Holidays Ahead!
 

Hi Everyone!

The holidays, all of them, will be starting in on us in very short order. Whether your favorite holiday is Halloween, Thanksgiving, Boxing day, Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanza, New Year's Eve, Superbowl Sunday (or any football day this season ;) ), Valentine's, Mardi Gras, St. Patty's day, or Easter. We now enter a long period where each month has some "special" food oriented event. Each of us has at least one that will be a challenge should we choose to stay in an active phase 1 and not "phase off" or have cheat days.

The most challenging, and most immediate of these events for many will be Thanksgiving and Christmas. I thought it might be appropriate to resurrect a post made last fall by MeghanO. Some of you may remember her. If not she is one of our original posters and developers of this board. She had a great coach and great communication with that coach. Here is a link and repeat of an original holiday post she shared. It was a message sent by her coach to her and others on the plan.

THE MANY APPROACHES TO GETTING THROUGH THE HOLIDAYS!

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/3017915-post380.html


THE IRON WILL APPROACH
Some of you are only weeks from graduating at your goal weight. I guarantee some of you will choose the iron will approach, eating nothing that would compromise your fat burning. Good candidates for this approach would be individuals who are very new to the program and haven't mastered a strong set of healthy eating habits yet. Also, those of you with only a week or two left on the program will extend your program by 1-2 weeks by eating foods that would compromise your fat burning. So, if you're traveling to someone else's house, bring a large platter of veggies and some Walden Farms or bring a big mixed greens salad or some other creative side that's safe on your program.

If you plan to use the Iron Will Approach, here are some key phrases you can use to excuse yourself politely from eating things you don't choose to eat:

The Crafty Dismissal: "Ooh, that looks delicious! I'm stuffed so I'll just have to take it home for later" (then store it in your freezer till graduation, pitch it in the dumpster, give it to your dog...)

The Firm Hand: "Thank you for respecting the fact that I have some personal goals I am working on and, while that looks delicious, it would compromise my goals so I'll have to wait. Thanks!"

The Medical Excuse: "My doctor recently told me I am pre-diabetic. I really have to watch out for foods that spike my insulin. I'll have to pass". Guess what! If you're overweight, you really are pre-diabetic.

The Allergy Excuse: "I recently found out I am violently allergic to that! No thanks!" I have used this many times, as I have 16 legitimate food allergies. It works! The one question you might get is, "wow, what happens when you eat that?" and your response can be as simply as this, "You don't even wanna know!" That'll stop the conversation right there.


THE ONE DAY PASS APPROACH
Thanksgiving comes ONCE a year and there will be a number of dieters who feel they've earned a day off from Ideal Protein. Okay. I concede. Many of you HAVE earned a day off! Here's how I'd like you to procede if you choose to eat things that will compromise your fat burning.

1. Moderation is KEY. Let's not un-do all the healthy habits we've built on this program. Practice regulating portion sizes. Don't go back for second helpings. Skip the cookies-they're so full of sugar and fat and just not worth it. Have some mashed potatoes and gravy (one moderate serving), have a small piece of pumpkin pie (skip the cool whip, don't eat all the crust-super fattening), only have one or two glasses of red wine (this is Ideal Protein's alcohol cheat of choice-red wine) NOT the whole bottle, not a half-pint of liquor, etc. Plus, if you don't moderate, you may feel very sick... eewwww.

2. The one day pass is just that- a ONE DAY pass. You are not authorized to spend the whole week of Thanksgiving on an eating spree. It's not healthy and it's destructive to all the new healthy habits you've worked so hard to build.

3. If you use the ONE DAY PASS approach, you must go to bootcamp for three days starting Friday after Turkey Day. Bootcamp means Phase I, very low carb-no restricted items. This will give your pancreas a chance to rest and recooperate from the holiday abuse and get you back to fat-burning mode faster.

GOING HOG WILD APPROACH
This is not an acceptable approach if you are serious about changing your body, your health, and your life. I will question your motivation to lose weight if you use this approach. Here are some things to consider before going hog wild:

1. "If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you always got." Have you heard that before? Don't expect to do something the same way you always have and expect to get different results. Binge-type eating and lack of portion control is part of what led many of you to the weight at which you started your Ideal Protein journey. It takes an average of 28 days to build a new healthy habit. It only takes one minute to break a habit. Tread carefully.

2. You are likely to feel very unwell that night, the next day, or even for several days after. You may feel hung-over, even you didn't drink but overdid the sugars.

3. You will start carrying excess water (bonded to the new carb molecules floating through your system), feel bloated, and probably feel guilty and have regret. Wow, that's not worth it.

4. That's expensive! Going HOG WILD will cost you because it will stop your fat burning, waste at least 5 days of your program and extend your program by one to two weeks total. Again, not worth it.

IN CONCLUSION, you have a choice to make about how you will approach holiday eating. If you choose the IRON WILL or the ONE DAY PASS approach, please know that you should still write down everything you eat and you will not be "in trouble" for having a small piece of pie. Make choices you can feel good about.


THank you to my Wellness Coach Kim for that email!
Meghan





Repost of original message

What a sensible post. Thanks so much.

Thanks for sharing

Thank you Meghan this is very helpful!

That's awesome! I had kind of been thinking a little about the holidays myself. My assumption is/was that I will take the iron will approach but the idea of having a moderate meal followed by restricted products for 3 days doesn't sound awful. We don't have any extended family here so it will just be my husband and our girls so I don't think it will be too big of a deal, but I'm going to see how I feel when I get closer to Thanksgiving. I kind of had hopes of moving to the next phase by Christmas, but we'll see where I'm at by then. If I haven't moved on then I may go for the moderate day and then, just be very careful for awhile.

Great info! Thanks for reposting!

With all the travel and events I have had the past three months I am still managing good weight loss success despite what I term "smart cheats". I am not advocating anyone else do these without serious thought about where you are with your diet and how good your control is. The longer you have been good on your diet the better your sense of control is likely to be. For me if I have to eat something not on plan I will choose fat over carbs to keep ketosis going. I will severely limit the portion size to a taste or very small serving. My cheat might be a few slices of apple or a few berries or some bacon bits on my salad. Sometimes I have added two tablespoons of Greek yogurt with a tsp of peanut butter mixed in. If faced with birthday cake handed to me I take one bite of the cake, minus the frosting and locate the nearest trash can quickly. If I am going somewhere with a group for ice cream or dessert, I bring an Atkins indulge bar and eat half of it ( taste like mounds or snickers).
I figure that even when I go into maintenance I can still use these techniques to bypass temptation and have longterm control over what I eat.

Thanks Carla for reposting Meghan's very informative post.

After careful consideration, I've decided to go with the IRON HOG approach, otherwise known as dinner at my mother-in-law's. If we go there for Thanksgiving dinner, there's not even a remote chance I'll eat too much or want seconds... :rofl:

I like this approach :D...... go where ya know the food will be less than desirable :p. Then you can say "oh no I couldnt ....and really mean it"

Another point is that all those foods will be there when you are at goal..... its not forever.... I froze things that I couldnt have while on IP that you only get once a year (halloween candy, easter bunnies, christmas cake ect) and they were nestle nicely in my freezer waiting ever so patiently for me. Making the most of the event and not the food is key, make the most of what you can have just as Carla suggested try not to focus on what you cant.

Salesgod -- that is hilarious and wise! I need only to go to my own mothers... (gross) to avoid eating too much, which is why I likely gained weight when I left the nest! Finally got to eat food with taste and not burned!

Great advise Carla, thanks for reposting!

Thanks Carla for reposting a wonderful post!!!
and Dave- you made me laugh!!! maybe your Mother in law cooks ferret????

Sandra- I love your dancing ladies! I remember when there was only 3 of them.. now there is 7!! wow! Before you know it you will have 'an army' like Carla does!!! :D

I am way to new to this diet (9 days) to be confirming what I will do.....but mentally I do not plan on a single cheat until I reach my goal.....period. Ask me again at Thanksgiving. I see no trouble spots between now and then. My plan is Turkey and salad and brocolli....that should do it. Now, my trip to vegas between Christmas and New Year's Eve....that should be interesting.

Wow -the holidays on IP.... I am going to have to get creative with my menu. I have found that I LOVE cauliflower steamed with sea salt. It tastes way better than eating it plain. I like to use that as a subsitute for mashed potatoes. It's awesome with my 5oz steak for dinner.

Does anyone has any creative ideas of a IP friendly yummo thanksgiving dinner??? I know many of the traditional menu items will have to go, but I maybe I'll just do baked turkey, cauliflower (disguised as mashed potatoes) and green beans?? (no gravy, no sweet potato casserole, boo hoo) I think I've read once that someone had created a IP friendly stuffing with mushrooms, zuchinni, etc...

I'll just take it a day at a time until then.....

I'm also 9 days into IP. I agree with you - I don't want to cheat either. It's tough to know that one day of cheating costs you about 3 days to get back into fat burning mode. To me, it's just not worth it! I feel if I've invested all this time into the food prep / menu planning and MONEY (face it, it ain't cheap) then I better make it worth it! :)

I think the iron will approach is great if you are nearing entering the next phase. It would be fantastic to have Christmas on the next phase!

Iron HOG!! LOL...:ink: sounds like you need and iron STOMACH! ;)

THAT is the approach I took, WannaBe! There was nothing I wanted that I hadn't had before and, wouldn't be able to buy or make later. I was just making a choice for a "different and healthier" Holiday season this time. Nothing was removed forever.

HAHAHA.... I am actually at a place and, mentally ready, to tackle this last 35 or so. I really want to add another 7 guys to that dancing line up!

I love it ALL...and laughed too... love it!

Hey, I think you should DEFINITELY add this to your signature because YOU I swear I would not recognize from the tremendous change you have made

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/mini...ss-photos.html

Thanskgiving Menu Plan/Ideas
 

Great Attitude, Darbs! Really, you can stay perfectly on plan and enjoy many holiday treats. You will soon be using the occasional veggies and green beans are on that list as is rutabaga. You can easily incorporate them into a menu plan if you like them. I enjoyed a wider variety with smaller amounts of veggies for my thanksgiving.

For me, Thanksgiving was DAY 3 of my IP journey. I was making pies, potatoes, stuffing, and homemade rolls for everyone else but, for me, I kept it simple. Turkey with herbed au jus, mashed rutabaga aka faux potatoes, seasoned green beans, salad, cooked rhubarb, and a butterscotch pudding.

Yes, get creative! Just think in terms of a healthy holiday and healthy traditional foods. There are green bean casseroles out there that are IP compliant and don't use cream of mushroom soup. Green beans in moderation are perfectly acceptable as they are an occasional food. The stuffing posted by Princass is great and works well. (I used it at Christmas.) You can use either cauliflower or rutabaga to make mashed potatoes. I have even used a blend. It give a slightly more "normal" texture.

You can make a gravy. You can do a straight au jus, an herbed au jus or a more traditional gravy. HOW? Use arrowroot powder. Arrowroot is a gluten free thickener that has about 2 carb per tsp and you don't need to use much. You can buy arrowroot powder online or at some grocery or health food stores in the spice aisle. Practice with it a bit first though. It will break down fairly quickly if overheated and the sauce can revert to thin again if you aren't careful.

http://www.barryfarm.com/nutri_info/...ot_powder.html
http://www.morethanalive.com/Arrowroot-powder

"Arrowroot thickens at a lower temperature than does flour or cornstarch, is not weakened by acidic ingredients, has a more neutral taste, and is not affected by freezing. It doesn't mix well with dairy, forming a slimy mixture.It is recommended to mix arrowroot with a cool liquid before adding to a hot fluid. The mixture should be heated only until the mixture thickens and removed immediately to prevent the mixture from thinning. Care needs to be exercised not to add arrowroot too early during the cooking process, as overheating tends to destroy its thickening property. Substitute two teaspoons of arrowroot for one tablespoon of cornstarch, or one teaspoon of arrowroot for one tablespoon of wheat flour."

Someone on another thread suggested make your own cranberry mixture. Well, it isn't IP but it is low glycemic index and load. One cup of cranberry is which, includes 1 sugar. If you mixed that with something else, rhubarb??, maybe you could create a cooked down splenda sweetened dessert that has a lower carb level. If you had a small portion... a taste or spoonful, it shouldn't effect you.

I just opted for a rhurbarb side dish last year. I took frozen rhubarb and cooked it down with splenda, vanilla, cinnamon, and a dash of cloves. It had just a lightly spiced flavor.

Some people like roasted cauliflower. A roasted vegetable dish would be very good! You could do cauliflower, broccoli, turnip or rutabaga... In the chunk form you could add tomatoes (you could have a bite) or carrots for others as they would be easy for you to see and avoid. Roasted asparagus is good too.

Some people like turnip greens or kale as a nice side dish.


Salads of course are easy to add.

Thanks Elizabeth! I will do it. :)

OK! I tried and it isn't working out nicely. Why wont it just say showgirls photos like it did for you? Oh well, it is there.
GRRR...:( too many characters so, I had to lose my quote. I guess I need to find a new one that fits.:)

I think it has to do with the signature cause mine also has all the stupid characters... hmmm...let me check something

A HA! I figured it out!

SO...when you insert a link on your signature it starts with [URL="http: etc, etc....

the long character list goes until it closes the sentence there with the html the " and the ]... after that it has the whole list again and the the end of the URL command.... replace that second list with My Progress Photos or Showgirlaz's photos or what ever and keep the [ part at the end

Let me tell you before I even started this diet I was already worried about the holidays since I knew if I started it now I would still be on it. I love holiday's with my family but I have to admit that we are all foodies. Sometimes its so hard to be with them and not eat! So I know these holidays will be a real challenge. But I'm going to try to for the IRON WILL and not eat whats not on my plan.

Like my coach said....this years holidays is only 1 year. Next year I won't be on the diet. I just need to get through this one year. And then maybe by making it through this one year....it will make it easier to protion things and eat healthier for the coming years. At least I hope!

I was going to go with IRON WILL PASS AS IT APPROACHES WILD HOGS ONE DAY, but that seemed a little over the top -- even for me! :D

I'm hoping that I'll be on Phase 3 by Thanksgiving, but I'll have to wait and see. But as my mother-in-law usually just grabs a pumpkin pie at Costco, I can summon the courage to skip it (though it's probably the best thing on the menu). I mean, pumpkin pie is the easiest thing in the world to make. Heh! Easy as pie! LOL

Who does that? Boughten pie for Thanksgiving? Really? :?:

[QUOTE=deinekatze;3491208]A HA! I figured it out!

SO...when you insert a link on your signature it starts with [URL="http: etc, etc....

the long character list goes until it closes the sentence there with the html the " and the ]... after that it has the whole list again and the the end of the URL command.... replace that second list with My Progress Photos or Showgirlaz's photos or what ever and keep the [ part at the end[/QUOTE]

Ok.. we are sooo off topic.. LOL... but thank you! I did figure it out!

[XXX= "http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/mini-goal-photo-album/212670-showgirlazs-ip-progress-photos.html"] My Progress Photos[/XXX]

Finally realized it should look like the above with the XXX replaced with url .... thanks so much! :)

Someone, and I'm sorry I forget who, just suggested thickening gravy with flax seed. I haven't had a chance to experiment yet, but it sounded like a really good idea.

Great posting full of ideas, I decided that I will have turkey(decent portion), because we can have it, is not cheating, along with a "rice" that I know how to make and maybe some potatoe salad. no pie, cake, just my IP deserts. I dont want to get sick from my tummy, and regret. For xmas is hard I think I will cheat, just for a day, and then keep going sorry!! I am not going to be able to resist it.

Hi MereBear! Yes, that is what I was thinking....I will only be on this strict diet one year! By next years holidays I will be thin, and have better habits! It will be worth it to not overeat this year! :hug:

Ha! That sounds like me. I'll be in TX for Christmas, and dinner is always at my DSIL's mother's house. Let's just say that she's not the best cook in town. No problems for me that day!

Thank-you for making this forum the information will help me get through the holidays, my daughters birthday and my own! I am still a little sad about no cake... baked goods are my weakness!

CAke is good, but it will be there when your done, whats that saying nothing tastes as good as thin (& healthy) feels..... healthy part I added, getting into a size 4 is just a great bonus, but feeling fantastic is priceless:carrot::carrot:

Advice from someone in Phase 4 or maintenance
 

Given that one holiday is upon us, Canadian Thanksgiving, I'm cross-posting Rocky Monarch's post from the daily thread for the bump and easy reference.

thanks so MUCH for the bump and keeping track of all the moving parts...I don't know HOW you do it!! :D

Great post, Rocky, and it did get me thinking about the holiday's as well.

Like you, I'm lucky enough that I'm going to on phase 4 starting in November. I too lived through my birthday, 4th of July, several week long trips, my friends wedding, and many other events. However, just because I'm in phase 4, I realize that I'm still going to need to make choices in order to not get back to where I was.

Occasional drinks out with friends? Yep.
Two days of stuffing myself with anything that looks remotely good at my parents house: Nope, not going to happen this year.
Have already asked mom if I can cook cauli potatoes.
I will enjoy the dinner, but I don't intend to eat myself into a coma. Maybe one piece of my favorite desert. One. Not 5. Not half the pumpkin pie.

Good luck, everyone!

Well said, Rocky Monarch. It's going to take a great deal of will power and remember that we are in this for the long term benefits.

You're welcome. I've been blessed/cursed with a pretty good memory.

Svelting, I so agree with you and the others about the fact that this diet needs to be the end of diets and the beginning of a new lifestyle when it comes to eating.
I have been feeling so much better without all the carbs and the energy they used to drain me of that I never want to eat like that again. Dr Triens ebook also says that diets don't fail because if you follow them you lose weight, it is what happens when the diet ends that causes weight to pile on again if you have not permanently changed the way you eat.
I plan to make the holiday dinners this year and we will be serving IP friendly turkey, squash, mashed cauliflower, asparagus o gratin and other dishes that will not sabotage my new healthy eating. I encourage others to get creative with their meals and offer to provide veggies for any dinner they are attending so that they can eat on plan and get to goal on time.

Showgirlaz- thank you for re posting the info about holidays. I bet that coache had alot of successful IPers in her program. It's about making wise choices not elimination!

Mama,

I am so glad you appreciated the info. Yes, it is about wise choices but, it is also about elimination. When you are reading about moderation, don't miss those KEY PARTS of the coach's post that say:

1. Moderation is KEY. Let's not un-do all the healthy habits we've built on this program. Practice regulating portion sizes. Don't go back for second helpings. Skip the cookies-they're so full of sugar and fat and just not worth it. Have some mashed potatoes and gravy (one moderate serving), have a small piece of pumpkin pie (skip the cool whip, don't eat all the crust-super fattening), only have one or two glasses of red wine (this is Ideal Protein's alcohol cheat of choice-red wine) NOT the whole bottle, not a half-pint of liquor, etc. Plus, if you don't moderate, you may feel very sick... eewwww.

2. The one day pass is just that- a ONE DAY pass. You are not authorized to spend the whole week of Thanksgiving on an eating spree. It's not healthy and it's destructive to all the new healthy habits you've worked so hard to build.

3. If you use the ONE DAY PASS approach, you must go to bootcamp for three days starting Friday after Turkey Day. Bootcamp means Phase I, very low carb-no restricted items. This will give your pancreas a chance to rest and recooperate from the holiday abuse and get you back to fat-burning mode faster.


ONE of the key parts of this program is to retrain us about how to eat. There is NO way around it. Eating all the usual fair is no longer the way to go. You have to give up the things that don't agree with maintaining a healthy, trim body. You may get away with part of it, in moderation, during some special moment. But, special moments are not regular events so, if you adopt the moderation approach, decide on one meal or one day to do what you will in moderation and then get back to the plan.

Just remember moderation is not ONLY in portion it is also in selection. Carbs are in veggies, potatoes, squash, yams, desserts and crusts of pies. REMEMBER to choose wisely so that you moderate your carb intake with your food choices and don't just moderate your calorie content. :)

I did the iron will approach last year and will be doing it again this Thanksgiving. I am choosing to do the moderation approach for Christmas day. Outside of that, having lived it for all holidays last year, I know I can do IP on plan and have a great Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year, Super Bowl party and, Valentines.

An NSV of sorts.
 

I'm really looking forward to Christmas dinner which, if it's anything like the last two I've had, will be spent in a small village about 120 miles south of Berlin with my daughter-in-law's family. It should consist of baked ham, fruit salad, lots of vegetables, and potatoes (did I mention this family is German?). And bread and butter. And apple cake with powdered sugar on top rather than icing. Delicious. Long walk in the afternoon. Sound like I'm home free?

A couple of days ago my son called and asked if I'd like to go on to Venice for New Years. Would I really like to spend New Year's eve slipping on the ice outside San Marco, standing ankle deep in icy wash when the canal surges over the Rialto? Are you kidding? Yes. I'm working on food strategies. The mind boggles. All suggestions welcome.