Happy November! Do you feel like the end of the year is barreling down on us like a freight train? I don't have to tell any of you that we're now in the toughest two months of the year for weight loss and maintenance. Stressful times + too much unhealthy food = major challenges.

For me, this is when planning becomes more important than ever. Planning what to eat and when, and having food prepared. Planning ahead of time how I'm going to negotiate a party or dinner. Planning time for exercise. Planning, planning, planning!

What are your biggest holiday challenges this year? Want to share your strategies?

I'm so glad you started this Meg because I've been thinking about this myself. I think that having a fistful of cold hard strategies makes the holidays easier to cope with. Here are some of my favorites.

1. I always, always, always have dressings, sauces, mayo, butter/margarine and gravies on the side. It's pretty hard to eat much more than a teaspoon of anything when you're dipping your fork in, one bite at a time. You get all the good flavors for very little "cost." And if you don't like the sauces, drressings and gravies, you're spared.

2. I have packets of sugar-free hot chocolate mix at the ready (I buy the large economy size at Sams; I think this month's brand is Swiss Miss, but there are lots out there). This morning, for instance, I was dying for something sweet, so I got a large cup of coffee and dumped in a packet. It cost me 60 calories (as compared to 200 or so for a comparable drink at a coffee joint), and I was totally satisfied. In fact, I've come to prefer this option over the commercial varieties because it's neither too sweet nor too rich.

3. I also keep V-8 juice at the ready, and I order gallons of tomato juice at many outings because bars always have it on hand, and I like it. An 8-0z glass of V-8 is about 50 calories, and with that you get a healthy load of veggie/vitamins and a nice dent in the appetite. It's especially good for the days when you waltz into the house absolutely starving.

4. This year I'm planning my workouts in advance so that I get them in. If I'm in what I've come to think of as The Zone (clean eats, weights and cardio) it's easier to maintain a healthy lifestyle and pass up the treats. I'm also trying to set up a pattern of success for January because, for some peculiar reason, I usually sale through the holidays and then collapse in the new year. (If anyone has any insights into this oddity, I'd love to hear it. Anyone else similiarly afflicted?)

5. A couple of tried-and-true mantras are also helpful for me:

* We're talking about holi-DAYS, not holi-MONTHS. I hearby give myself permission to celebrate the DAYS with wonderful meals, not the next two months.

* Abide by the one-plateful rule ... one plate is a meal; seconds are the road to disaster.

I'm looking forward to everyone else's tips!

This is such a wonderful thread and so much good advice has already been said- I remember this time last year and I think the biggest thing I can say..is you dont HAVE to eat everything that is provided. My MIL always makes amazing desserts *for me* because she knows I love cheesecake...finally I asked her to make it low fat and with splenda so I could at least enjoy it...I have a couple of bites and make sure to get in a walk after dinner....I had such a hard time saying "no" because I hate being made fun of eating healthy..."Oh look at chelsea all she eats is salads..no wonder she is so skinny" not taking into acount that I run 2 miles every day and work really hard to remain thin....anyways...remember to eat in monderation and dont be bullied by family who will undoubtley tell you to "indulge" "Just this once"...
It worked like a charm for me last year..

Our extended family is going to get together AFTER the big Thanksgiving meal and without food. For the actual meal, I am preparing everything in a healthy manner... i.e. a turkey breast roast instead of a whole turkey, roasted green beans instead of green bean casserole, etc. We are hoping to not just live a healthy lifestyle this year through the holidays, but impart to our children the notion that, "Not ALL social and entertainment activities have to revolve around FOOD." We are also, when it is an option, planning get-togethers with friends for non-mealtimes and to not include food. We've been doing this, whenever possible, for a while now and it is surprising how little people are bothered by this. If they want to see you, how much should the food matter?

November is not a big deal to me... I live in Canada so Thanksgiving has already passed. In December though, I go home for the holidays (I normally live in a student residence on my campus in another city). It was really hard last year because my house is always full of food... not junk, but things like cheese and nice bread and muffins and fruit juice. Basically my strategy is to stay out of the kitcken as much as possible. Another issue is that I go out and socialize with friends at restaurants, in bars and at people's houses. All the parties and get-togethers involve alcohol and junk food. My strategy for this is to plan some fun exercise-based get togethers like ice skating and stuff like that, and to exercise on my own too, to keep my motivation up.

Last year I came out of December with minimal damage: a 1 lb gain overall. Hopefully I can make it a loss this year!

BTW I am totally not maintaining but I had to barge in on this thread.

Hey Futuresurfer - you are TOO maintaining! You're maintaining all those pounds you've lost already, right? (wow, closing in on 100!!) And we're happy to have you join in.

Hi everyone. Last yr. on the holidays, I stuck to my basic wt. loss plan. I ate the food that I knew that was on my plan and allowed 1 piece of dessert on Thanksgiving and Christmas. I exercised double on these 2 holidays and came through December with maintaining and no gain at all. This worked for me and I plan to do the same this yr. I have an added incentive to at least maintain through the holidays. (A doctor's appt. with my liver specialist on Dec. 29th, the gripey one that put me to losing wt. in the first place). I'm sure not going to let him see me gain an ounce.
I can hear my sister griping already. She will say "you're already at goal, so why not enjoy yourself". Her idea of "enjoying yourself" is eating until you are so stuffed that you need a nap. I also stick to the one plate rule.
I don't drink any alcohol at all so New Year's won't be a problem. My DH being a cop has worked every New Year's since we have been married.

My gym had an interesting take on surviving the holidays. Basically, you pay them $10 at the beginning of the holiday season (in the next week or two). They do an official weigh in. At the end of the holiday season (I think it was January 2) they do another weigh in. The people who lost or maintained their weight split the money that everyone else contributed...so if you gain weight, you lose your 10 dollars, but if you lose or maintain, you're guaranteed to get at least your $10 back and probably (hate to be pessimistic, but I consider it likely) a bit more besides.

I thought it was cute and clever. They are also hosting "survive the holidays" workshops with topics like "eating at holiday parties" and "how to maximize your calorie burn at the mall".

Thanks Meg.. Heck yeah I'm maintaining what I've lost so far. The scale's been saying around 215 lbs lately so actually I'm closer to 100 than it appears. I don't weigh myself too often and probably won't update my "official" weight til I visit the dietician I go to at the end of November.

Don't we have some threads on this from last year? Might be good to go back and look and see if any of our ideas/plans worked and which ones failed miserably.

I need to go back and check. Last year was probably an anomaly for me with DD being so new, but if I remember right I have the same problem Robin mentioned about the post-holiday crash and burn. Robin was much more eloquent about that, but crash and burn is pretty descriptive for me.

Anne

Here is one of the threads from last year:

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=67814

We also had some accountability threads that we maybe should dust off. No discussion of certain candy allowed!

I'll see if I can find '04--I remember that better.

Anne

And from '04. That was the Thanksgiving that got me. Boredom. I have to go reread that thread (not linked here since it was more specific than general), although boredom happens a lot less these days.

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=49278

Anne

Thanks Anne for posting prior links. Where did a year or two go? It seems so fast and yet so long.
I am happy to share some things that have worked.
My actual count of challenging days is a keeper. 7 or 8 days of challenges are much easier to deal with than thinking of 2 solid months.
Personal treats still a keeper, having my nails done always makes me feel good.
Avoiding triggers, still can't allow certain foods into my life. Hey certain people aren't allowed in either. It just easier and healthier for me.
Enjoying special holiday foods and leaving the ordinary for another day.
The store bakes all year but "Mom's" desert is only available for that day.
I call Anne & Robins situations after-shocks, they happen to me too. I do well and then I collapse. Some tips for after-shocks are I plan an event for after the holidays, tickets to a show in my stocking can give me a boost.
Also TLC after all the work and stress of the events, I am tired and need some tlc and postivie reinforcement. So a good book and other personal treats can help.

It feels good to still be around here a year later. thanks for helping me make that a reality.

Just a very quick post to thank Gina for that phrase! 'After-shocks' is just right. (May I just go off on a quick ramble about them?) They are rumbling all around me at the moment following a very good month or so, and a lovely week away. I just seemed to fall apart as soon as I got home. There was just too much washing and ironing, and not enough cottage cheese and apples.

What could I have done differently?

1. Ensured there were huge quantities of my staple foods on holiday - large amounts are obviously not quite enough!

2. Made sure I did strenuous exercise every day. On my own. Running with the six year old is tiring but not enough.

3. Got to the gymn immediately I got home - or at least the very next day.

These things have worked in the past when I've been away on my own. Now to make them work with the Man and the Boy.

Thanks again. It's made me think.