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Old 11-13-2011, 04:04 PM   #1  
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Default What are your plans for the holidays?

Just wondering how you all get through the holidays.

I've always been a Christmas gainer. I LOVE the Christmas treats, making cookies, chocolates, I make caramels every year.. so it's not just Christmas day or even Christmas week, really the holidays last a month and I pay for it a long time afterward.

I have never tried to 'diet' over the holidays, so I'm wondering how those of you who have - get through it. Do you give yourself a freebie for Christmas (or Hanukkah etc) day alone? Or do you manage yourself the whole time? How about alcohol, Christmas parties etc? Family coming to stay - cooking higher calorie meals etc?

I want to have a game plan in place so that I can get through December with a loss, and preferably a reasonable loss!
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Old 11-13-2011, 04:27 PM   #2  
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We are cooking Thanksgiving at our house, so plenty of control over providing healthy options there. I'm Jewish so the whole Christmas tradition of certain foods is not really an issue for me, fortunately. We tried to make baked potato pancakes for Hannukah last year and they were inedible, maybe better luck this year?

The worst by far is all the cookies and chocolate in my office. I'm so tempted to put dish washing liquid on it all, but that would ruin the fun for everyone else who doesn't have issues with food (that I'm aware of).
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Old 11-13-2011, 06:21 PM   #3  
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I've been on this journey for 1 1/2 years. I plan to handle the holidays this year the exact same way I did last year - eating exactly on plan every single day EXCEPT the day of Thanksgiving and the day of Xmas. On those 2 days only, I will eat whatever I want.
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Old 11-13-2011, 06:24 PM   #4  
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Every year, I plan to only eat a little bit and no seconds, but so far, I've never succeeded. I would say that it's probably ok to indulge a bit on the actual day where you will have your celebratory feast but not for an entire month. Also, maybe you could branch out and explore healthy recipes and substitutes. Some people will try to fill up on salad and meat/turkey but then only have one desert of their choice. It's different for everyone, but the point is to think of a plan that you think you could stick to like glue and to try.
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Old 11-13-2011, 06:38 PM   #5  
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I'm with CherryPie! I have not strayed off plan since July 25th of this year, but in the past when my resolve to get to goal was as strong as it is this time, I did allow myself holidays (and holidays only) off. I look forward to pumpkin pie all year long, not having any until Thanksgiving day, so I will allow myself a small slice.

I doubt I can eat much on Thanksgiving and Christmas day anyway. I don't know what it is, but lately I get extremely full with so much less food (thank God). So I'll probably give myself a tablespoon of everything we serve in order to save room for the pie.
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Old 11-13-2011, 09:23 PM   #6  
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We stay home for Thanksgiving. We're making the same things as last year, but I'm not going to eat as much. I'm going to make healthier versions of somethings, like green bean casserole and I'll be eating my sweet potatoes plain. And instead of regular pumpkin pies, I'm making little 100 calorie tartlets.

For Christmas we stay home on the Eve drinking hot chocolate and watching Christmas movies. We'll open presents in the morning, eat a light breakfast, and then head over to the ILs for lunch/dinner and more presents. I probably won't count my calories there. They all know that I'm losing weight (can't really hide it anymore! ) but I'm still embarrassed to measure my food in front of other people. So I'll just stick to one serving of everything and maybe split a brownie with SIL.

I make fudge as gifts and that might be trouble this year since I'm making some new gourmet flavors. I think I will have to limit myself to one square a day until I've tried all the flavors (pumpkin, candy cane, drk chocolate jalapeno, chocolate bacon, and coffee).
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Old 11-14-2011, 12:40 AM   #7  
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Going out to eat, so I don't have to deal with leftovers
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Old 11-14-2011, 02:46 AM   #8  
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This issue has been on my mind a LOT lately....

Christmas last year was quite challenging for me. Had maintained throughout the year at 124lbs, but got up to 127lbs by the end of December. That got my butt into bootcamp for 2011!!

2 days ago, I hit 110lbs. Had to rub my eyes at the scale because I couldn't believe I had hit my year goal. 110lbs was a pipe dream for me. I'm still surprised I made it. I weighed myself yesterday, and sure enough...still 110.

I feel more motivation than ever to maintain this number through December. I don't think it will be easy...I absolutely love baked goods (Christmas cookies and baking, etc), and between relatives homes and workplace....well, this is going to SUCK.

But what a gift to myself....what a Christmas present, to not have only hit my goal weight (for this year), but to maintain it throughout the holidays... Wouldn't that be the most amazing thing I could do for myself? Wouldn't that mean more than any Christmas chocolate? Or cookie?

I think my plan will be to eat whatever I want on Christmas Day. THAT'S IT. The only day. I don't plan on being a pig about it either. I'll have turkey. I'll have a roll. I'll have veggies, and I'll have a piece of pie and maybe a cookie or two. I'll enjoy it. And at the stroke of midnight, it will be over.

I'll be on the treadmill the next morning, with a big smile on my face.
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Old 11-14-2011, 08:05 AM   #9  
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Like you, Christmas is a "season" for me, not just one day. Also, it is my absolutely FAVORITE time of year, so I plan to enjoy it, and a big part of that enjoyment for me is the food. My plan is as follows:

1) I'll eat those treats I LOVE but forego the ones I just like. For instance, I LOVE stuffing, so I plan to have some on Thanksgiving and Christmas, but I just "like" candied yams, so I'll prepare & eat my yam plain. I LOVE pecan pie, but I just like butter cookies, so I'll save my calories for the former & forego the latter. You get the picture.

2) I plan to be on maintenance calories throughout the season. I'm actually okay with the way I look now; if I lose more, fine, and if I don't, fine. But even if I wanted to lose more, I would put it off for the holidays. My holiday goal is to maintain. I know many would not agree with that, but the holidays only come once a year, and it's worth it to me to give myself permission to maintain during this time of year.

3) I calorie cycle, and I save calories for when I know a special event is coming up. So, on most regular days during the holidays, I won't be indulging in a cookie at night with my espresso. I'll forego the cream in my coffee half the time (I like black coffee, too ). These little changes and others like them will result in a 200 or so calorie deficit each day, and I'll "bank" those (to use an old WW term) for the days when I need them. This is what worked for me this summer.

4) I plan to be consistent with my exercise. This hasn't really been a problem for me this time around, but I'm going to be especially diligent during the holidays.

5) Finally, I'm going to indulge in treats that still seem "holiday-ish" without breaking the calorie bank---e.g., Tazo organic Chai tea with a dash of cream and sugar (this smells like the holidays), some rich homemade hot cocoa (less than 200 calories), a nightcap of just 1/4 cup of egg nog and a dash of rum (again, less than 200 calorie). These are are Christmas treats that are relatively low in calories.
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Old 11-14-2011, 08:08 AM   #10  
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I'm never having an "off-plan" day, even when I hit maintenance. Each holiday is going to be properly planned for

I never really went totally off track during the holidays and I think it was the constant exercise that helped me avoid gaining weight (I maintained 200 pounds for about five years). I know that it'll be harder now as I'm about 60 pounds less and therefore need to eat less overall, but I've got a bit of a game plan set up thus far:

Thanksgiving: I mentioned this in the featherweights chat, but my family always has an early meal, around 2 or 3pm. The tradition is that we always starve ourselves until then so we can go crazy, but I'm not doing that.

I plan to have a 100 calorie breakfast, one that I know will keep me fullish until meal time. I'll make sure to drink a lot of water and a can of Diet Coke to keep me full until we mealtime. From there I'm not going to try to count calories, but I'll do a bit of portion control. However, I've become so adjusted to eating less that I know I simply won't be able to go crazy at this meal unless I want to feel sick.

This then leaves room for the pumpkin pie, which my mother and I are making this year <3

Christmas: Christmas is really similar to Thanksgiving, only there are added treats to dodge. I've become completely averse to eating sweets now, so I'm not really concerned about going overboard here. We might make another pumpkin pie, so while I don't care much for sweets anymore, I might treat myself to a slice.
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Old 11-14-2011, 03:44 PM   #11  
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the last straw for me was this weekend when I had the biggest fight with my bf over my weight. He cares and wants me to try and he feels like i'm not trying as much as I say i am (i'm really not)

He then breaks down and starts to cry about how hard it is for him when he's trying to be supportive and i tell him he makes me feel less than worthless. Seeing a grown man cry for me, i have to do it for real this time. No more crash diet, no more bingeing because there's a good show on.

I'm doing it for me but I'm using him as my motivation. I know he cares about me alot, will give me the sweater off his back, etc etc and all he ask is that i do what i say I'm going to, instead of just being miserable about my weight and then eating like its my last day on Earth.

Today I'm 185, going to work hard to be at 160 (realistic) to 150 (ideal) by end of Feb. I can do this~
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Old 11-14-2011, 04:01 PM   #12  
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I was talking to my hubs about this very thing over the weekend.

I'm such a food person at the holidays that it just wouldn't seem like the Christmas season without some treats and indulgences.

So, I've decided to:

1. Give myself a pass on Thanksgiving and Christmas Days. I won't go nuts (because then I would get miserably sick) but I will have what I'd like to have without any guilt).

2. Enjoy some treats of the season without guilt. For example, this weekend we went to the Festival of Trees where I got my traditional peppermint hot cocoa. I will most likely also get a bag of roasted pecans on Black Friday and enjoy the lighted parade with a cup of hot cocoa as well.

3. I'm going to bake - and when I bake I know I'm going to sample - and I've decided that's okay. I'm not going to go crazy with it (I couldn't anymore even if I wanted to - my body is just too sensitive to carbs and I'd end up sick) but I'm not going to beat myself up over it either.

4. As with all other times, I'm going to do my level best to stay on plan 99.9% of the time.

I'm not going to feel guilty or feel that I've ruined my healthy eating patterns. These are aberrations - they are no longer my norm and it's okay for me to enjoy the trappings of the season.
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Old 11-14-2011, 05:19 PM   #13  
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I keep kosher and I'm gluten free so that means I can't eat about 90% of what is available. That's how I'll deal with it. I guess in a way, that makes it easy. I already know I won't eat much and I'm not worried about it. As long as I don't bring home any stupid Chanukah candy like I did last year, I should be fine. Actually, I'm worried about not having enough to eat because we will spend Christmas with my husband's family for two days. I may actually have to cook something I know I can eat. His mom tries but it's not her job to make sure I have enough kosher gluten free food for two days.

Last edited by LandonsBaby; 11-14-2011 at 05:20 PM.
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Old 11-14-2011, 08:50 PM   #14  
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i'm eating whatever i want thanksgiving day and christmas eve and day but thats it!!!
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Old 11-15-2011, 10:37 AM   #15  
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My commitment to myself is to write down and account for every single thing I eat, every single day. I'm using an old WW points system, so for me that means that I will make choices based on how many points I have available to me, be honest about it, and move on.

That being said, Thanksgiving food is really not my thing anyway, so I'm not too worried about that specific day. I'm a little more worried about spending a few days in my in-laws' house where there will be snacky things around. I'm used to eating lots of small meals, but I keep great choices around my own house. It's harder for me when I'm in an environment I can't control, but it's great practice for lifelong maintenance!
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