Anonymous wrote:

I have to say as a hostess (who goes to a great deal of effort and expense to provide delicious, celebratory meals), it is equal parts irritating and sad when women are super diet-conscious and restrictive at special events. It is so pinched and bereft of joy. Most people do struggle with their weight, buy maybe skip the fast food and Starbucks habit and allow yourself to fully enjoy holiday meals with family and friends.

No doubt your meals are delicious. But perhaps there are ways to experience joy that don’t involve eating. Different people will have a different perspective on this.

I have to say as a hostess (who goes to a great deal of effort and expense to provide delicious, celebratory meals), it is equal parts irritating and sad when women are super diet-conscious and restrictive at special events. It is so pinched and bereft of joy. Most people do struggle with their weight, buy maybe skip the fast food and Starbucks habit and allow yourself to fully enjoy holiday meals with family and friends.

My body leans into intermittent fasting so I will just lean into it a little more.

I eat snacky lunches like fruit and cheese and crackers. I like healthy stuff like salads and meatless food, so I focus on that on non-special days.

If I have a 300 calorie latte or extra glass of wine or treat, I generally am able to remove that or most of it from elsewhere (example: that latte at 11am is calories and a lot of milk, so instead of a 600 Cava bowl I will have 100 calories of nuts, some grapes, an apple, and some cheese for the same 600 calories total).

So that means on Thanksgiving and party days I I just eat light before then eat what I want at the event. Not depriving myself means I don't gorge. So a "splurge" is not a tremendous amount of extra calories, and I am only "splurging" a few times. Easy to offset a pound or two when you do the math.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am not buying any holiday sweets. In September I bought one pumpkin cream cheese muffin, devoured it, loved it, and was satiated. I am not attending my work's holiday party (I never do).

I am attending a Thanksgiving dinner, and will eat a normal breakfast, a salad for lunch, and then just Thanksgiving foods rather than my normal foods for dinner, but not "more" food per se. I'll skip the rolls/bread. So like, turkey, green veg, small amount of cranberry sauce, small amount of mashed potatoes. Maybe I'll have a cookie or small piece of pie if it looks good for dessert. I will probably walk to the train rather than take an Uber home, so that'll be a nice after-dinner walk.

The key for me is to not go crazy.

Living on the edge!

What I’ve learned about myself is that if I go crazy foodwise for one meal, it can take me like two weeks to get back on track with both food and working out. So it’s not worth it to throw caution to the wind.

If you manage to over consume by 35000-40000 calories and gain 10 pounds that’s impressive. That’s 15-20 extra days of normal intake.

Just eat the junk on a few days and go back to normal. Pretty easy if you don’t eat poorly and move the balance of the year.

It happens once a year, and the years remaining are getting shorter without fail. Unless you are a mad frenzied binger, you might at worst gain 10-15 pounds from Halloween to New Year's Day - that's a goodly amount to keep you warm through the coldest days of winter as you walk you way back to spring/summer body.

Live a little. Feast season is meant to be a feast! Be really good all the other weeks of the year.

I'm already pretty active, diet is where I struggle and I've already been off the wagon past month or so.

So I always have the mindset that there's no point in trying to "lose" weight during the holidays; the goal is really just maintenance. I'll worry about losing after Jan 1st. But I don't believe in depriving myself at all on the holidays (life is too short), I'm just going to try to be more disciplined on all the other days to balance it out.

Anonymous wrote:I am not buying any holiday sweets. In September I bought one pumpkin cream cheese muffin, devoured it, loved it, and was satiated. I am not attending my work's holiday party (I never do).

I am attending a Thanksgiving dinner, and will eat a normal breakfast, a salad for lunch, and then just Thanksgiving foods rather than my normal foods for dinner, but not "more" food per se. I'll skip the rolls/bread. So like, turkey, green veg, small amount of cranberry sauce, small amount of mashed potatoes. Maybe I'll have a cookie or small piece of pie if it looks good for dessert. I will probably walk to the train rather than take an Uber home, so that'll be a nice after-dinner walk.

The key for me is to not go crazy.

Living on the edge!

Anonymous wrote:How do you handle all the holiday sweets, work parties, staying with family, and big holiday meals while trying to maintain a healthy weight?

Say no to drinks and desserts. Limit carbs, eat more fruit, salad, chicken and fish. Walk 10 min after dinner, at least stand if can't walk.

Find healthy foods that you actually like to eat during the rest of the year. If your regular eating habits are healthy, and you genuinely enjoy them, you’ll be less tempted to break them during the holidays.

Anonymous wrote:I try to only eat sweets that are really worth it, and I try to not overeat. And stay really active.
I think the holidays are a good time to treat yourself, just not every single day or every single time you're presented with a treat.

This is me, too. There are baked goods and other treats I only make or have access to once a year - I'm not going to forego those entirely. If I know I'll be going to a party or event and I don't know what sweets will be there, I eat a good meal beforehand. For me, that reduces the likelihood that I'll eat more random cookies than I otherwise might. I mostly eat what I want to (often healthy), but if I'm too hungry I'll just eat whatever's there.

Also yes to exercise - walking as much as usual, keeping up my regular strength workouts, etc.

I am not buying any holiday sweets. In September I bought one pumpkin cream cheese muffin, devoured it, loved it, and was satiated. I am not attending my work's holiday party (I never do).

I am attending a Thanksgiving dinner, and will eat a normal breakfast, a salad for lunch, and then just Thanksgiving foods rather than my normal foods for dinner, but not "more" food per se. I'll skip the rolls/bread. So like, turkey, green veg, small amount of cranberry sauce, small amount of mashed potatoes. Maybe I'll have a cookie or small piece of pie if it looks good for dessert. I will probably walk to the train rather than take an Uber home, so that'll be a nice after-dinner walk.

The key for me is to not go crazy.

I eat a little more than usual, enjoy myself, don’t worry about it, and everything evens out in a month or so.

Then again, I eat one sweet treat a day, so I don’t go from 0 to 100. I eat good food and enjoy life and don’t worry about every ounce. I think that kind of thinking causes people to overdo it at the holidays.

I try to only eat sweets that are really worth it, and I try to not overeat. And stay really active.
I think the holidays are a good time to treat yourself, just not every single day or every single time you're presented with a treat.

How do you handle all the holiday sweets, work parties, staying with family, and big holiday meals while trying to maintain a healthy weight?