Christmas is coming

Spen1973
Spen1973 Posts: 7 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi all from the UK!

Well over here it's already getting Christmas mad in the shops with all those temptations on the shelves!
So what's your way of tackling the Christmas food cravings, Christmas dinner, nights out, drinks...the list goes on? I want to fully enjoy Christmas food/drinks but now I've done so well on my fitness and got so into calorie counting that I'm concerned about the holiday ahead?

At the moment my plan is to continue as I am but also up my exercise even more for calorie deficit for days/nights out. I currently stick to 1500c or under

Replies

  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
    For Christmas parties I eat lighter during the day then stick to some of the basics plus one treat. For all the other goodies I spread them out and I only eat things I can't find the rest of the year. Freezing treats is a great way to store stuff for later.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Just fit what you want in your calorie goal.
  • fishshark
    fishshark Posts: 1,886 Member
    from thanksgiving to new years is my favorite time of year (my birthday is early december) i kick up my activity and enjoy full force.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    edited November 2016
    The week leading up to Christmas I take a diet break and don't bother logging. This time period includes a carry-in for my bowling league with lots of food and going to a breakfast buffet on the 26th with my coworkers. Before and after those days, however, I keep to what I do year round...eat in a deficit, work treats in as I can.

    Besides, I already bought Mint M&Ms today so I'm ready.
  • cityruss
    cityruss Posts: 2,493 Member
    Christmas eve, Christmas day and boxing day are days off for me. As a family we go all out.

  • Spen1973
    Spen1973 Posts: 7 Member
    fishshark wrote: »
    from thanksgiving to new years is my favorite time of year (my birthday is early december) i kick up my activity and enjoy full force.

    Definitely best advice!!
  • shellyld2016
    shellyld2016 Posts: 288 Member
    I can't see undoing all my progress for holiday binging, however I will enjoy some of the treats. I will increase my exercise. I may even do something new for cardio to add variety. Not sure yet, but one option is to switch calories to maintain weight, but I probably will not. Not an option for me, but maybe for someone that just doesn't want to gain.
    I also don't eat everything like I used to. I just have a small amount of my favorite things and skip others that aren't really a huge deal for me.
    I do all the cooking, so I send lots of leftovers home with my kids. They love it, and I leave it.
  • criiisdaw
    criiisdaw Posts: 23 Member
    ... and the goose is getting fat
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,179 Member
    Today, quite early, was the first of the opportunities I have to eat too much in the months of November and December. I've consumed 895 calories at work today consisting of 200 g turkey light meat, 70 g ham, and 1/2 cup each of sweet potato casserole and spinach casserole. All values are guesses. I think I've done ok.
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    I love the holidays and the food that goes with it! I save calories, make sure I exercise and not go too crazy with calorie intake. It's only week or so out of a whole year. Time to have fun!
  • leejoyce31
    leejoyce31 Posts: 794 Member
    I'm gonna try to stick to my current eating plan. My first holiday since getting thin. Maybe in the future I will risk it. Not ready yet.
  • salembambi
    salembambi Posts: 5,585 Member
    Christmas Eve till January 2 I do not log and eat whatever

    Try to stay at a deficit until then possibly move up to maintenance if I feel I need to for a day
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    Plan. Prioritize/Moderate. Log.
    It has worked for me the last couple of years.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    I consider whether the food is something I can have anytime or if it is something I get rarely. That is my method for prioritizing food intake at the holidays. Decide which foods I really want and eat them, trying to use reasonable portions but keeping in mind that eating in excess a few days a year does not negate the work I did the rest of the year.
  • ahoy_m8
    ahoy_m8 Posts: 3,053 Member
    DH and I celebrate both our birthdays, Christmas, New Years and our anniversary all in 3 weeks at year's end. It's a total blowout.

    I do exactly what you say, OP. I up exercise (double cardio on nice days but not more than 2x/wk). I pass on cocktail food and all but the most special holiday treats. I avoid arriving famished at parties so that I can pick and choose what's truly enjoyable. I enjoy the heck out of it and get right back on plan with the new year. My goal is to maintain, and I generally do. The scale is a rollercoaster, though. Much greater scale weight swings than normal. Ironically, in 2015, Thanksgiving day and Christmas day were my lowest scale weights of the year.

    Honestly, I will say the hardest part for me are the weeknight parties. I generally get less food, but it's more alcohol than I normally have, and it adds up. Scheduling exercise around more social events during the week is a challenge, too, but doable.
  • Lovethesnow35
    Lovethesnow35 Posts: 2,070 Member
    I will try to add more exercise to my routine. I agree to stick to the foods you favor and skip the rest. Don't feel obligated. I like to indulge moderately throughout the day. Every 3 hours I eat something I can't live without. The old days of just stuffing my face at once has gone.
  • CooCooPuff
    CooCooPuff Posts: 4,374 Member
    edited November 2016
    criiisdaw wrote: »
    ... and the goose is getting fat
    Please put a penny in the old mans hat

    I only worry about having to see my family. Food and the holiday itself is grand

    I'm doing a 5k Thanksgiving morning. I don't do anything for my birthday the day of and will likey do a normal run Christmas eve.

    Christmas day? I dunno

  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,616 Member
    It's only early November ... Christmas isn't here yet!
  • VeganRaptor
    VeganRaptor Posts: 164 Member
    I'm planning on making my own dishes to bring to parties, and my own Christmas cookies :) And brandy soaked cupcakes... yum. Being vegan often means I'm not hugely provided for at Christmas things so I find I don't experience the overeating issue. Bringing my own stuff ensures I do get some sort of food! :)
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    fishshark wrote: »
    from thanksgiving to new years is my favorite time of year (my birthday is early december) i kick up my activity and enjoy full force.

    Agreed (Dec 7 birthday here!) but related to that I can't stand this constant pushing of the holiday season earlier and earlier, and I won't even think about Christmas til after Thanksgiving (I'm actually more of a stickler for pushing it later than that--won't decorate until after my birthday, try to treat Advent as a real season and really celebrate Christmas on and right after Christmas--but I understand Thanksgiving being the start of the season socially. Don't get or approve of Halloween being the start of the season or early Nov Christmas stuff.
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
    jemhh wrote: »
    I consider whether the food is something I can have anytime or if it is something I get rarely. That is my method for prioritizing food intake at the holidays. Decide which foods I really want and eat them, trying to use reasonable portions but keeping in mind that eating in excess a few days a year does not negate the work I did the rest of the year.

    ^This. To me this is a sustainable approach, and it's one I took last year that saw me through the holidays. I came through the holiday season, eating what I wanted but being prudent about it, weighing almost a pound less than when I went in.
  • successgal1
    successgal1 Posts: 996 Member
    Last year, in the week leading up to the big day, I worked out a little more and ate back few, if any of the workout calories. (for me a workout burn is only around 350 calories) That way I was at a good weekly deficit going into the day. I survived without gaining, though it took 3-4 days to see a loss again, after all the salty foods and alcohol. I managed not to eat AROUND the holiday, just ON the holiday.
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,149 Member
    edited November 2016
    I have Xmas as a IDGAF day. I usually load up on cookies and desserts.

    ETA: I weigh and log it all.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    I figure I probably go to a few Christmas parties during the holiday season...it's not that big of a deal since we usually have or attend some kind of dinner party/gathering a couple time per month regardless of the season...Christmas just means people will be wearing really ugly sweaters. I tackle Christmas parties the same way I tackle any party...I take it a little easier with my other meals during the day.

    As far as "goodies on the shelf"...IDK...all those cookies and whatnot have never really appealed to me...I'm more of a savory type of person so I have no problems walking past a cookie.

    As Christmas day goes, it's one day...it's a special occasion that should be enjoyed with family and friends, so that's what I do. One day is pretty irrelevant to the whole.
  • fishshark
    fishshark Posts: 1,886 Member
    edited November 2016
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    fishshark wrote: »
    from thanksgiving to new years is my favorite time of year (my birthday is early december) i kick up my activity and enjoy full force.

    Agreed (Dec 7 birthday here!) but related to that I can't stand this constant pushing of the holiday season earlier and earlier, and I won't even think about Christmas til after Thanksgiving (I'm actually more of a stickler for pushing it later than that--won't decorate until after my birthday, try to treat Advent as a real season and really celebrate Christmas on and right after Christmas--but I understand Thanksgiving being the start of the season socially. Don't get or approve of Halloween being the start of the season or early Nov Christmas stuff.

    mine is december 8th! wooppp party timmme!

    We get our tree anytime the week after thanksgiving and that usually depends on how many people i had to cook for/deal with haha. I agree most of out christmasy stuff happens after the birthday. I will be turning 30 this year so enjoying my last month in my 20's!
  • alyssa0061
    alyssa0061 Posts: 652 Member
    I just bought my Thanksgiving turkey today and I'm so excited!

    I've been at this for 10 months; long enough to have a good idea of how to handle those days but not long enough to have been through the holidays yet.

    I came up with a specific plan after much thought, consideration and math.

    Beginning this past Monday (Oct 31) until January 1, I am eating 1200 calories Monday through Friday and maintenance on the weekends. This keeps my deficit exactly the same at 2 pounds per week.

    Thanksgiving, my first vacation (Dec 1 through 4), my second vacation (Dec 22 through 25) to include Christmas, I will not track. I will enjoy those days and the time with my family. 1200 calories the other days may not make up the full deficit but I am confident I will not gain. My birthday is the 19th of December. I may have a special dinner, I may just keep to 1200. We'll see.

    First of the year, or the week before, I'll reassess if I want to keep allocating more calories to the weekend or keep a consistent daily deficit.
  • Crazycatladytracey
    Crazycatladytracey Posts: 46 Member
    I'm dreading Christmas. I've told everyone to get me fruit instead of chocolates. Whether they do that is the next big thing. I don't drink so that's a big plus.
  • 77cooks14
    77cooks14 Posts: 7 Member
    I keep water with me. So if I see something that looks soooooo good then I chug my water. It swells my stomach and takrs away the craving long enough to leave the store or prevent myself from over eating.

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