Easter weekend prevention

Between my family and my boyfriend's, we have back-to-back Easter dinners lined up for this coming Saturday and Sunday. We haven't seen our families for a while and they're all fabulous cooks, so I'm sure that there will be food everywhere and our wineglasses will be topped up before we ever have a chance to empty them. I've just passed the 25lbs lost mark and have a ways to go yet, and I don't want this weekend to hold me back from meeting my next goal!

Does anybody have any good strategies to keep from over-eating in situations like these? I will try eating ahead of time so that I'm not tempted to snack, but we will be expected to eat dinner so I can't overdo it with the pre-eating. I'm not a huge diet coke fan, but I'm also considering bringing giant bottles of diet coke with me so that I'll never be caught without a drink in my hand  =P

If anybody has any good ideas, please share them!

i think bringing a non-caloric beverage is a really good idea.  wine/beer make me go crazy with the eating, so i'm sure it would work for me not to drink anything alcoholic. 

also get a small plate, if there are any available, not a full-size dinner plate- that helped me at the last birthday party i attended.

good luck, it's really hard to go to this sort of thing & stay on track.  you can do it! 

I am in the same situation (I've lost 18 pounds) and I was just thinking about it in the shower!! I too have dinners saturday and sunday night.  hahaha, the smaller plate is a good idea.  Hopefully that works!

Don't eat a full meal ahead of time, but try to not be starving when you sit down at the dinner table. Be careful of portions, but it is okay to indulge in what you like. And if you can, try to get some extra workouts in. I don't normally work out on the weekends, but I'm going to this weekend because I have big dinners Saturday, Sunday and Monday! Good luck and enjoy your holiday!

This might not be ideal, but it has helped me a couple times....when I go to dinner and people/family pressure me to eat more or ask why am I not filling up my plate, I  just tell them my stomach isn't feeling well.  That way they don't pressure me into piling it on.  If I try to tell them that I'm watching what I eat, they give me the whole "you are skinny as it is!" speech.  Thanks for the compliment grandma, but that doesn't mean I want to gain 5 pounds in one evening.  Ha.  :)  

Original Post by pirate_annie:

i think bringing a non-caloric beverage is a really good idea.  wine/beer make me go crazy with the eating, so i'm sure it would work for me not to drink anything alcoholic. 

also get a small plate, if there are any available, not a full-size dinner plate- that helped me at the last birthday party i attended.

good luck, it's really hard to go to this sort of thing & stay on track.  you can do it! 

Small plate is an excellent idea.  That's my number one weapon for the holiday seasons.  And non/low cal bev too.  I'm bringing green tea bags and some honey.  In the end, all I can say is god help us all.

mook

Thanks for all of the great tips, guys! Good luck with your respective dinners! May the force be with us...  =P

If you know your family will make certain dishes, try to figure out how many calories that dish contains before you go.  Then you will know how much of it to eat.

That's easy for me. My family is Greek Orthodox (Armenians) so, their Easter Dinner mainly consists of this very nasty smelling smoked, dried, salty fish we take turns having to stench up the house cooking every year.

I can't stand any seafood with gills anyway..just shell fish, so..not hard for me to pass that up. There is rice too, some kind of quiche looking stuff I also don't care for, and usually a salad tossed with just lemon juice and a dash of olive oil..not many sweets typically.

I'll end up having a bit of salad..maybe some of the rice (if i don't think it smells like fish!) and probably a glass or two of wine.

My birthday is in days too..the guy wants to take me out for it, but he takes me out a lot anyway..I just order anything I want, but don't eat much of it. Usually not even half.

It's how I cope with not being able to count calories in everything while out.

The portions are always huge, and the foods are probably not exactly cooked to be low fat, but to taste good, so..you know..you do what you can!

Original Post by raychelc:

That's easy for me. My family is Greek Orthodox (Armenians) so, their Easter Dinner mainly consists of this very nasty smelling smoked, dried, salty fish we take turns having to stench up the house cooking every year.

I can't stand any seafood with gills anyway..just shell fish, so..not hard for me to pass that up. There is rice too, some kind of quiche looking stuff I also don't care for, and usually a salad tossed with just lemon juice and a dash of olive oil..not many sweets typically.

I'll end up having a bit of salad..maybe some of the rice (if i don't think it smells like fish!) and probably a glass or two of wine.

My birthday is in days too..the guy wants to take me out for it, but he takes me out a lot anyway..I just order anything I want, but don't eat much of it. Usually not even half.

It's how I cope with not being able to count calories in everything while out.

The portions are always huge, and the foods are probably not exactly cooked to be low fat, but to taste good, so..you know..you do what you can!

 

Never in my life have I heard of such a smelly easter.  My mind reels.  Good luck though.  And happy early birthday!

It may be too late now, but you could volunteer to bring something -- a healthy side dish that fits into your 'plan' and/or a fruit salad.  This is what I'm doing.  I will eat a portion of the meat that's being served and veggies and my white bean and mint salad, and stick to the fruit I brought for dessert.