I've noticed a few people on the board are Canadian, so the advice compiled here will be helpful tomorrow, and for those in the USA will be helpful in a months time
How do you get through the holidays? Do you preplan your meal? Say **** it and eat whatever you fancy? Ect?
Personally, I treat the meal like a tasting. I get a small portion of anything I'd like and go light on the gravy. I also approach it with the "If I'm actually hungry, and need nutrition, I'd want to eat a vegetable" concept. If I don't want that extra serving of green beans, than I probably shouldn't be having the extra serving of gravy and stuffing.
Dessert wise I pick ONE THING, and have a small piece. If your family is anything like mine you have about 1000 desserts to choose from. My mother's pie is some that doesn't get made very often so I tend to pick that.
My one major tip is remember this holiday isn't about the food, its about family and you don't need to eat a whole turkey by yourself to have a good time
Not Canadian here, but Happy Thanksgiving to all who are celebrating tomorrow and a Happy Columbus Day to the Americans!
I personally think that it's not that big of a deal to splurge on Thanksgiving and Christmas. It just seems that those 2 meals extend into weeks with other parties, leftovers, etc. I try my best to cook larger portions of the healthy stuff, and small portions of the unhealthy. That way, we aren't eating the unhealthy for weeks after the holiday meal.
I also am known to freeze any leftover bake goods. Cookies, cakes, pies, chocolates all freeze perfectly if wrapped correctly. So maybe have them on the holiday, have them the day after and then take them to work for others to eat or shove them in the freezer for a last minute dessert on another day.
As far as other parties that extend the holidays...I try to not indulge as much on those, not buy the constant cookies the entire month of December, not pig out on Halloween candy, etc. Then when it's Thanksgiving dinner or Christmas or NYE, I enjoy one meal without going totally crazy.
I'm not doing any Christmas baking this year. I just can't control myself around the stuff. If it's in the house (even the freezer) I'll inhale it (I loooove frozen cut-out cookies). For the kids to put out cookies for Santa, I'll probably get those slice and bake things with the little picture in the middle. I don't like 'em, and they don't make a ton.
I've started looking for lower cal versions of my favorites. For TG, I'll either do crust-free pumpkin pie, or make it with phyllo dough. I'm going to have to plan out my meals/days *very* carefully. I'm not concerned about overindulging for those 2 days, but I am concerned about triggering a binge, or getting off plan and not going back on.
I started posting here and using fitday November of last year, right before Thanksgiving, Christmas, and all four of my family's birthdays, haha. Talk about a huge starting hurdle! So many cakes! Even just making the cakes, it's hard to resist licking the frosting...
I stayed on plan every day, found a way to work in reasonable portions of leftovers that still met my caloric goals. It was not easy. On Thanksgiving itself, I allowed myself one plate of whatever looked good, for the one meal, that one day. I ate a very light breakfast and just a piece of fruit at bedtime. I was eating about 1800 calories a day at the time, and I think that day logged in at around 2800, still under the 3k I was burning. It was one day, it didn't hurt anything, I just had to be extra vigilant that I didn't allow it to trigger overeating the following day. I did the same thing for Christmas. On the birthdays, I allowed myself one very small piece of cake and some nonfat ice cream.
I think it's okay to enjoy the food of certain holidays as long as you can stay in control of the situation.
it is a family joke about my weight loss, that I am going to diet down to 85 pounds (which is still, amazingly, in the healthy BMI range for me) and then eat my way back up to 115. This is, of course, definitely a joke, but I would so love to be a few pounds under my target so that the few pounds I know I will gain during the holidays dont hurt me too badly. I KNOW I will gain at least a pound or two during that month. I am not going to go way way off plan, but as we all know just a hundred extra calories each day adds up damned fast. I have made a promise to myself, however, that I will only eat those things which I truly love, and not just the stuff that I enjoy, but don't go all ga-ga over. And even the things I love I will keep at a reasonable limit. I also plan on doing some extra gym time over the holidays to help offset some of the extra. Good luck to everyone during these trying times!! lol
The holidays are hard but it seems everyone here has a great mentality about it. Its a treat and a holiday, so enjoy but dont go nuts.
Luckily/unluckily I just moved across the country from my family, so I wont be attending all the family events for Thanksgiving, only Christmas eve and Christmas day. And since I dont know anyone here Im sure the only tempting foods that will be around will be at work, but I take my lunch most days, and my Thanksgiving here will be with extended family and I think at this point in my healthy lifestyle change, I can deal with one day of holiday eating.
My plan is I can overeat a bit on thanksgiving/christmas/christmas eve but only on those specific days. No taking home leftovers, and eat only a small breakfast on those days (200 cal or less) so I have as much play room as possible. No drinking pop (I don't drink alcohol), if I'm going to use calories I want it to fill me up.
Eating around other people in general has been hard for me the past few months. I don't know why people have to make fun of me for choosing healthy options- I guess they must be jealous that they don't have the willpower to do the same. It seems like everyone I know has to say, "Oh come on, it's just ONE piece of pie!" or something to that nature. They don't understand that it isn't just one piece of pie to me. It's about 400 calories, 40 minutes at the gym, and will probably lead to me craving more pie and other sweets.
My extended family has not seen me since I have dropped all this weight. I know they will be happy for me but I am still prepared to hear comments when I don't eat my usual 5 dinner rolls and 3 pieces of pumpkin pie.
For me its all about portion control and not giving up. I'm not going to beat myself up if I go over calories on Thanksgiving or Christmas as long as I get back on track the next day.
I will also keep holiday 'treats' out of the house. Or if I do (i love to bake cookies) make them for others and just have one instead of the entire dozen.
Also as an everyday thing but especially at holidays, I only eat foods I really love. If something has a lot of calories I'm not going to eat it if its not yummy because its not worth the calories. In the past I would have eaten at least little bit of everything in order to 'please' whoever made it.
I still haven't figured the holiday thing out. my son and his wife and the granddaughters are coming to visit for Thaksgiving, and he's really excited because he wants to cook dinner. I am excited they are goi to be here for the day. I am thinking I will have to split the difference...eat the food, but not big quantities. Damage control maybe? And look for some alternatives that are still tasty. No dessert. The part that I would miss the most would be the stuffing and mashed potatoes with gravy. The gravy isn't too bad in limited amounts. Even potatoes with yogurt instead of butter and sour cream. I don't think there's any such thing as "diet" stuffing so i will have to just control the protion or do without this year...hmmm...I'm gonna have to give the holidays some thought. Christmas has always been non-negotiable but so has my calorie counting when I am working "on plan". One or the other will have to be adjusted, obviously.
I don't know how I'll go about the holidays. I am thinking about not indulging in anything but the family meals and leaving the sweets alone. I am normally not one for restricting the good stuff but am really trying to build good habits. It would be really easy to put back on what I've lost so far.
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I do not plan to limit my calories on Thanksgiving or Christmas, but I am going to do my best to just have a little of everything, so I won't feel deprived.
I'm scared of the holidays, especially since I'm just starting. Everywhere I go the Halloween candy is staring me in the face! I won't buy any until the day I need it because it's just too much temptation for me. We are hosting Thanksgiving, so I'll have some control over the dishes, which is good. I just can't go nuts and build a plate the size of the Matterhorn, LOL! I remember my husband's grandmother, who passed away at age 93, always kept her weight under control. She could still fit into her wedding dress after 67 years of marriage, although things had shifted a bit. At Thanksgiving, or any family gathering for that matter, she would eat anything. BUT, she literally would only put about one big spoonful of each item on her plate. Her plate was still full, but not piled high. She ate slowly. So while the rest of us had piled-high plates and could barely breathe afterwards, she had a bit of everything and was not deprived or unable to move afterwards. She always had a little bit of dessert, too. I will try to remember that this year.
Getting Through The Holidays
