I am starting a thread because I need support for specific things coming up on my calendar.

I am doing OK so far this Holiday season, but all of the big challenges are ahead of me:

Going out to lunch with a friend today for her birthday 12/4
Going out to breakfast with my Spanish class next week 12/10
Going out to dinner with a different Spanish class next week 12/11
Potluck at my ladies' Bible study next week 12/10
Potluck at our couple's Bible study the week after that 12/19
And then: Christmas! 12/25

This is gonna be sooo hard.

Please list your upcoming events/parties which you are worried might throw you off-plan. Then come back and tell us how you did. What did you do to cope/make it through?

Or you can cry on our shoulders if you went off-plan.

I hear you. I have a networking party this Friday that I'm particularly worried about. The hosts serve us by the plate, rather than letting us serve ourselves. So they'll hand me (for example) a plate filled with steak, lasagna, salad drenched in dressing, herbed sweet potatoes, and a hot roll. Later in the evening they give each of us a plate filled with desserts. I HATE this style of hosting (I secretly think it's passive aggressive), but don't know how to deal with it. Ideas, anyone?

Freelance

Tell them that your doctor doesn't want you to eat certain foods due to health concerns

Same here- husbands birthday. He wants to go to NYC for dinner and out drinking.
12/11- work lunch
12/12-cookie exchange
12/13 party
16th The next week another party Monday
17th Tuesday a work party then a friends birthday that night
The 23rd my dad comes into town.....
Yikes!! Lots of non standard stuff to work around. I know I should feel blessed to have so many people events for the holiday but I get so nervous about failing. I am hoping we can all plan ahead.

Oh, this is a great idea!
I have a holiday potluck tomorrow for work. My plan is this:
2 (max) Jimmy John's veggie mini-subs
Small helping of potatoes
1 brownie (only if they look good)
Vegetables!!!
This might be just what I need to stay on track. Thanks!

My biggest concern is that my in-laws will be up here for an entire week around Christmas, and they eat out every day. When I say that, I mean they eat out every day when they're at their own home since my mother-in-law doesn't like to cook. They stay at a hotel so breakfast each day is on our own, but we have lunch and dinner together. Usually they're only up here for a couple of days and during that time I always make at least one meal for us, but the whole thing is always complicated (long story). I'm considering Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to be "eat what ya want, within reason" days, but not the rest. My basic plan while they're here is to eat a very healthy breakfast at home before we see them, and a healthy lunch on the days I'll be working. Will probably allow myself one meal out where I can pick whatever I want, but for the others, I will pick something that looks like it would best fit the guidelines for how should be eating. I'm thinking lots of salads with minimal dressing!

Good luck to everyone

OK well at my friend's birthday lunch today I was sooooo tempted. We went to a hibachi steakhouse/sushi bar. There was fried rice (fried right in front of me on the hibachi, like they do) and all manner of yummy fried veggies (which I passed on because I would have waaaay gone off plan if I'd allowed myself to get started) and the yummiest looking cabbage salad with a beautiful ginger dressing. Which, I am 100% sure, was LOADED with sugar.

I ordered miso soup. Low carb and only 85 calories.

If I am going to stay on plan I have to have control of the rice situation. So I didn't budge an inch. Miso miso miso, that's all for me thank you very much.

Man, that was hard. But I did it! And BTW the soup was excellent and I want to go back there sometime when I am in maintenance and I can have the veggies and maybe the salad. Dressing on the side, of course. Yummmmm!

Great idea for a thread!!!

My events:

December 14-Brunch with friends at a Greek Restaurant and gift exchange
December 16-Committee has holiday dinner delivered before the meeting from an upscale Italian Restaurant
December 17-movie and dinner/drinks with best friend
December 19-dinner potluck with a class I attend
December 21-day out with DH-massages and dinner
December 22-dinner party at in-laws-they will make the food-mainly Filipino food
December 23-wedding anniversary
December 24-traditionally Chinese food in or out
December 25
December 31
January 1

I will post my plan for each as it approaches and then post how I actually did. Some dates have no event attached as I know I will be celebrating in some way but not sure yet how.

I did quite well at last night's networking dinner. While I went to the bathroom my host filled my plate with lamb, salad, and roasted veggies, but I politely put just about all the lamb back on the serving tray, proclaiming that "it looks delicious, but I'm not much of a meat person" (which is true). I also took a pass on the rice when it came my way. One of the guests brought a home-made cake, of which I had a quarter-inch sliver.

F.

Huge congratulations are in order. You're one strong woman!

F.

Great thread idea!

We had BIL stay with us over Thanks giving week and he is a health nut. It was great! Completely stopped me from over eating the whole week, and there was tons of pies cookies cakes! He didnt say anything, but since he was staying here, I wasn't allowed time alone to over eat...my issue is over eating in private, I cannot over eat infront of people Im too self conscience.

Cookie party this Friday...nervous because it will be expected to taste all the cookies...there's going to be a contest with a prize for the best...plus there's going to be lots of alcohol and I love a nice glass of wine. I was told to bring 3-4 dozen cookies! Going to be a lot of people..how am I going to get around tasting the cookies??? Its not like a regular party, I'm going to be expected to taste a lot of cookies ANd I have such a sugar addiction, which I've been off of since before thanksgiving...a night of cookies could be anough to start the cravings again....

I dont want to be a party pooper, but this party is most of my husbands coworkers and so it mostly medical professionals, I thought about just being honest and saying I'm trying to lose the baby weight for health reasons, they will get it, I dont need to explain it to them.

The last cookie party I went to the cookies were sent home to eat there. no tasting at the party, I guess it was more of a cookie exchange..so of course I could bring them home and not eat them...

That's it for now. DH's holiday party was last week but I couldnt go, no sitter.

And there's Christmas day, big get together but I'm ok socializing and avoiding food.

Ugggg...so my husbands birthday could have gone better. When did birthdays turn into week long things? I over did it on fried foods and ice cream one day then pizza the next! At least no cake?....next party is cookie party. Here isto hoping I control it with wine and cookies!

I feel encouraged by all those posting they were able to overcome! Knowing that it is possible with planning nd wanting it enough is what I need. Great jobs totose with positive results!!!

We had a Christmas party at my husband's cousin's house today. I was really worried before I went.
I had a late breakfast, so I would not be hungry for lunch before we went.
The party started at 2 with food being served at 3. While there I had a small serving of all of the main course, had 1 small cookie, and 3 small PB cups, then drank a cup of coffee and popped some sugar free gum in my mouth. Was so proud of myself for not sampling all of the diff deserts. I decided they were not worth the extra cals on top of eating the lunch when compared with my goal. (I am determined to try my best to be down into the 180s for the New Year)
For dinner I had lots of raw vegis and a fat free yogurt.

glamourgirl are any of the docs YOUR doc? cause if not than you can say that your doc is concerned about your blood sugar so you are avoiding sweets

I would be terrified to go to a cookie party. I think I would personally find a way to opt out. But that's because there's no way at an all-sweets party to stay on plan. And if you just don't partake at all, you might offend someone or start them pressuring you to "just have one".

I'm like an alcoholic with many foods. Once I start I cannot stop. You wouldn't pressure an alcoholic to "just have one". Ugh I just wouldn't go.