I'm hoping to hear from some vets here. How do you manage your weight through the holidays? Do you allow yourself seconds on only certain dishes? Do you let go completely and just enjoy the ride? Do you remain a stickler and go on-plan 100% all across the months? Do you give yourself a weight-gain allowance of sorts for the holiday season?

Halloween candy, Thanksgiving pies, Christmas truffles, and NYE parties are creeping up on us here. I can't recall ever watching or caring for my weight while also juggling the holidays..this is new for me. And I'd be lying if I said I'm not a little intimidated by it. (All that delicious food though..) My standard holiday diet is 'oooo cookies...' WHAT is to be done in such a dire time??

At the holidays i try to maintain my weight and ONLY EAT WHEN I'M ACTUALLY HUNGRY. In the past years i was binging daily but that's what's worked for me in the past. In july it was my Birthday and i spent 10 days with my parents and after that went travelling to a region where the food is great. I just ate healthy and had what seemed like reasonable portions of the dishes i like the most and i didn't gain weight. It's not about perfection, is about health and moderation.

I'm not really a vet, but one time I actually lost weight during the holidays! I wish I could figure out exactly how I did it. I was working out a lot at the time and also working retail where I was on my feet nonstop and not able to snack. I did restrain myself at holiday dinners and did not have seconds and had minimal desserts.

Last season, however, I was fairly new to my current diet and I just went crazy. I figured since I was fasting twice a week that meant I could eat whatever the heck I wanted the other 5 days. Not so This year, I'll keep with my current fasting schedule plus constantly remind myself of what happened last year haha! I'm trying to hit my year-end goal early so it's not too much of a struggle We have so many birthdays from November to January as well that is just gets...nuts.

I'm very interested in hearing what others have to say, because I would love to at least maintain this year, if not lose.

Thanks for your input guys. Hoping to hear some more as well.

You might try reposting this question in the Maintainer's forum. If you try searching there, you might find something relevant posted there already.

Holidays (and winter in general) has been a problem for me in the past. If I'm in the middle of weight loss, I can sometimes keep up a head of steam and plow through it with my diet. However, it causes me more problems if I am in a "maintenance" phase (which has historically been more like a "slow regain" phase).

So, I'm no vet of getting through the holidays unscathed. However, I did just manage to get through a 2 week vacation with lots of eating out without any weight gain. I stuck with my current maintenance WOE (1 meal a day plus a focus on volumetrics/low-carb/whole foods) and managed not to gain weight. Hoping the same thing continues to work through the holidays/winter.

- eat when you're hungry
- make healthy choices from the available options
- keep portions small and measure if you can
- if you're really craving something, have some. One cookie, or a tiny slice of pie, is not going to ruin your life.

If you gain 1-2 lbs over the holidays, no big deal. You can lose that in a couple weeks once you go back to your healthy habits. The key is not bingeing and regaining 5-10 lbs in a couple weeks.

I'm not an expert on holiday eating but I did just come back from a European vacation 9lbs lighter without any attempt at restrictin what I ate. I ate anything and everything I wanted and did not exercise more than usual.

I'm looking forward to the holidays this year with my new WOE. With IE I've learned to trust myself to eat exactly how much I need. I don't restrict anything but I am satisfied immensely by very little food. I'm more satisfied with what I eat now than I ever was when I was binging. Something I have learned is how to enjoy my food now. I eat when I'm hungry, food tastes amazing when you're truly physically hungry! I stop eating when I'm full. I've learned that when I start eating past fullness the food loses it's flavor. So I stop when full. I eat slowly and mindfully meaning I sit and devote my attention to why I am eating. I chew and taste my food. I linger. I put my fork down and close my eyes and make yummy noises. I give full concentration to eating. Thus the process becomes an act of self nurturing rather a gorge fest.

Learning mindful eating practices has a lot of benefits. Food can be increasingly pleasurable of you allow it to be. Your body will thank you for it by sending you signals of fullness quicker over time. I don't believe in rigid plans any time of the year but especially during holidays. It makes the holidays so stressful when they could've so enjoyable. I've been doing IE for 6 months. It is often referred to as an excuse for fat people to eat whatever they want. But I can tell you that over 6 months I've lost 19lbs, I eat less now than I ever have before yet I am more satisfied with every meal, I eat whatever I want whenever I want it, I crave healthy things and still indulge in goodies, and I feel calm and stress free. I eat with no effort and and no exertion of willpower. The holidays are going to be awesome. Gingerbread, here I come.