With Halloween less than 2 weeks away, then Thanksgiving, then Christmas, then New Years...aack! I feel overwhelmed with the temptations already!
I'm interested in strategies for reducing, avoiding, substituting, all the extra eating, treats, alcohol, etc. in order to stay OP (or at least not gain!).
Well, my plan that i am on is 3-0-1. 3 meals a day, 0 food in between, 1 day at a time. I will allow myself to eat what I want with my meal (a couple pieces candy, pumpkin pie, chocolate pie) when the occasion arises but that is it. No food in between!
1) Halloween - I'm allowing myself a single gourmet candy bar & some candy corn ON the 31st ONLY. No Halloween candy before or leftover treats after. I remember my last office job and it felt great to avoid all those overflowing candy dishes and the nonsense that people kept bringing in. Telling myself "It's not an option" was a great way to just not pick up any of those things during the day. And reminding myself of the treat that I -am- looking forward to on the 31st made it easier for me to say no to everything else.
2) Thanksgiving - This one tends to be easy for me. I eat normally and then just save room for dessert. ONE -normal- sized plate of food. A serving of my favorites. Skip anything that I don't care about I don't particularly think of turkey as special so I don't eat it that day, whereas my mom's baked corn is only made once a year so that's a necessity. And pumpkin pie is a must, so I make sure I have room for a slice. It's easy for me to remind myself that the priority for Thanksgiving is family. So food can take a little bit of a back seat. I continue with my NO LEFTOVERS rule.
3) Christmas is probably my biggest splurge day of all holidays. Christmas eve is the biggest day of the year for my family. We get less treats than we used to, but there are always plenty of cookies and candies and cheeses and meats all around. So I make an exception for this holiday and have ONE night (Christmas eve only) where I don't count. The NO LEFTOVERS rule continues. As well as avoiding Christmas-based treats before and after.
4) New Years is no big deal to me. I maybe have a glass or two of sparkling apple cider. Sometimes I don't even stay up until midnight! I rarely (2 - 3 times a year) drink alcohol, so I'm lucky that I honestly never have to think about those calories.
These strategies have worked very well for me in years past.
I think it's great that you're planning ahead! I'm of the mind that having a plan, whatever that plan is, makes it much more likely that you will successfully choose healthier during the holidays than not having any plan at all.
I pretty much just plan every thing out. For Halloween, I've already decided that I'm not going to eat any candy. But there are plenty of sweets always lurking. If I'm throwing the party (like my Halloween party) I plan to have healthy options. For example if we have chips and dip we can have 2 kinds or buy one bag of natural chips and one bag of regular.
As for thanksgiving, I feel like there are always healthy options around that time. Of course turkey and meat is usually okay to stick to. Plus you can always have veggies like green beans and sweet potato (which is also a healthier dessert, yum!). Just try and tell yourself that you're gonna hold back on the bad stuff. If you need to have some just control yourself and have a little bit rather than a whole plate of whatever it is.
And it's always good to stick to the "one plate" plan. Seconds are evil. If you want more ask to take some home (there are always left overs!!). So take some home and have some for your next meal.
Halloween... haven't decided how I"ll tackle it yet. Last year I did ok... did indulge a bit more than I planned but manageable.
Thanksgiving... like Lovely, I will do what I did last year. Same plan. I'll have a reasonable portion of everything that I like, skip the stuff that's just so-so to me, and allow myself one piece of pumpkin pie. We tend to eat all day on TG and Christmas, so I'll probably graze a bit in the morning, too, but will keep it sensible.
Christmas Eve is just a special dinner, but nothing I don't already work into my plan anyway. Christmas Day will not be a free-for-all, and I'll pay attention to my hunger cues, but I'm planning to be off-plan that day and that day only.
I will eat "normal" on Thanksgiving & Christmas. I usually skip breakfast those days and eat an early dinner. I'll have 1 plate of food and then probably a slice of pumpkin pie. Easy peasy!
I don't eat candy so Halloween will just be another 1200-1600 calorie day for me.
Honestly, I plan to eat what I want on those days (JUST those days; not the whole season, lol). I am going to concentrate on not binging and gorging myself 'just because it's a holiday' though. I'll eat what I want and not count calories, but my goal is to not feel gross and stuffed at the end of the night.
Halloween is easy for me in that I'm not a sweets person. But my mom makes a yummy chili dinner that night, and I will definitely be indulging in that. Thanksgiving isn't too bad b/c I'm not a huge fan of that type of food. But CHRISTMAS, that's a tough one! Christmas Eve and day I'm just drinking and eating whatever. New Years Eve too.
All in all it's five days over two months. It's not going to make or break my plan UNLESS I let it linger... which I refuse to do!!! Like a PP said, NO leftovers and NO other days.
My office is having a pot luck for Halloween. I've already decided that I will not eat anything that is prepackaged or I already know how to make. If there is still room left for cake then I will cut whatever piece is already plated in half.
For Thanksgiving I am traveling so taking my favorite side dish is out, and my family likes to cook with full fat ("that's where the flavor is!") so I'll just watch portions. Since I'll be traveling I don't have to worry about leftovers!
Christmas is a whole different story! It will be my first Christmas with my boyfriend's family, and from what I understand they have just about all the things you don't get every day...decadence is the theme . It's a veritable feast! I am going to allow myself to relax and enjoy.
Is Halloween even a day to indulge for adults? Unless I raid the kids treats, I don't see a need to indulge, so I won't.
Thanksgiving is a one day feast and then leftovers (as we cook), but you know what? I cook/prep for 3 days and am on my feet for hours and hours on Thanskgiving adn teh day before. I burn so many blessed calories that the big meal is a wash. For leftovers, most of it isn't that bad for me - brussel sprouts, squash soup, green beans, scalloped corn, turkey, cornbread stuffing (which I don't even like very much but my family loves), cranberries and desserts. Of any time in the WHOLE YEAR, Thanksgiving weekend I will indulge and enjoy.
Christmas itself is actually a healthy meal (sour cabbage rolls), so again, no biggee. It's not even Christmas itself, but all the goodies that we make between Thanksgiving and Christmas - the cookies, the pies, the breads, etc. THOSE will be hard, I won't lie as I make a mean Christmas Stollen and am a gourmet baker/cook. I will somehow just try to avoid all those goodies. I'll make them and limit myself to one small piece of something special a day.
New Year's eve is tough as we usually do cheese and crackers and wine, but we alternate it every other year now with fondue. If I stick with the fondue (veggies in a cheese sauce) I will be much better off and I'll go light on the fruit in chocolate, but that is far less damaging than pounds of cheese and wine.
Of course, in our family my birthday, my husband's birthday and orthodox christmas is thrown in there too. My goal is not to lose during that season as I want to enjoy as I love it all, but my goal is to not GAIN.
I was just thinking about this today! It's horrendous in my house from Oct-March
My bday Oct 30th, I will have cake and my mom always makes a big meal, I guess I'll eat some of that.
Halloween the next day, In the past I ate as much candy as the kids, but now most candy is too sweet for me (bittersweet)
I'm confused about Thanksgiving and Christmas. But thinking that It's just 1 meal and I'll make some healthier options and mix them in with the old favorites.
We'll see.
Last year's holidays were easy; I spent them, uncelebrated, in Japan.
This year is a different story. Thanksgiving won't be anything because it's not celebrated in Japan but I'll be having Christmas dinner with my family in America. I salivate just thinking about the honey baked ham and pineapple dressing at my parents'. My current strategy is to AVOID SNACKING while cooking that day. I'm usually full before the meal even starts because I eat little bits of the ingredients as I go. Not this year!
This will be tricky. Halloween is not really celebrated here, except for some costume stuff and it's possible we'll have some candy at the office, but I'm pretty confident I can resist that. Thanksgiving is also not celebrated, so not an issue. There's my birthday on November 1st, so boyfriend will feel the urge to spoil me, but we can confine that to my planned half-day off-program on Sunday.
But then there's Sint Niklaas, which is a chocolatefest. Fortunately it's on a Sunday this year, so again my planned half-day helps. I won't be spending Christmas with my family, so I'm safe from the mountains of food they usually have on those days. Besides, I'm an atheist and since I've been living abroad I haven't really celebrated it. I am going to make something special, healthy and tasty for New Year's though. No alcohol, as neither myself nor my partner drink.
Halloween: Not a problem for me. I am not big into sweets, especially candy. I may have a mini Snickers bar because I do like those, but otherwise resistance is easy.
Thanksgiving: I plan to enjoy all the things I usually don't get to eat year round (MIL's sausage stuffing, for example), but skip or have tiny portions of the things we eat on a regular basis (mashed potatoes, turkey). And I'll skip entirely the things that are only so-so (green bean casserole). Basically, I will *slightly* indulge in a few of the special things.
Christmas: This is tougher, because my family does the whole gamut: Christmas Eve seafood dinner, Christmas breakfast of oyster stew (YUM!), and a big ol' traditional Christmas dinner. Again, I'll do the same thing as Thanksgiving: enjoy the things I rarely get or really love, and skimp or pass on the things that are readily available year round or just not that great in the first place.
Drinking is another story entirely, as I enjoy my alcoholic beverages WAY too much. But I plan to try to stick to moderation. A drink here, and cocktail there... but no serious partying.
Last year I gain seven pounds between Thanksgiving and New Years. That's not going to happen again this year. Like many others, I don't plan on buying Halloween candy until the weekend before. Whatever is left over will be given away the next morning. Halloween is my favorite holiday, and its already been hard avoiding all the themed goodies - especially caramel apples and anything pumpkin-flavored. We are luckily (and unluckily) missing the big Halloween party this year, so I don't have to worry about that.
I'm fixing the Thanksgiving meal this year, so I'm going to make a lot of healthy versions of the classic dishes - use a lot of fat free/low calorie ingredients, less butter and oil, use splenda, etc. I'm going to try not to snack while I cook, and enjoy small portions of everything that's not available all year long. After the meal, all the leftovers go home with guests.
This is the first Christmas I am not spending with my family. We are visiting for five days in December though, which will include a wedding, the big family Christmas party, and my sister's birthday. I'm currently terrified of this and not sure what I am going to do just yet. I think I can handle the wedding - I'm not a big drinker and I think wedding cake is almost always icky and not worth the calories. I'll probably let myself go at the Christmas party - just one meal. Once we get back, I'll make sure there aren't lots of cookies and treats around, and cook healthier versions of the holiday favorites just like Thanksgiving.
Halloween isn't really a big deal with me. I love dressing up, taking out my child, but I don't have much of a sweet tooth. If I do decide I want a piece of candy, I'll count the calories, but I doubt it will be a big temptation.
Thanksgiving in my house is full of somewhat healthy foods - aside from the alcohol - anyway: turkey, tofurkey, mushroom and turkey gravy, homemade cranberry sauce, vegetarian stuffing, sweet potatoes, whole grain cornbread, vegetarian collard greens, low cal green bean casserole, so it's just a matter of not overeating for the day. That's just fine with me because all though high school I had my homecoming dance on Thanksgiving night, so I'm not used to eating much so that I could fit into my fitted dress! Not only that, if I overeat, I tend to have ulcer-like pain. It's so not worth it.
Christmas eve is usually appetizers and drinks. We make homemade guacamole w/tortilla chips, low cal mushroom strudel, low cal buffalo chicken dip w/celery, chicken or edamame potstickers, etc.
Christmas has been a brunch for the past few years, and I've been making a low cal egg/bread/cheese/veggie brunch casserole to go with our TJ turkey bacon, soysage, and homemade whole wheat savory and sweet waffles (which I never eat as I'm not a big waffle fan). I just have to watch for the mimosas and bloody mary's.
I think I'm more concerned about the holidays being an alcohol and processed food fest than anything.
Holiday strategies
I feel overwhelmed with the temptations already! 
. It's a veritable feast! I am going to allow myself to relax and enjoy.
Not only that, if I overeat, I tend to have ulcer-like pain. It's so not worth it.
