Does anyone have any suggestions about how to survive the upcoming holidays and all the goodies they bring with them?

For me, the holidays bring some decisions and some extra work, but you can totally mediate them and stay on plan.

Decisions:

Which holidays/events are "special" to you? For me, this is Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve and Day, and New Years Eve. Those are the days I relax my plan and let myself eat pretty much whatever I want in moderation. Every holiday party, get-together, night out, and etc. does not fall into this category! I reserve it for truly special occasions.

What are your major issues likely to be? For me, avoiding baked goods and alcohol are the hardest. So I make strategies to deal with these ahead of time, from planning on having just -one- treat from the dessert table to having a signature, non-caloric drink that I can still look festive while drinking without actually taking in any alcohol (mine is club soda and lime, over ice, complete with lime wedge garnish...any stocked bar will have all of these, and everyone thinks it is a vodka or gin tonic...no "why aren't you drinking!" pressure!). Avoiding the gym due to being busy is also a big one for me - so I make sure I schedule it into my day, like a meeting, and treat it as being just as important.

Extra Work:

When invited to an event, always ask if you can bring something. ALWAYS. Yes, you'll be doing a lot of cooking and prep work, but there will always be something you can count calories exactly on and eat. And make sure it is something you enjoy! I make a variety of dips that go with veggies, all things I really like, and bring those to parties, or make pinwheel sandwiches with light cream cheese and other non-caloric spreads, plus lean deli meats, on whole wheat lavash bread. If I can munch on my healthy treats, I'm not as tempted by the less-healthy treats.

Extra work part 2 - Figure out how to get the TASTES of your favorite holiday recipes while minimizing fat and calories. Examples - will a lighter pumpkin mousse sub in for pumpkin pie without you feeling deprived? Creating and making lighter recipes that you can enjoy all season long will help you deal with avoiding the non-lightened treats out there. I've been making a light pumpkin cake lately that really makes my pumpkin cravings (normally satisfied with pie) vanish, and it's tasty! So the extra work DOES pay off.

You -can- make this season work for you. It just takes planning and effort!

Uhhh holidays are HARD for me specially because

1.- My mom: she´s the kind of person who shows love with food. Other Xmas and New YEars that I´ve been trying to eat healthy she goes with the "it´s one night, you shoul deat everything, we´re together and you should eat " etc etc. Last year it kind of worked because I told her "Mom, I love you and if I eat or not does not change that and please help me to eat healthy, it´s important for me so, please help me." And she did! I included her in my plan, making of her an ally (is that word correct?) and she really helped!

2.- Emotional Eating: I´m an emotional eater, boredom and sadness makes me eat like crazy and Xmas and New Year make me sad, so it´s hard for me! Still can´t figure out that one so I´ll come around to read yor tips!

Thank God we don´t celebrate Thanksgiving or Halloween here! If not it would be too many holidays to handle!

Hey! Yeah, the holidays... I got through them last year without much damage to my weight loss at all! In fact, I lost 4 pounds during the month of December. But, I have an unusual situation in that I work at home (no office parties), don't have kids (no "baking for others"), and don't have family living nearby (no huge dinners with way too much food). But, in the past I've faced some difficult holiday situations. Amanda's tips are really good! And I like it that Rafaella spoke with her mother ahead of time and enlisted her help.

Here are just some ideas:

1. Office parties. If you work in an office, you know that this will happen. You also know that people will be bringing in cookies, etc. For the daily cookies, if you wouldn't eat them normally, there is no reason to eat them now. For the parties, you have to think ahead--have a plan--adjust your calories or points during the day so that you have some leeway.

2. Use the one plate rule. Don't have seconds! Have a portion of the foods offered, make the portions reasonable. If you must load up on something, have more turkey. But only on a single plate. Eat very slowly, savor your foods. If you watch normally thin people eat, you'll see that often this is how they eat.

3. Life is too short to eat food you don't really like, so if the cookie isn't very good, throw it away. Same goes for pie, cake, anything like that. You do not have to finish food just because it's on your plate.

4. Food pushers. These are the folks who insist you have something they've made. You can always graciously take what they are offering, have a taste, and say that you'll eat it later. You can even take it home with you. But if it's a danger food--toss it when you get home. You do not have to eat food gifts!

5. Alcohol. There is no necessity to drink because it's a holiday. I don't drink alcohol, period, and I am polite but firm with any alcohol pushers I encounter. And by the way, no one needs to know why you are not eating X or drinking Y--it's not their business. The main difficulty with alcohol, other than the empty calories and the dangers of drunk driving, etc., is that the lowering of normal inhibitions and control can make you overeat when you had no intention of doing so.

Life is full of food surprises--but regardless of the reason or the season, there's no requirement to pig out.

Oh, P.S. This is not the time to let up on your exercise program! Make sure that you keep up with whatever it is you're doing for activity! It can really help!

Jay

I always love the thorough advice everyone on this site gives. They've got plans for plans I swear! I just love it! I've even printed some advice out & used it for these types of occasions.

For me, this time of year and my big three Holidays (Halloween, Thanksgiving & Christmas) are all about not feeling deprived. If I start focusing on what I "can't" have I'm 10x more likely to go out and eat an unhealthy amount of it.

So, what to do? I plan my indulgences.

Halloween: I'm eating my favorite candy bar. Just one. Just that night. I'm going to enjoy it and be satisfied.

Thanksgiving: Only having one plateful of my favorite foods. I'm ignoring the rest that I can do without.

Christmas: Taking a saucer plate full of my favorite desserts (cookies) but that's it for the night! I'm going to have to make that plate last.

So like everyone else has already said: PLAN PLAN PLAN!!!

You'll be on top of your game & so much more satisfied with the holidays

I try to exercise moderation throughout the holidays, but for Xmas, my goal is simply to maintain, not even worrying about losing. I will try to stick to plan on non-celebratory days, but if there is a party or something, I will enjoy some treats. The key for me, since I've been a major binger in the past, is to give myself [I]permissionto have the treats, in a reasonable quantity, of course. If I have these great goals of eating pristinely, then "sneak" a "forbidden" treat, that is totally setting myself up for a major binge, because I've "blown it". I'm trying to abandon the notion of "blowing it", and just enjoying holiday treats in moderation, like a "normal" slender person would do.

Thanx for all the wonderful tips in this thread; I really believe PLANNING is key all the time. Lately, a lack of planning led to a day of bad choices; I realized that if I had just planned that day better, the mistakes wouldn't have occurred. I am making changes for this year ~

1) I am not baking a pile of stuff that just tempts ME.
2) I am making my special dinners healthy (like suggested).
3) Eating in moderation is my new motto.
4) I am getting rid of the "blowing it" mindset as well.
5) I am going to enjoy myself, with limits.
6) I am continuing my exercise as per usual.
7) I am planning every occasion ahead.

I agree with the idea of watching slim people and how they live and eat; I have noticed the same thing. They eat anything they want, but in small amounts (in moderation); they eat slower; they savor each bite; they sometimes even get up and walk around; they choose quality over quantity; they walk a lot, and are very active; they fill their time/lives with other things than mindless binging; and yes, they plan ahead ...

Argh I know how you feel...
It's so hard just to maintain never mind lose during these times...
and I have weddings and showers to deal with too, along with a week vacation in January and another big party soon to follow...
all of these things under the watchful eyes of the people who made so many comments about how I must be doing something to harm myself.
UGH
What a way to ruin what's supposed to be a nice time.
And to top it off, the bulk of the holiday celebrations, I have to be a part of the hosting. Stress on top of stress. Blech
I can feel the weight creeping back on already. I shouldn't even suggest that...(but maybe that would make everyone ELSE happy )

lipidful, DON'T GO THERE! You just put those thoughts right out of your head, Missy!

Seriously, keep your thoughts positive! Don't drag yourself down! It's all good...

Jay

Hi there. Great question. I'm doing really well and have no plans on cheating but here are some things I've planned for. I'm not buying any candy that I like, to hand out to trick or treaters - i.e. don't like coconut so I'll probably buy Almond Joys so that it is not even tempting. For Thanksgiving, I'm making "mashed potatoes" with garlic out of cauliflower and will be eating grean beans and turkey. I'll have a sugar free jello for dessert instead of a pie. Same thing for Christmas. Just try to plan ahead to have a healthy snack or meal at hand so that you can get through your triggers when being tempted to eat something unhealthy.

For me.. I do not indulge at all when I go to the holiday parties I have. I only indulge on the actual Thanksgiving day and Christmas day. Even then I pick and choose what I REALLLLLY want.. I also do my best to plan ahead. It helps now that my family has kind of scattered all over Texas and the United States and we no longer really are able to organize a day to where the whole family can get together for Christmas and Thanksgiving so there's not much food now that is made. Before I had to go to 3 different thanksgivings and christmases at different houses and it would be spread out the entire month of November and December basically each weekend in November and December I had a thanksgiving/christmas family get together and boy it was expensive to buy gifts as well. Now We usually have both a small thanksgiving dinner and a small christmas dinner with my mom and her boyfriend and his kids and his parents. Then we have a small christmas dinner usually with my sister in law and she's the only relative of my husband's that even lives in Texas. I guess I've been doing something right for the past two years since I've actually managed to maintain.

Thanks for so many great tips!! I know I have to plan and I will, but sometimes all those yummy candies and cakes etc. sure do look too good.

For Halloween, buy candy for the kids you don't like. I don't like coconut so I buy Mars & Almond Joys. Takes away the temptation to sample the treats or eat the leftovers

Thanksgiving, enjoy what you want that day, just don't let it roll over into the whole long weekend. On Friday, Sat & Sun, have the leftover turkey with green veggies/salad

For holiday parties/buffets, circle the area/room once to see what the choices are. Figure out which you really want and which are better health choices. Have a small, one time taste of the higher cal/fat stuff and supplement it with the healthier foods (veggies/fruit). When I have to plan it out, I make better choices than when I just merrily make my way down the buffet line.

Try to keep to exercise routines, even with extra time demands & travel. Visiting the family? Pack some sneakers & music. Having it at your home? Try to get a walk in before/after. Don't be afraid to ask for help with meal prep/clean up so you can get that time in. Taking care of yourself is part of nuturing too.

The ultimate travel fitness kit:

1. 1 pair running shoes/sneakers
2. 1 gym outfit
3. 1 music player/mp3 player
4. RESISTANCE BAND

With those 4 pieces of equipment, I can walk, run, hike, or even be equipped to go to a gym if there is one nearby, do a strength training workout, etc. I'm totally prepared.

Oh! AND, lets say you go somewhere for a week (a parent's home, your hometown, whatever). If you are traveling to one spot for a number of days, go to 24 hour fitness's website and get a free 7-day gym pass!

https://www.24hourfitness.com/PromoO...oCode=CLUBPASS

Who knows? You might end up loving the gym and joining a 24 hour fitness when you return home. At the very least, you'll have somewhere to work out while you're away.

[QUOTE=mandalinn82;1906115]For me, the holidays bring some decisions and some extra work, but you can totally mediate them and stay on plan.

Extra Work:

I make a variety of dips that go with veggies, all things I really like, and bring those to parties, or make pinwheel sandwiches with light cream cheese and other non-caloric spreads, plus lean deli meats, on whole wheat lavash bread. If I can munch on my healthy treats, I'm not as tempted by the less-healthy treats.


I would love to have some of those recipes. Have you posted any on here anywhere?

I hope you'll have better holidays this year.

I know exactly what you mean. I do drink wine but there are times I don't want it for whatever reason. I don't like white wine so it's easy for me to have a glass of it in my hand and not drink it. But if someone isn't drinking, they aren't drinking. Leave them alone!

You have great self control

Now that I have WATP, I should be able to do that. I didn't have any programs last year. I'm actually looking forward to it.

I'm adopting this plan as well.





Amanda, I wish I'd thought of the free 7 day passes when I went back to spend my mom's final days with her. I could have found 3 or 4 gyms and worked off a lot of that stress!

Ladies, these are wonderful ideas!