Holidays

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  • Cynthiamr2015
    Cynthiamr2015 Posts: 161 Member
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    First of all I am going to enjoy the holidays this year. I will up my workouts, do some at the gym and at home to keep my calories intake from getting out of control. Then I will enjoy the food that is made at this time of the year. I will have many days that I will be eating what I am suppose to so I should not gain much if any this year. Another thing I have learn this time of year is when I get food I only take a spoonful (tablespoon) of each thing that I like (NOT everything) and when I do that I usually do not gain any weight. I can not wait for Thanksgiving and Christmas top get here. :smiley:
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,484 Member
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    Already done Thanksgiving, Canadian.
    It will take 10,000+ calories extra to take me out of my maintenance calorie range. I don't think I am going to worry at all.
    December 24- January 2 it will be; eat drink and be merry, have a wonderful time with family and friends.

    Cheers, h.
    Oh and all those little treats in the lead up to Christmas, I will just balance them out throughout the weeks.
  • Owlfan88
    Owlfan88 Posts: 187 Member
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    In trying to figure out my maintenance level, I lost a few extra pounds. So for now, my goal is not to lose any more and try to remember that I have an extra couple of pounds to deal with and not worry so much between now and New Years. I will still try to eat mostly healthy. And then reassess after the holidays.
  • kailyw05
    kailyw05 Posts: 80 Member
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    I've been focusing on eating at a small deficit in October/November. I'm 3 lbs under my goal weight right now, which is under my "minimum" weight that I want to maintain at. If I gain 3-4 lbs in December, so be it. If you think you want to really indulge, start losing now. Also, as others have said, things slow down in January/Feb, and it seems like the whole world sets a new year's resolution to lose weight, so losing a few extra lbs should be easy!
  • PinkyPan1
    PinkyPan1 Posts: 3,018 Member
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    I will do the same as I did last year and use my banked exercise calories to offset any gain. This worked well last year and I was actually surprised when I lost a pound instead of gaining. I think the fact that I am the cook, baker and hostess for the holidays helps. By the time I am done cooking, cleaning and taking care of everyone else I find that I am not really hungry. Should I gain a few pounds I now have the tools in my arsenal to lose those said pounds pronto.
  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
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    I just enjoy those 2 days and don't worry about it. ;)
  • kdiamond
    kdiamond Posts: 3,329 Member
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    I keep up with my usual workouts and I'll eat a little lighter leading up to those days.
  • Linnaea27
    Linnaea27 Posts: 639 Member
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    I definitely enjoy the holidays and cook and eat lots of yummy things. The thing is, my appetite is smaller than it used to be, so there is some automatic comfort-related control on what I will consume that way. And, like others, I tend to "zig-zag" my calories; on a holiday I may eat far more than I normally would, but the next day I'll have almost no interest in food until well into the afternoon, so I eat very lightly that day and likely for a few days after (it is easier to control portions with the leftovers, for me). I also like to spend at least an hour or so of a holiday doing some vigorous exercise, usually before the big meal. My family have always done long walks or hikes on holidays, either in the morning, or if the meal in in the early afternoon, after the meal is over, so it's kind of an ingrained habit. When we do a holiday with my husband's family, I'll usually go for an hour-long run or vigorous ski by myself in the morning or mid-afternoon before dinner, to get some sanity-helping alone time (his family are wonderful but intense!). That 600-700 calorie burn helps a lot.

    This year, I am also planning to be in a small deficit from now until Thanksgiving (and probably again for a few weeks leading up to Christmas) since I want to look my best and not have to worry too much about the excess calories, because even with the above coping strategies, I do still worry about calorie balance during the holidays.
  • JeanCricket
    JeanCricket Posts: 156 Member
    edited November 2015
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    This will be my second holiday season in Maintenance. For Thanksgiving I made the mashed potatoes, veggies, gravy and pumpkin pies. I pre-planned my dinner & dessert menu and ate lighter earlier in the day. This way I got to eat all my favs and still remain within Maintenance :) I did the same for Christmas Day.
  • BruceHedtke
    BruceHedtke Posts: 358 Member
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    I eat basically the same things for every meal, every day. This has been going on for the past year and a half. I like the food and haven't gotten bored with it. To me, this is how I'm going to eat for the rest of my life and I'm ok with that.

    But, days like Thanksgiving and Christmas, I do enjoy the variety and eat as much as I can. Plus, my sisters make to-die-for desserts and there is no way I'm not trying all of them. It's two days out of the year, it's not a habit. The habit will kick in the next day when I go right back to what has been working the past two years.

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