worked perfectly because the next day i went back to normal again.
    Its not a holiday that makes you overweight, it is eating to much all the next days after the holidays!!!!!
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  • daniwilford
    daniwilford Posts: 1,030 Member
    TheOwlhouseDesigns wrote: »
    Its not a holiday that makes you overweight, it is eating to much all the next days after the holidays!!!!!
    This is so true! I am repeating this to myself over and over today!

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  • MynameisChester
    MynameisChester Posts: 107 Member
    Angierae75 wrote: »
    This is my way of looking at it: thin people indulge occasionally, too. I am not going to spend a holiday or a birthday obsessing about what I eat.

    I'm going to a party tonight. I walked 3.5 miles this morning to make sure I got my steps in. I ate a reasonable breakfast and will eat a reasonable lunch. And then I will go to the party and eat _reasonably_, but I will eat what I want. Will I be over calories? Probably. Will I be over maintenance? Maybe. Will I have a slightly smaller loss this week? Yup.

    Oh well.

    This. I'm a big fan of looking at my monthly stats instead of daily stats. I expect that during the holiday parties I'll eat over maintenance. After holidays, I normally resume back to normal. I also expect that during the spring and summer months I find myself wanting to be outside more, which results in me being more active. As long as you're consistent with healthy eating and exercising habits, you'll be successful. Being on top of your nutrition is important. However, it is just as important to allow yourself to eat the foods you want once in a without stressing out so much. It's all about lifelong success!
  • Azexas
    Azexas Posts: 4,334 Member
    I log what I can for the day, but spend the time enjoying the holiday with friends and family. As long as I am on point with my logging and intake 99% of the time, one day here and there will not destroy the progress I have made.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    Life happens. Regardless of the method you chose; fitting in, earning extra or going over, it's just one day.
This discussion has been closed.

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