There are so many parties with family, friends, and coworkers, that it's hard to stay totally OP during the Christmas season, but I for one, plan to give it my best shot! Here are a few things I will do to help stay OP:

1. have a small, healthy snack before I leave for a party so I'm not famished by the time we eat.

2. focus on a small serving of the dishes that I don't usually get any other time of the year. (I really don't want to waste my party points on everyday foods.) Portion control is key, right?

3. for a carry-in, I'll take something that has a reasonable amount of points. Not necessarily a "diet" dish, but not a "gutbuster", either. Then I know there will be at least one thing there that isn't lethal, lol.

4. I won't waste points on drinks. There isn't one out there that's worth it to me. I don't like soda, and have no trouble skipping eggnog, etc.

Hmmmmm.... what else? Please share some of your ideas for staying OP this Christmas.

First some OP solutions:

- When food is offered (read: pushed) practice saying "Oh thank you for thinking of me, but I can't possibly eat anything else right now. I'm so full!" (Even if it's not quite true >_>)

- Become an even pickier person than usual. Are a box of store bought cookies or goodies laying around really all that interesting this time of year? (Now homemade ones are a different story... )



And lastly,
I must preface this final solution by saying it's not exactly an OP solution, but it's one that works for me, and that has allowed me to keep WW in my life (And this is most important to me... If I could not keep WW in my life I would not be where I am today... losing weight).

There is only one night that is truly special to me this December and that's Christmas Eve. So on Christmas Eve, from 5:00 until Midnight, I will not be counting my points. I will exercise that morning. I will drink all my water. I will have good choices for my breakfast and lunch. And I won't eat until I'm about to explode, but for dinner with my family, I will not compromise. I will enjoy myself without guilt.


HOWEVER, I am -only- allowed this one night. So when people start bringing in snacks and treats and goodies from December first through January first I think of the one night I am having this month where all the food will be 20-times more delicious and special with my family... and I'm not nearly as tempted as I would have been. I can turn up my nose at everything else.

Wow, I really like your ideas, and the fact that you have such a good plan in place for Christmas Eve. Especially wise is the part about saying you're full to the party food pushers, lol. It's hard when they say, "You can have just one!" when I know full well certain things would send me right over the edge.

I haven't figured it all out yet, but I think I will go with a certain number of special occasion meals (Christmas dinner, New Years Eve dinner) and save a few of my carb/fat calories each day, perhaps every other day for some of the tasty treats that make it into the house. This weekend, my Aunt two boxes of homemade cookies. Usually, it would be glass-of-milk-and-cookie-time! But instread I had two small cookies, deducted them from my dialy carb and fat calories and moved on! (and I still lost weight this weekend. wow.) When the kids got home, I actually enjoyed them enjoying them.

So I suppose my plan will be: have little of the things I like and a couple of days/meals where I can go off plan.

Karen - yay for your restraint with Aunt's cookies. Sounds like you've got a good plan in place for the holidays.

My big dinner will be Christmas Eve, since that's when all the kids can be here at the same time. I've already told them that I won't be having the vast selection of "goodies" they're used to, which is fine by them. Two of the kids are trying to lose, too.

I think my best strategy is to cut down on points on days when I know I'll want to splurge, then to track everything I do eat. I went off plan on Halloween this year. I lost track of what I ate and decided I must have eaten all my flex points for the week (Halloween was a Wednesday, and my points week ends on Sunday). So I was just lost without my spare flex points. I usually go one or two over my daily points each day then "feast" on Sundays, but I used it as an excuse to eat my heart out the rest of that week. So my biggest lesson from that was to avoid digging into my flex points as much as possible. I don't know if any of that makes sense to anyone else, but it does to me.

So this week I know will be especially difficult. I have three parties! But tomorrow, I just decided I'd skip my weekly lunch out and just bring my own lunch, and then I'll eat a quick dinner at home. That way I could skip the long buffet line (mostly cheese and sausage type things) completely, which is fine since it's a feeding frenzy usually. But there will be an open bar, and I will partake. I do tend to drink my calories (when it comes to wine, anyway).

So that's my strategy, to try to stretch my daily points as much as possible and spread out the use of my flex points at various gatherings. And I need to let go of all-or-nothing thinking. I need to realize that even if I use up all my flex points early in the week, and I find it hard to maintain daily points values, it's okay to use a few more points a day.

Amy, yay for you, having a plan! Btw, I had a problem with the "all or nothing" thinking, too. Once I saw what I was doing to myself, I quit it. Easier said than done, though.

, I was able to lose through the holidays last year. Not much, but still it was a loss. Some of the things I did were common sense and concientious... Not to mention the same things we have been hearing for years Just goes to show you they weren't whistling dixie! Here's what I did...

None of the bigger shindigs were ever suprises. They were all planned. I knew I was going to my families on Thanksgiving and had 3 christmas parties to attend. So the first no brainer was.... To eat less BEFORE hand. lol saving up for those extra calories/points BEFORE hand. Along with being more diligent and sticking to program a few days in BEFORE. I'm polish, so we have pierogi's 2 kinds.. saurkraut (bleck) and potato and cheese filled... boiled, then fried in butter and dolloped with sourcream....YUMMMM. I hadnt aten any for years and I knew this was my chance! Stuffing I can eat anytime I wanted, turkey I can eat anytime I wanted, mashed n gravy, green bean casserole... Are you following me here... but the kielbasa and pierogi's... Special. I went light on everything else but made sure to get my taste sensation fulfilled! Now that didnt mean I scarfed 117. Why? because I knew Christmas was coming and they would be there too. Instead I thoroughly enjoyed 4 or 5 of them if memory serves me correctly. A huge amounts of points right there but oh so worth it. The following days were recoup days. And recoup I had to because my daughter's birthday comes up on the 1st. Which means cake and chinese.. Then more parties.

I was able to skip the appetizer's as well because I made sure to eat a good breakfast and I really wanted those pierogi's! Lte's see... cheese n crackers, along with the other usual savoir fare, that I can have anytime.. or pierogi's... Hello!

As for the desserts another holiday only my great aunt's apricot filled cookies tops my list but of course they were many that only come out this time of year. I took a piece of each and split them with one of my children. Got all the flavor and all the fun for half the calories there!

Being Polish we love to drink and party! There is no better wedding or funeral! It's Tuesday by golly!! Again my thoughts were and are... I can drink anytime I want, no need to over indulge there. One to sip on and then switch over coffee, tea, water ... I was there for the people and some of the food. And with some of my relatives... I didnt want to be laughed at more laughed with. IF you know what I mean. Okies there's part of my holiday survival guide. When I think of more I will write you more.

Great tips so far!

I ask myself if I would be eating at this time on a normal day- that usually reminds me I'm not hungry, just tempted. For example, all four of our work holiday parties start after 7 pm. I'll have something that's low in points but filling for dinner. This will allow me to have one or two hors d'oeuvres if I see something I REALLY like, depending on the ingredients (Ex. one bacon-wrapped shrimp or two small pieces of bruschetta). If one or two start to create the temptation for more, I'll stick to the veggies without dip.

I also skip alcohol and soda in favor of an empty hand or a glass of water... if you talk with your hands like I do, you can always use the excuse that you're protecting the hostess's rugs. It's amusingly self-depricating and focuses people on how outgoing I am instead of alluding to a diet or worse, an alcohol problem. Plus, water never made anyone say something they hadn't intended!

OK, so I had a party last night and I didn't stay on plan. In fact, I decided to just not count the points of anything I consumed while at the party. If I did, then I would see that I have no flex points left for the week and panic. So this allows me to just pretend last night didn't happen and get right back on track. I'll try to be more conservative throughout the rest of the week and not use up all my flex points, but I won't beat myself up about it either.