Holiday Support

Changing your eating habits, dieting, or going through lifestyle changes is not an easy feat. Dealing with it around the holidays is even worse.

Between office parties, friends and family get-togethers and, of course, the three big days - Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years - the food really starts to pile on fast.

I love this time of the year - but I don't want all of my hard work to go down the tubes because of it.

I'd like to start a thread to discuss how life is going through the holidays. Please share your general thoughts, times when you give in to temptation, times you RESIST temptation...anything that comes to mind. The point of this thread is to support each other over the next month or so. It's not going to be easy, but we can all get through it! (and hopefully enjoy ourselves at the same time!)

Who's with me?!

me! me! me!

=^..^= MOLLY

Definitely!  I was just thinking about how I can still have everything at Thanksgiving, just so long as I make sure to take SMALLER portions.  And hopefully it's nice out the day after Thanksgiving so I can go for my run.  Over Christmas I'm going to have some trouble.  My mom makes all sorts of good stuff and I'll probably get trapped.  I'm also going to run into another problem.  It's going to be COLD and snowy, so I won't be able to exercise outside.  Since I have a month off of school (I work out at the gym here that we get a membership to when we're  student), I don't know what I'm going to do.  I was thinking about getting a month membership to a gym, but I think most of them go from the beginning of the month to the end of the month, not just the date you join til thirty days after that (Christmas break is from mid-dec to mid-jan).  I'll have to ask around.  Maybe they'll make exceptions for a poor college student :P  That excuse works quite well haha!

I may have some problems, too. =/ I've been practicing all these great eating habits on my own. Buying healthy foods, eating when *I* feel hungry... but as soon as I get home, I feel like I'm going to be truly tested! Family meals, a house full of food, cold weather and stress... wow am I setting myself up! Plus we celebrate a lot of holidays: thanksgiving, Hanukkah, 2 december birthdays (5 days apart!) and Christmas, and New Years, and then my birthday 5 days later. Auuuuuuuuuugh.

Original Post by lilyquistj:

  Since I have a month off of school (I work out at the gym here that we get a membership to when we're  student), I don't know what I'm going to do.  I was thinking about getting a month membership to a gym, but I think most of them go from the beginning of the month to the end of the month, not just the date you join til thirty days after that (Christmas break is from mid-dec to mid-jan). 

I am in the same college student situation. Home for me is out in the middle of nowhere, and the nearest gym isn't a walk away anymore...and I don't have my own car. I'm not really sure on what activities I can do to make up for being in the house all day.

My family is also very neutral to my dieting. They say things like "you don't need to lose weight", and its very frustrating when instead of just being supportive, they insist that its not going to matter... kinda makes me not wanna go home >.<

Original Post by littledustyone:

I am in the same college student situation. Home for me is out in the middle of nowhere, and the nearest gym isn't a walk away anymore...and I don't have my own car. I'm not really sure on what activities I can do to make up for being in the house all day.

My family is also very neutral to my dieting. They say things like "you don't need to lose weight", and its very frustrating when instead of just being supportive, they insist that its not going to matter... kinda makes me not wanna go home >.<

 that's EXACTLY what my family is like
it's almost annoying really. they're always like "you care too much about what you eat" and are highly unsupportive of me trying to control my own diet
my mom was malnutritioned growing up and lacks the ability to store a lot of fat, so she eats as much as she wants without regular exercise and still has problems gaining weight, which makes it worse, because she expects all of us to eat just as much
everyone gets SO annoyed at me when they ask me if i want seconds and i say no. its quite frustrating

lets get through the holidays successfully together :D 

It's definitely tough when other members of the family just don't gain weight. My two younger sisters are sticks and have NEVER been overweight.

But the good thing is that the last time I saw them (about a month ago) they had complimented me on my weight loss. And when I see them next week, I'll be down 5 more pounds! So I'm hoping that my success and pride will hold me over the Thanksgiving holiday.

I'm still pretty nervous though!

The first time I lost weight, in my 20s, it was a revelation to me to realize that I didn't need to stuff myself so much at T-day that my waistband popped... it's actually nice to eat just enough without going so overboard you feel sick!

I have cont'd that practice ever since. But I will say this: I don't deprive myself. Yes, I deliberately wear a tightish pair of pants as a way to remind myself when I've had enough (no elastic pants!). But I do enjoy the holiday food.

T-day we'll be at my mom's and I'm sure she's spending hours and weeks cooking up something fabulous. In recent years, she's become quite the gourmet and really enjoys dabbling in the kitchen. Xmas day we go to my DH's uncle's house, and he's another gourmet. He and his wife spend weeks concocting their menu and it's always spectacular. It would be criminal not to eat and enjoy those two meals.

What I won't be doing is:

1) Bringing home leftovers

2) Gorging on xmas cookies

3) Eating nonstop between now and New Year's

;-)

You have to pick and choose. I choose to eat well on T-day and xmas, and stick to my plan the rest of the time.

And also keep up the exercising! That's key. My goal, now that it's getting cold out, is to run 3x's for 45 minutes each week, as my bare minimum.

Oh - I almost forgot!!! I've been enlisted to cook a 5-course meal for New Year's Eve for two other couples and us. It's sort of becoming a ritual get-together: we get all decked out in our fancy clothes, and spend the whole evening up until midnight having a liesurely meal. But I tend to cook healthy stuff and don't go too overboard with it. Lots of veggies and stuff. Gotta start planning that out...

Hello everyone!

Well, it's post-Thanksgiving and I'm just checking in after the first hump of holiday feasting.

I'm happy to say that I didn't do too badly. For Thanksgiving dinner, I had mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, stuffing, sugar-free jello and corn. Pretty healthy, minus the stuffing. I had one and a half portions, a 90 calorie slice of cherry pie and a small sandwich later on in the evening. Overall, pretty good.

I spent the whole week with family and didn't end up exercising at all. However, with the exception of Thanksgiving day, I kept to my daily intake of 1350 calories. As of today, I'm back into the normal routine (and a trip to the gym tonight. Can't wait!).

I usually check my weight on Fridays, but I won't be checking this week due to TOM. So my guess is, even if I did gain a pound last week, I should be right back on track by the time I check my weight again.

How did you do?

I did great!!! Only 1,300 for the whole day!!! I had three rolls, 2 ounces of turkey, little tiny bit of potatos(I don't really like stuffing, cranberry sauce etc.) And for desert... strawberries, pineapple and apples (I don't like pie either!!!) Most of cals was for chips and my mom's 7 layer dip (YUMMM!!!)

I did fine .... only 507 calories for Thanksgiving dinner (and 275 of that was tuna sashimi!) My total calories for the day was within my acceptable range.

And I managed to lose 2.8 pounds last week! (My weigh-in days are Sundays!)

One holiday down, one vacation and two holidays to go .........

=^..^= MOLLY

This is a great thread- we're gonna need support! I know I won't be perfect this holiday season, but I like what jenmcc highlighted: I will not eat straight through from now til New Year's. That seems like an easy enough goal for me.

I like that some of you did well this Thanksgiving- nicely done. I didn't count calories intentionally on that day, so I don't have a way of measuring but I know that I didn't feel too full and I heaped plenty of salad on my plate. I treated myself to some pie but that is a pretty rare treat for me so I earned it.

Now the Christmas season is rolling through and I am a bit nervous. Holiday parties? Meals out with the family? I will not let all my hard work go for naught! I think the key here is to keep up the exercise.

I'm a little nervous about this coming month too. Right now I'm feeling strong and on track but I know how those little temptations can slip in there. My daughter is coming home from a semester abroad late in the month and she'll want all her favorite foods prepared. (She's lost weight while there because she's conserving money --by not buying food!!! Can you hear the sound of a mother knashing her teeth??!) I also saved a bunch of vacation days so I'm only working about 7 1/2 days in December. I'll have to concentrate on not snacking away my 'free' time. Actually I have a LOAD of projects to do around the house...oh no, stress eating! AHHHH

Well, I have been a member since early summer, but only today have I completely stayed on the bandwagon...I know for a fact that Christmas and New Year's will be good because I am the one doing the cooking!  That is the easiest way for me to manage :)  I am also a student (going home to my house and husband 4 hours away)...so my 3 week break will hopefully be filled with volunteering and home remodeling instead of snacking :)

Oh, and here is a great example of resisting.  I was "starving" for snacks at 3:30pm today - my worst snack attack time.  I walked by a fellow student and prof and both offered me junk food they were eating and I said "no thanks".  I've never said no to food.  It was so empowering!

Keep up the great work!  We can do this!

Oh!  For the other students who are at a lack of how to work in exercise in a small town...I live in the country and I will tell you this: raking leaves, splitting firewood, trimming hedges with a hand trimmer, pulling weeds, etc will keep you in shape!

For thanksgiving, we made our own healthy meal at home (lean chicken breast) and filled up on it for lunch before heading over to the family dinner gathering.  Our lunch was so satisfying that I was able to resist some of the fattening stuff for dinner and only ended up eating a chunk of turkey, a slice of home baked bread, and a piece of pumpkin pie.  Not bad at all!

I've been looking at some of my fitness magazines lately that came out around this time of year in years past and nearly all of them have either a section of better for you holiday recipes or getting through the holidays motivational tips, or both.  I keep a fitness magazine around me at all times especially this time of year both to get ideas for food and workouts to stay motivated to get the body I want.  That and lots of chewing gum so I can resist the urge to dip into some christmas chocolates out of boredom.  But nothing helps more than the motivation I get from reading these forums, knowing that others are working to lose the pounds just like I am.  It helps to not be alone.

Made it thru Thanksgiving and have been sick with a cold, so I've lost this month.

But Christmas is also my birthday, and we have to go to both son's homes that day! So I will follow my normal "special day/special meal" plan...imagining my plate has 4 sections and I can only have four selections and no seconds. I dessert is one choice that further limits my selections! And I will not stress over how many calories past maintenance level I eat that day!

I also hope to continue to get my daily walks and weekly swims in during the season!

Yay! Holiday Support is stickied! :)

I'm having trouble getting back into my exercise routine. Thanksgiving week I took the whole week off of exercising (besides walking my dog a few times during the week). This week has been troublesome though.

I ended up spending my nights this week painting the walls of my room. It took a lot of time so I couldn't get exercising in. Now I'm free to do it again, but I honestly don't feel like it.

Aagh! This is definitely an eye opener for me. I should NOT be skipping exercise. Somehow, I've got to force myself to workout tonight.

Any motivational advice?

You could try doing something new that you can get excited about, so you don't feel like you're trudging back into the same old routine.  When I get off-track, I usually have to start small, with meandering walks admiring the scenery.  Also, you could try doing situps & pushups while you're watching tv, or running up & down stairs during commercials or something -- so it's not like you're "working out" but just being active while watching tv.  Or put on some loud music & dance around your room.

I'm kind of a late comer to the thread, but I'd like to join.  I'm not just going home for the holidays this year -- I'm MOVING home (to Alaska) for the holidays, & I'm going to stay there ... living with my parents ... for the first time in five years ... until next fall.  *terrified* I know I'm going to need to hit the ground running because otherwise I'll just keep putting it off and get stuck in bad habits all through this next year. My mom is also one of those who says "You're getting too skinny!" Have to not let that get to me!

for fellow college students- my christmas break is from december 21st to january 21st! i can't go a month without my beloved gym visits! so i'm asking for a "trial" type gym membership as a christmas present from my parents. and i put A LOT of stress on this gift. like, skip the clothes i never end up wearing anyway mom and the weird techno gadgets dad! just give me my gym!

i've also decided to eat totally normally except for christmas eve and day. two days off, then its back to the grindstone. hopefully i can keep to that...

Great idea!  I just joined CC on Nov. 27 (this year), and I have been thinking about what the holiday break will be like.  I think it will be easy until I go to my parents house for Christmas on the 22nd.  There are always tons of sweets available.  I honestly am not worried about it though.  I really feel committed to a healthy relationship with food and my body.  Soooo, hopefully the holdiay cookies and fudge will not beckon.  As much.  I don't feel those overwhelming urges to eat sweets anymore.  I think my sweet tooth is tamed.  After finals I plan to step up my workout routine.  My parents have an elliptical trainer in their garage, so I will be able to use that if the roads are too slick or snowy for running.  We can do it!

I know I am scared to death of office parties, where they serve really fattening foods like potato chips and dip (which I always go for), especially now that I started the CC. there is this dentist, sweetest guy in the world, but he L-O-V-E-S to eat! So lately he has been coming into work with doughnuts, now I am not the world biggest doughnut lover, however, ever since I started this CC I have been craving sweets like crazy. So, whenever I pass the break room I see this big pink box that I know has doughnuts in it and I am hungry, so I drool over it (not literally) for a few seconds and then I say "NO"!No, I am not going to do, and then I walked away from it, twice! I felt so proud of myself that I didn't give into temptation. I ended up eating my sugar free pudding instead.