Hi.. help with meals on holidays??

Full disclosure: I'm an emotional eater with some mild anxiety issues. In the past, I've beaten myself up over making lousy food choices and gotten into a vicious cycle of eating too much made me feel like a failure, soothing myself with more food, feeling lousier, eating more, etc.

I went to visit my parents before and during Passover—a time of year when many of the foods I rely on for satiety aren't permitted. (Short list: no bread, no grain products besides matzo, with the exception of quinoa, no legumes—including green beans and peas and their products, so no soy sauce or cornstarch). Oh and I'm vegetarian, which effectively reduced my protein choices to dairy, nuts, and quinoa. And I find it very easy to go overboard on nuts and dairy. Plus I was going to be away from most of my fitness equipment, though my resistance tubes were easy to pack and bring with me.

What worked for me was deciding that I was going to eat at maintenance for two weeks. People talk about getting derailed. Well, if you're heading to a part of the track with hairpin turns, it's only sensible to take it a little slower. I pre-logged as much as possible. I accepted that gaining weight was going to be a possibility. My parents have been known to free-pour oil and salad dressings and, while I can control the food I personally prepare, I do kinda want what they're serving, too. (I also discovered that a nearby park had put in outdoor fitness equipment and went there a few times, and made time to walk, but that was a nice bonus.)

As it turned out, I ended up eating a bit more than I would have, had I stayed home, but I still ended up losing. Not as much as normal, and a week later, I went up 0.2—chalk it up to 'weight loss isn't linear, etc.' But for me, deciding to take it slow, minimize the damage, do my best, not stress, and get back to business after the holiday worked well.

One note: There are no 'bad' foods (except moldy/spoiled ones). There are foods that need more moderation. There are foods you may need to cut back on so you have room for more nutritious/more satiating choices. But the weight you've lost so far? Isn't all going to come flying back because you had a large fries with breaded chicken and chased it down with a margarita and cheesecake for dessert one night.

Thanks! Glad it helped!