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Meg- so true about having a plan! I am already trying to plan for the holiday dinners. Cookies this year will be limited to 3 kinds, peanut butter, sugar and choc. chip, and I am trying to find low cal/low fat recipes for these. The dinners will be scaled down (I always fix enough to feed about 15 people and there are only 5 of us). Also, any leftover foods I will send to work with DH. The guys he works with love it when I send in leftovers (2 are single and don't get homecooking unless someone sends it to them cause they can't cook at least that's what they say). So I have the beginnings of a plan in place. Now I just have to come up with the actual menus. I also already told DH that I won't step foot in the kitchen to do anything until I get my exercise in. SO if the family wants to pester me and not let me exercise, they don't eat . I am just beginning my WL so I don't want to have to start all over just becuase I couldn't control myself over a couple of holidays.

i made the mistake of just enjoying myself for my husband and my 1 year anniversary vacation. i lost five pounds before we left so i would look great in my bathing suit. well, i never got back on track and ended up gaining that five back, plus five more. now i am working on losing that. i find i have an easier time during the holidays if i am trying to lose weight rather than solely maintining so i guess i got lucky this time

i don't bake, and refuse to take leftovers home from thanksgiving. i plan to bring a veggie side dish this year that doesn't have meat fat in it or cooked in a pressure cooker ( gotta love southern cooking). For christmas, i help my mom cooks and always get some input into the menu.

my main problem around this time of year is alcohol. i finally get a break from school, get to spend some time with my husband and friends, and i love to drink mulled wine when it gets cold. problem is, just two glasses can send me over my calorie limit (because i refuse to cut back on what i eat to have an extra glass of wine.)

so after this long winded post, i guess my plan will be to keep the alcohol down to a once or twice a week thing. exercise daily, like i am doing now, and try to convince my husband not to experiment with baking.

Great idea Meg ... let's see, I haven't really thought about this yet, so it's a great time to turn my attention to the whole topic.

One thing I am doing is dusting off is my "one-plateful rule." For me, that means always stopping after one plateful and remembering that 1) one plateful usually fills me up; 2) one plateful of anything will not cause untold disaster; 3) one plateful of foods I really love will prevent that why-do-I-always-have-to-deprive-myself backlash; and 4) stopping after one plateful reminds me that I *can* stop after one plateful and that me and my body are in sync and in charge.

Another tool I'm dusting off is the "no" button. When I get over-committed, I get over-tired, and when I get over-tired, I overeat and under exercise. By doing less, I can do more and I look forward to less-hectic and less-frantic holidays.

I'm not baking this year. For housewarming and hostess gifts, I'm buying nice cans of Virginia peanuts. Everyone likes them; they're easy; they don't spoil; and they are actually a healthy snack in limited quantities.

Hmmm ... I notice that my holiday strategy is looking somewhat negative, so let me add a distinct positive: I WILL continue to exercise. My water aerobics class meets twice weekly through November, and then the Y is going to offer some kind of mini-series in December. I'm signing up. I may buy one or two new pilates tapes for home (especially good on those icy/sleety/snowy mornings that are just around the corner) and I plan on mastering the bosu ball.

Finally just two little tips that work for me and that I'll throw out here to get others thinking about little things they can do. I LOVE pumpkin pie filling, but not the crust. So I relish the former and leave the latter. And my mom-in-law always makes biscuits for big holiday meals. Me? I'd rather eat mashed potatoes. It's an easy choice. I figure those two little things probably save me 200-300 calories.

Thanks Meg. I needed that!

I started losing weight December 26, 2004 and that will keep me focused - being able to say that I've lived healthily for a full year seems very rewarding to me. It is a mental thing, I know, but a one year mark solidifies the fact that I have changed my lifestyle, not just been on a diet. Still, it is a tempting time of year and I intend to be prepared.

Baking is a tradition for my kids and me. We enjoy the time together and so we will continue doing it during the holidays. This year we won't keep trays of baked goods for friends and family who stop by our home. We'll wrap them up and deliver them to some of the shelters in our areas instead. What we do keep at home I will wrap individually so that eating them isn't as simple as opening a tin and diving in. Plus, that will make it easier to send treats home with guests.

I know exactly what will be on our Thanksgiving and Christmas menus. I'm thinking ahead now to remember what my REAL favorites are so that I can decide ahead of time what I'll put on my plate. In the past these meals have been a free for all. I'd find myself eating food not becuase I loved it but because I didn't hate it. I refuse to waste calories on food unless I am going to relish every single bite. I'll be sure and always have a healthy fruit or vegetable tray or hummus and pita, salsa and baked chips, etc. so that I can still munch while we socialize with minimal damage.

And, since these holidays tend to be all day events I'll be planning plenty of active entertainment. Part of my overeating on these days is a matter of boredom. The whole day centers around the main meal so before and after there is a lot of sitting around and visiting, wathcing TV - and eating. But, we've got plenty of kids in our family and there is no reason we can't get out and play a little flag football or take a walk around the neighborhood and enjoy the fall colors or Chirstmas decorations.

Also, I've been doing a lot of Christmas shopping throughout the year and will finish purchasing all of our gifts this month. That will help me avoid those days of hustle and bustle that always include too many drive-thrus and infrequent eating that leads to a huge binge at the end of the day.

Finally, I'll be reminding myself that just because there are 8 different pies lined up on my mother's buffet doesn't mean it is my last opportunity to eat pie. I can enjoy a small slice without fear that I'll do without for the rest of my life. Mine won't be the last pan of cornbread dressing ever baked so there is no need to eat as if it is. On the other hand, we don't deep fry turkeys every week either so enjoying it twice this year is nothing to feel guilty about. Sweet potato casserole with streusel topping isn't a regular menu item so I'm not going to beat myself up if I decide to have a spoonful. I intend to remember that it is just food - nothing magical about it. It tastes good and is maybe a little richer, heavier, or sweeter than I would normally indulge in but it is still JUST FOOD.

Jawsmom,

Awesome post. AWESOME

Yes, Jaws great post !!

Very good idea Meg to get me thinking AHEAD of time! I haven't baked in years, I make casseroles though. When we have a get together here I have someone bring desert since everyone asks to bring something.

The last couple of years I have been pretty good at gaining only 2-4# or maintaining because I compensate by exercising my brains out. I even jogged last Christmas morning early to get it out of the way... I felt really good for doing that and I intend on doing it again this year...

Robin -- This year at ThanksGiving I made a pumpkin pudding with fresh pumpkin and SF/FF vanilla pudding... Took a cup or more of pumpkin and some milk mixed the pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice and I had a desert that tasted just like the real pumpkin pie filling...

Is that a promise that my gym will empty out??? It's really tiny and now I no longer do shift work, I have to workout with all the other smelly rats!!!

I am planning to not gain in December. I think losing will be a remote possibility, but I seem to have something on every single week, so I will make those my treat days and work hard the other days.

It's so important to think it through. My lovely partner said in February that we would go to a restaurant for Christmas Dinner so i wouldn't have the temptation of cooking (and eating) my way through December! He could have just offered to cook Christmas dinner

My holiday plan is to acknowledge that there are only 7 days that will be possible challange for me. They are Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Years Eve, New Years Day & 2 days of unexpected events (example all day shopping and an unexpected dinner out, unplanned for invite out). So out of the next 7 weeks there are only 7 challenging days. Not 49 days of challenges. I will bake as it is a holiday tradition with my kids, the receipes have already been cut down from mega amounts to reasonable amounts. I plan to pre make the dough & freeze it so the actual event is less over-whelming for me. Shopping has begun. All event menus will include a vegetable tray & a friendly for me desert. Foods that are not triggers for me will be enjoyed in moderation. Triggers will be avoided for my own protection.
To succeed I need to avoid overstressing, exhaustion, & perfectionism.
I also need to activate my no button when necessary.
I will also try and squeeze in some personal treats.