Manage your weight during the holiday season

[DavideFitbit]

Hi everyone! 

With the holiday season approaching, just wanted to know if you have any suggestions on how to manage to keep a balance between what you eat and your fitness goals. 

There's so much food around us during the whole month of December that it's sometimes very difficult to maintain our weight. Besides the Christmas dinner, there are so many sweets and delicious food everywhere you go, and you have to face strong publicity from many companies + family gatherings with your favorite dishes and desserts 😋.  

[WendyB]

I made myself a promise I will not gain this month.

We only have a couple parties to go to so I plan on eating something healthy before we go so I can stay away from the snack table. Just hope they have some kind of fruit or low cal thing that I can get.

Most my friends have fruit out so its a good thing. I would rather have a glass Of vino 😀 Gotta have priorities 😀

[cathm]

I try to stick to the healthiest choices.  I can usually find at least a few things to eat.  I also try to totally stay away from the desserts.  I find them a slippery slope and usually leads me to days or weeks of non-healthy eating.  I have to keep in mind that momentary satisfaction of eating these things is not worth it. 

[KatBaby]

It does get overwhelming, doesn't it?  There are (hopefully) only a small number of times you will be faced with massive food choices.  Try not to think of it as the whole Holiday Season.

You can manage those meals by eating before you go or bringing something healthy to contribute to the meal.  For each holiday meal, I choose one thing I can have a small amount of that I don't normally eat.  I sure do enjoy it!! 

[Baltoscott]

---

@DavideFitbit wrote:

Hi everyone! 

...

There's so much food around us during the whole month of December that it's sometimes very difficult to maintain our weight. ....  

---

I know you want us all to think that you are having friends and family over for dinner @DavideFitbit, but that's really all for you, right?  🤣

Just kidding.  

I'll be going to at least three holiday parties this month.  A area where calories tend to pile up for me is all the food/booze that happens before the meal.  I'm aware of it as a slippery slope and will try to adjust this year by having something filling and low cal (veggies, soup, protein) and I'll aim to have wine with the meal instead of before.  And I'll also try my normal eating out strategy of loading up on salad or other veggies with the meal and plan to take about half of the good stuff home for a second meal or two later in the week.  

I'll let you know how it goes.

[DavideFitbit]

That's very true @WendyB @cathm  it's very easy to loose control with the snacks and desserts, and we may end up eating twice as much as we originally planned. 

@KatBaby, that's a good way to describe it (overwhelming). Definitely very good advice, I'll make sure to bring something healthy to contribute to the meal! 🥗

That's just a little snack before dinner @Baltoscott 😂

That's a good strategy, loading up on salad or other veggies with the meal 😱

[cathm]

I find it helpful to get my workout done early in the morning.  The holiday season seems so busy and it is easy for things to get in the way. 

Also, if I stay consistent with my workouts, it makes me less likely to fall off track with the holiday eating. I don't want to minimize the benefits of my workouts by eating a bunch of unhealthy food.

[DavideFitbit]

Thank you for all the suggestions @cathm! That's very true, if I don't complete my workout in the morning it's easy for things to get in the way. I used to workout in the afternoon, and there's just many occasions where I ended up not working out at all. Even if you're very disciplined with this, sometimes there just no time or you're too exhausted. 

[BruceM]

I see a lot of people saying that they eat before they go to a party. That never works for me. I don't eat and then try to control myself at the event. I can't! But at least I'm not eating before and during the party. I accept that I'll gain a few pounds during the holidays so I lose some weight in October and early November so my weight doesn't get too high in December. In 2019 the highest weight of the year was on January 1, but it was only one pound over my weight goal. .

[Baltoscott]

@BruceM — if you are thinking about the holidays in October and November you are in good shape.  Truth is, weight management is a lot more about your day-in day-out habits than it is about what happens at a couple parties every year.  

I don’t try to eat before a party either. On the other hand, I don’t skip breakfast/lunch to ‘save up’ calories. Instead, I try to eat normally before the party so that when I do get to the event I don’t load up on a lot of junk before the main course is served. In the end, I want to leave feeling comfortable instead of feeling so full (because my eyes are bigger than my stomach) that I can’t move for hours and feel the need to become one with the couch.

[mickjam]

Yup, despite all the blablabla about how zero tolerance leads to increased cravings, for me it is easier to keep away from sweets entirely.  Once the dam is breached, it takes a long time, months even, to get my finger back in the hole.  

Pretty decent success this year, only had three truffles from among mounds of sweet treats.  Hope it went well for you as well!

[Glenda]

@mickjam   Wow!  I so agree with  "don't start on sweets".  And if you leave that sweet stuff alone you can forget how it tastes even.    No one on here ever mentions height and they are probably at least average and will not understand the significance of it but since October I gained 7 pounds  mostly in the last month.  Horrible.  It is worse to eat a little peppermint covered pretzel when you are hungry than to go to the grocery when you are hungry, for sure.  LOL    (I'm 5'1.5 and 117 # today)  I would get in that weekly weight thing but that trend weight stuff is too much for me.  People are writing it helps to drink coffee and eat hot sauce with capsaicin in it to increase your metabolism.  Another brilliant idea suggested was to always buy spices from bulk containers so you can get a small amount that will cost you way less for the amount you will use before it is stale.   Not being a good cook I would NEVER have thought of that. !!!

[Sue789]

Sweets are the worst for me. We have a large family and we exchange stocking stuffers. I can't tell you how many chocolate covered almonds I have had. I ended up throwing the rest away. I'm ashamed at my lack of self control. I started logging my food each day and I think this will be very helpful especially once the holidays are over. Good luck!!