Christmas: What's your strategy?

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Replies

  • nsblue
    nsblue Posts: 331 Member
    I will be having surgery the first of december and will be on liquids for 4 weeks...so no turkey dinner for me lol... and i will do just fine..because I KNOW I WILL!! with focus and committment i will sail through it, n have my turkey in the new year a new woman :)
  • i_love_vinegar
    i_love_vinegar Posts: 2,092 Member
    Im just gonna enjoy myself. It is Christmas -- the most wonderful time of the year. There are plenty of days to makeup for it :flowerforyou:
  • stephyy4632
    stephyy4632 Posts: 947 Member
    I`m not worried at all

    I don`t drink adult beverages
    only have one Christmas party to atend , Onc Christmas dinner to attend and only one Thanksgiving dinner to attend so 3 cheat days in two months isn`t bad (4 if you count new years eve party). Plus I have an eliptcal at home so I will still get my full workout in on those days and will mostlikly still fit the cal count in but not going to stress if I don`t because as listed above its only 3/4 days out of 2months so planning to enjoy those days with the family and relax about the food
  • Purecity
    Purecity Posts: 115 Member
    Not only do I have Thanksgiving and Christmas coming up, my birthday is on December 22nd! :)

    I plan on enjoying myself* on those days (not weeks or month or weekends.... only on Nov 24. Dec 22. & Dec. 25)
    This is a life change for me, not a diet. So its just not possible for me to deprive myself during my favorite time of the year.




    *enjoying myself also does not mean over-indulging. It means I will eat what I want, in moderation.
  • melsinct
    melsinct Posts: 3,512 Member
    My strategy will be as follows:

    Thanksgiving, Christmas (and eve): Absolutely destroy everything in my path in such a way that FuriousPete would applaud.

    Then resume my diet like nothing ever happened.

    Same here. A few meals with no calorie counting won't hurt anything. The danger is when people give themselves the license to gorge at every single event/gathering from Thanksgiving through New Years. I have decided to pick a few days where I have the license to eat whatever I want. For me, that is Thanksgiving day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Years Eve. Other than that, it will be business as usual.
  • MommyLyssa
    MommyLyssa Posts: 134
    Between divorces and in-laws and such- we actually end up celebrating each holiday a minimum of 5x- and all five of those times it is a different person going all out. SO, I can't do the whole have one day enjoy it thing. I think I will just try to maintain those weeks! Yikes :)
  • Hellbent_Heidi
    Hellbent_Heidi Posts: 3,669 Member
    My plan is just to treat it like any other month...and will be declining the extra cookies and crap around the office, just like I've declined the recent birthday cakes, and other junk. I guess I was never a big holiday-food person (aside from cookies & candy) to begin with, so I don't expect it to be too difficult most of the time.

    There's always going to be SOME occasion to eat badly....the holidays, Halloween candy, Easter, grad parties, summer bbq's, birthdays..... I just remind myself that this is a lifestyle change for me, and after eating healthy for a while, my stomach can't handle all the junk anyway.
  • beccalucy
    beccalucy Posts: 250 Member
    I inted to enjoy it. Running will still have to occur as I have a goal (London Marathon) which everyone is aware of. I'm really lucky in that part of our xmas is to walk the dogs after dinner so we'll all have a good walk together. Also vegetables are a huge part of our christmas dinner so I pile those on my plate then only put a roast potato etc on meaning I get a taste but not much in the way of calories!
  • jillj333
    jillj333 Posts: 5 Member
    Here's what I do: I stick to it and then I eat anything I want on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. So basically I take those days
    off entirely and just eat anything I want.

    Christmas season itself can be a bit tough, but back when I was doing weight watchers, if I wanted a cookie or something, I just made sure to count it. And in some cases, if there was a fancy dinner or party to go to, I would try to eat as little as possible during the day and then do my best to count at the event itself. For me though, I only have maybe one or two events during the season that aren't on the actual holidays so even if I would over eat at them I'd be fine as long as I would get back to my regular routine the next day.
  • iuew
    iuew Posts: 624 Member
    Ok, we're halfway through November so it's hard to avoid the 'C' word. It's that time of year when overindulgence is practically the LAW - the booze, cakes, FOOD... I swear, between Christmas socials at work (of which there were several), at home and with my friends (on top of my already unhealthy diet) I put on a clean 7 pounds last Christmas.

    This year, I plan to stick to my diet but I know the temptation will be intense! Any strategies? I don't want to start 2012 a half-stone heavier!!

    i will do it the same way that i do Thanksgiving : calorie budget the day of and the day before. i usually have breakfast and save most of the other calories of the day for a big dinner. i do some extra exercise to give me a bit of a buffer. sometimes i go over on Thanksgiving or Christmas, but it's just one day.
  • cramernh
    cramernh Posts: 3,335 Member
    Honestly, Im just not going to stress about any of the holidays. If I pre-plan my meals now, it will be no different than pre-planning the Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners ahead of time... Its just another day!

    Ive had Thanksgiving's meal planned for a month... and Im working on Christmas' dinner really soon. And where its just my husband and I, that is TOOOOOO easy! LOL!
  • kcarpen3
    kcarpen3 Posts: 12
    What about just using smaller plates? They say that it is helpful to use 8-inch plates instead of 12-inch plates (or whatever size you normally use, just use smaller ones), less room for food, it's supposed to "trick" you into eating less. The few times I have tried this it seems to be fairly successful.
  • Teliooo
    Teliooo Posts: 725 Member
    For me, I am working on xmas day until 4pm. I plan to take that day and boxing day off from logging then back to it after. I will be working everyday bar one (28) from the 25th to the 1st Jan so I won't have time to overindulge anyway.

    I really don't care for Christmas food and I usually end up losing weight over Christmas as I don't really drink or eat much chocolate or most other holiday foods. It is the savoury snacks that get me but I am sure it won't hinder me. As was said earlier, this is not a diet but a lifestyle choice so I will be doing what I do every year, just with more fitness.
  • grtrtle
    grtrtle Posts: 8
    For the Thanksgiving dinner, I'm going to try the one plate strategy (I'm usually a 2-3 plates kind of feaster), plus one slice of pie without whip cream and ice cream. I have no definitive plans for Christmas yet. I guess I better come up with one before the weekend comes upon us :tongue: .
  • dlyeates
    dlyeates Posts: 875 Member
    My plan is to estimate calories, take smaller portions of the higher calorie items and log log log. I also read in a different thread that a good way to decide what to eat is to pass up the items that you can eat anytime (ie mashed potatoes, rolls, etc) and have small portions of those special holiday items (grandma's pie, special stuffing, etc). That made a lot of sense....why load up calories for something that isn't special....go for the special stuff.

    Our Thanksgiving is out of town so I will do my best with the meal and then I have to figure out how to stay on track with my eating the rest of the weekend!!! My nephew is having a little get together the night before we leave so I have to deal with adult beverage calories!!!

    The only days I plan to not "count" are the night of my husband's Christmas party (am hoping it will be in a hotel with a gym) and the morning after. His company actually flies us from Chicago to Washington DC where the main branch is, puts us up in a hotel and gives a phenomenal party and then a brunch the next day. Not even going to attempt it but considering soups and eating a lot lighter the week after!!!!

    I'll be creating our Christmas meal so I can do what I want with that!!!
  • shakybabe
    shakybabe Posts: 1,578 Member
    Luckily.. (for the purposes of my diet)... I don't get to eat out much and get food delivered to house so not tempted by whats on offer in supermarket.. I just add my 'healthy shop' to basket and its at my door a few days later!

    I'm hoping to go xmas shopping and lunch out next week and its mainly junk food available in the cafe area upstairs (McDonalds/KFC/Fish &chips etc) but as I say I haven't had anything like that for about a year and I'll burn loads of calories self propelling myself up and down shopping centre for around 4 hours .. so gonna treat myself!

    Xmas day will be my biggest challenge I only have to get from car to my brothers sofa and be served with brandy and coke, chocolates, xmas dinner and brandy trifle... lol! .. Luckily I'm getting some new fitness games for xmas (they've already got my list.. lol!) so I'll be able to work it all back off from boxing day!! :laugh:
  • miss_jamaica
    miss_jamaica Posts: 376 Member
    My strategy will be as follows:

    Thanksgiving, Christmas (and eve): Absolutely destroy everything in my path in such a way that FuriousPete would applaud.

    Then resume my diet like nothing ever happened.

    Best. Plan. Ever.
  • castadiva
    castadiva Posts: 2,016 Member
    I am on holiday from 22nd December to the 3rd of January. On the 22nd morning, I will switch my allowance to maintenance and I will try to burn with exercice a minimum of 200 cal /day, giving me more calories to eat and yet maintain.

    Well that's the plan, the reality... we'll see

    This sounds like a good plan to me - I'm going to make sure my week off isn't entirely spent in front of the fire with the dog, a good book and a wee dram and include some exercise every day - snowball fight, anyone?! - and make conscious decisions about what I eat and drink on the less-special days of the holidays, but Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Hogmanay, all bets are off. The few days of the year that I get to spend with my family, I will be focusing on more important things than the calorie content of what I'm eating. I will be logging, but my aim is to get to the other side of the holidays without gaining weight, and three days, or really, three or four meals, of indulgence isn't going to be a massive issue as long as I balance things out in the long run. I refuse to spend that time beating myself up for going over my theoretical allowance!

    As for the parties and functions in the run-up to Christmas, of which I have rather a lot to attend, a few indulgences balanced out by a bit more exercise, lighter lunches and predominantly healthy choices should keep me losing weight.

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  • umachanxo
    umachanxo Posts: 926 Member
    Christmas day and boxing day, when I'm at the families homes, I'm going to allow myself to have some treats. But portions, as I think other people said, will be really key on those days.

    My fiance already knows that if he buys me sweets for Christmas, they should be "thins" bars and dark chocolate. xD
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