Planning is always key for a holiday or special occasion. Whether you are cooking, helping, visiting, etc - time to think of your strategy to get through the day the way you want.

My SIL and niece are coming from out of town to our home for dinner on Sunday. My mom will come over too. The menu is lamb chops on the grill, wilted lettuce salad, pickled beets and eggs (made with splenda - DH's family tradition), asparagus, brown rice/wild rice, & pie. I think I can do well with this - I am planning to avoid the wilted lettuce salad (made with bacon fat - another of DH's family traditons) and pie.

We are in a NO EASTER CANDY zone at our house.

They want to eat at 3pm - that is a silly time to eat dinner. I am working on this.

Since I've moved to New York with my boyfriend, holidays, as far as food-wise, are not a problem because he and his family do not really do holiday celebrations and dinners so I am safe where food is concerned lol

I celebrate Passover rather than Easter but my strategy was to have small portions of the foods that I really love and skip everything else. It was all things that I like but don't LOVE so it wasn't worth it to me. In the past, I would have had some of everything and probably 2-3x the size portions of the stuff I like best. So I was very pleased with how my holiday turned out and expect to see a loss this week.

3 pm is a little awkward, but it's workable if you shift things around so that is you main meal of the day. Normal to light breakfast and lunch and then a snack with protein around 8 or 9 pm, so you don't get too hungry overnight. Most days I have my main meal for lunch and I find I feel pretty good and sleep better with a lighter meal in the evenings, so maybe you will be pleasantly surprised!

My family LOVES to do a huge dinner, my grandma makes crazy amounts of delicious foods, including homemade perogies.. ugh.. however this year we are going LOW FAT! BBQ chicken breasts, lots of veggies, there will be some stuffing, but I'll be avoiding that! My grandma fully supports my counting calories and will help me out

Happy Easter Everyone!! Also - no chocolate in the house, and if I do want some.. I will plan it into my calories!

-Aimee

First...all my cousins will be at the house where I am celebrating, and most of them are kids so there will be a LOT of candy. I will have ONE piece...(there may be an antipasta as traditional in Italian families but I am not sure...if there is it will have olives, cheese, dried sausage, oil marinated veggies and bread)...so...1 piece of cheese, NO BREAD! I know there is going to be turkey...I will have as much of that as I like, no skin. Idk what they will have in the way of veggies (if they have any)...I'll eat whatever. I WILL NOT EAT PASTA! Then there will be extensive dessert...including carrot cake, cookies, Italian pastries etc. I will pick ONE THING that I really love and have a small portion of it. I know that was long, but there is so much food lol!

I went over the menu with my mom...and I pretty much don't like anything being served, minus the green salad and the fruit salad. Chances are good I can talk my dad into grilling me a chicken breast and I'll just have that with the salads. Plus, my dad is doing South Beach now and mom is on Jenny Craig...so there won't be any candy in my house.

My mom is being supportive of me and asked if I wanted her to make anything special.
I said no. This is my first test (of myself) to see if I can control what I eat in a public setting. It's all about portion control. We're not doing a traditional easter dinner, we're having pasta, salad and probably veggies and dip.
I'll fill up on the salad and veggies and have a small portion of the pasta. I'll probably bring some form of protein so that i dont find myself starving an hour later.
I have faith that I can control myself.
The sugary stuff is going to be hard, but since everyone knows I'm doing this I think they'll be respectful.

well i have a plan..im not havin easter dinner..... my bf is gone to ontario.. so are my parents and i work lol works or me

I think we're going to have turkey, and my SO will work with me to make sure there are some healthy choices for side dishes.

There will be easter candy in the house...however, there has been for the last week or two and I've not gotten into it. No candy for me.

My kid will be at the church Easter fun and I have to bring a brunch dish -- probably an on plan fruit or pasta salad.

Past that, there is nothing about it that isn't an ordinary day. No plans for a fancy Easter dinner or anything like that.

A.

Low calorie alone doesn't seem to be working for me, so starting today I will be cutting back on carbs. This may be a challenge at easter dinner...I know it is with my new baking business...but I'm doing it , because I am really tired of being stuck around the 200 lb mark.

DH and I are opting out of his family's trip to the Easter brunch buffet--yucko anyway! He has been having a hankering for ham, which we bought last night. DD is spending the day with her BF's family, so it's just me, DH and DS14. I'm planning on putting the ham in the crockpot before we go to church. And I will just make skin-on mashed potatoes, a steamed veggie and a green salad. And I plan to make a crustless pumpkin pie on Saturday. Easy-peasy.

As far as candy, DD, her BF and DS have candy in their baskets (which DH hides, and I mean really hides--it can take the kids hours to find them) but I usually get stuff that I don't really like. My favorite Easter candy is the chocolate malted milk speckled eggs and I didn't see them at the store nor did I seek them out.

Most of the eating will be done at my house so that really helps. I have the menus planned and will be doing my shopping today. We have a breakfast at church Sun. morning and I am taking something that is safe for me. I volunteered to help in the kitchen so I will stay too busy to be tempted to eat all the goodies.

I normally buy candy for the whole family but none of us need that stuff. The grandkids are getting a toy from me and the big people are getting itunes gift cards. I am having a chocolate cake for the family but I am also making an angel food cake with pineapple that I can have also. Most of my family like it too so I don't feel like I have to have "diet" food.

I don't have anything planned really food wise. So I guess Easter will just be another average day for me. If my mom does decide to cook I will fix myself something else. We usually go to my grandmother's house, but she just got out of the hospital.

I already told my parents I don't want any Easter candy so that won't be an issue either.