I seem to be in the minority here that for special occasions, I do not count calories. It seems to me that the point of a SPECIAL occasion is to deviate from normal plans. Yes, health and weight loss are important to me, but for a few holidays it seems perfectly reasonable to not worry about dieting. On Valentine's Day, if someone does something special with chocolate, I will accept. I might eat a chocolate bar on Halloween. And somehow blowing out the candles on my birthday apple doesn't have quite the same ring to it. I will eat Thanksgiving dinner and Christmas dinner; not to HUGE excess, but until I am satisfied. It doesn't seem wrong to me to let loose for special occasions.

Anyone else agree with me or am I all alone on this one? I am not saying that the holidays are a free for all food-wise, but rather a little more relaxed time.

No, I'm with you. I try to prepare ahead of time by exercising and saving up extra points for the day, but I typically don't sit there and say okay, that was 5, this is 4, that's 7, okay I'm done. I enjoy it, and if I gain, I gain, and I just jump back into exercise, eating right the next day.

Its better for me to "plan to gain" (if you will) than to deny myself and then binge uncontrollably.

I agree with Stella...I like the idea of being prepared for a jump on the scale but doing so consciously with a commitment to return to the grind after the holiday.

I agree completely. I don't count points for holiday "main event" meals.

But I AM very careful to make sure the holiday just lasts one meal. Christmas can't become "CHristmas Week" and Halloween can't become Candy Month.

I agree with what everyone has said. You cant torture your self during the holidays just don't go so crazy that you regret it later.

I agree with all of you. After all, our journey is meant to be a lifetime lifestyle change. We should be able to enjoy ourselves on the special occasions in life. I also like to try and plan ahead and just make sure to get a little exercise in there so I don't feel to guilty about it

Oh man, I would feel downright sad if I gave up eating chocolate on Christmas or cake on birthdays... Life is just too short! Holidays don't come around every single day... Enjoy them!

I am with you to a certain extent. For example, tihs christmas i will be eating until im full on things i like (its CHRISTMAS omg i love christmas) and not counting calories. But on the days outside that im going to be counting. This is because it was around christmas last year that my plateau started so i am uber paranoid for other occasions it depends. If we go somewhere to eat and i know i can find the info, i'll count it. Otherwise i will just go and try to make nutrionally sound choices

I don't even limit myself to holidays. If I have a craving for something, I'd rather get it out of the way ASAP than think about it for a week and then overeat it.

I know now that I can control how much of something I can eat and things like chocolate and sweets shouldn't be eaten until I'm full. Some people are all or nothing but as many times as I've tried to be like that, I've failed.

With regards to holidays (not including birthdays) I think it helps that my family is veggie crazy. We usually have turkey, fresh string beans, baby carrots, fresh broccoli, corn and brussel sprouts and one or two pies (for about 20 people). The pies rarely get finished and the veggies are always gone!

I don't really limit myself to much either....the girls at work usually buy birthday cakes for each other and on my first birthday (into my weightloss journey) I specifically asked for no cake....They got me fruit and a Cool Whip Dessert. I loved it..HOWEVER part of me regrets just living normally and enjoying cake..lol. My last birthday I told them it was okay to get cake.

I've come to realize that holidays are a part of everyday life and it's okay to enjoy them and not worry about every single bite/calorie that goes into my mouth. I know that I can get back on track...work a little harder before/after and NOT get all bent out of shape over it.

However, that said, I don't go INSANE with holidays...I just let myself enjoy them :-).

Very sound advice from all of you! My problem is that sometimes I take special occasions to the extreme, mainly vacations which is not an "occasion" and have a REALLY hard time getting back on track. I don't think I could give up my mom's Christmas breakfast casserole though.

See I have a big family and we do christmas on both my mothers and fathers side... and sometimes they end up being on different days...thats two christmas dinners lol... I wasn't dieting last christmas however the pictures from christmas were my motivation...omg I was sooo fat

I am not with you. I plan for my special occasions. If I have a birthday coming, I am likely to watch my calories for a couple of days prior. Also, I do enjoy the holidays. I plan for them to though--and make it ONE MEAL, not a week of leftovers. I take one piece of pie, not four.

My life and it's occasions are not all about the food anymore. I focus on the company, our conversations, the experience, the ambience and yes, sure I enjoy tasting the food. It just feels so much more naturally balanced this way.

I can easily, easily set myself back a week or more with poor choices for one day. No celebration is worth that. And that experience certainly isn't worth celebrating!

BTW: I still really like all of you.

Haha Thighs be gone I certainly know a lot of people who agree with you and have to do it your way, too.

I don't allow myself to count on days like Thanksgiving and Christmas. I also don't count New Year's because that is also an event in my husband's family. But I try to stay on track around my birthday and other's birthday's. We usually dine out or make a nice dinner. I usually end up cooking ... & thus, better decisions can be made. But if I let myself completly enjoy every birthday dinner we go to (& I swear, it's weekly) I'd want to kick myself.