Let's talk about your strategy for remaining in maintenance this Christmas?

RunRutheeRun wrote: »

This is my 4th Christmas since I got to goal weight, I don't log my foods anymore but I still mentally tot up my daily calories - I wont do this on Christmas & Boxing day, pretty much I will eat what I want (it doesn't take a lot to fill me any more). Then once the holidays are over its back to usual eating routine. I know from previous times/vacations etc that I wont gain any permanent weight, a few pounds perhaps, which will be history in a week or two.

It's funny how after a month of logging it's impossible to stop. It's imprinted in my head to estimate roughly my cals as I consume meals, such as when I'm out and about. Somehow, the odd day out didn't make a difference to my weight, but I think a lot is to do with the fact that guilt overtakes any joy if I go overboard, and somehow stop before I go too far

it's not just one day for me either - we have a lot of people visiting us for meals and a lot of visiting other people.

My tactics have, in recent years, been;

• Stay off the booze most days
• On the days I expect to eat a large evening meal I fast during the day
• I aim to hit the gym most days between Christmas and New Year's Eve
• With treat food/drink I try to avoid low quality crappy stuff in favour of better quality

Mine is simply by not celebrate Xmas.

KANGOOJUMPS wrote: »

Um, its a holiday, one day,I am going to eat it all drink it all, and have a good time, and get a workout in.

You work out on Christmas day?

A few things that help me over this time:

Cardio daily - brisk walk, run or insanity - builds a deficit for the larger meals ahead.
Lift weights
Try to get an accurate calorie estimation of homemade treats before eating
Drink lower calorie alcohol (Bourbon, Scotch w/o mix or light beer)
Log everything
Stick to what I usually eat (keep routine) 90% of the time.
Be mindful at family visits where the snacks and dinners are much more calorie dense than usual routine. But still enjoy them!

In the past I have found that the 2 days after christmas I can't close due to low calories. Simply put; after two christmas days my body refuses to give off eating signals. Food all of a sudden becomes something I really don't want. All I want is tea and water and some fresh salad.
On balance of those four days I stayed within maintenance.
And yes of course I log, I am alive hence I want to know what the damage could be, but also learn from it.

Keep doing the exact same thing I am doing right now.. But I plan to eat to my hearts desire on Xmas Eve, Xmas Day and New Years Eve and definitely the day after that cause usually waffle house finds its way into after party plans. lol

srecupid wrote: »

It's one day.

Yep same here. We celebrate on Christmas day and that's it, and it's over for another year (thank God!) Thankfully we don't have Thanksgiving here in Aus, so don't have to worry about that.

I won't be logging on Christmas though, i honestly wouldn't know where to start, and i refuse to worry and stress about calories on this one day of the year.

HappyGrape wrote: »

srecupid wrote: »

It's one day.

It's not for me.

2 work parties, one for our team and one with team I used to work - girls night out
Night out with few friends
Night out with the mums (my sons soccer team)
Extended family event
Out to see the Christmas lights & the new star wars & meal with my son & husband
Close family meal out the day before Christmas
Christmas day
New Years eve meal out

To top it off my friend have 40th birthday

That doesn't include few friends with kids that will most likely drop over and we will have finger food & drinks for them

Or the sweets in the office, and as I work in multinational - there are sweets from all over that people bring

The reality is that it is very busy month for us, and one to be enjoyed but I feel it can be enjoyed better with plan to avoid weight gain.

If you assume you're doomed, you're doomed. But you don't have to be. Yes, make a plan. But the plan can be different for each event, or for a group of them, if they're chronologically close.

For example, you can use "it's just a day" for one or two celebratory events; get in some extra workouts to offset others; moderate for some others that are tempting but include social distractions you can use to minimize over-eating (dance at that party for the double win!); eat at maintenance to accommodate some close calls; and plan a little cutback or new fitness goal after the holidays to compensate for any (post-water-weight-loss) gain.

You can turn this into an insurmountable obstacle in your mind, and let it become an excuse to give up, or you can work your way through it. What's your larger goal: Wallow in the holiday enjoyment in the same ol' way you always have, or give your future self, and your family, the holiday gift of your better health? Either one can work; the former one just requires more make-up time.

Take it an event, day, or week at a time. Plan to re-dedicate post-holidays if things slip a bit. It takes 3500 freakin' calories over maintenance to gain a pound. It takes a 500 daily deficit (exercise or eating) to lose that in a week.

You can handle this.

P.S. I'm bad at buffets or potlucks. I try to work out extra for those. Actual Christmas is "just a day", though I eat lightly early in the day before our (evening) celebration meal. The random events with friends have varied strategies. If it's some kind of "lots of talk & laughter with drinks" kind of thing, I'll eat a salad at the restaurant with the group, cram protein the rest of the day to hit my goal, and try to land somewhere near maintenance calories, but also go for 12 oz of water alongside each alcoholic drink (keeps me more clear-headed, avoids dehydration). I also subscribe to the "only eat really good treats, not everything" philosophy. My birthday is between Thanksgiving & Christmas. My anniversary (I'm a widow and get mopey) is between Thanksgiving & Christmas. After any indulge-y day, I always feel better if I get a vigorous workout.