Preparing ourselves for the Holidays

With Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas, and New Years coming up, is there any certain things that you do to prepare yourself to make good choices and to eat healthy during these holidays? All the invites to family gatherings and parties can lead a person to lots of sweets, fats, carbs, calories and unwanted weight gain.

I am Founder/ Leader of a weight loss support group here in Greenville, Ohio called * Little by Little *...Any program ideas, topics to discuss, diet tips, healthy recipes would be greatly appreciated...Thank you for your time, Tammy

When navigating the holiday buffet, fill up on protein choices, such as meats and cheeses. Get yourself nearly full on those, and you'll have little room for sabotage.

I bake my own desserts - low carbs, and I always bring them with me to gatherings. Mostly for me (it is ok to be selfish) so when ever one eats their cakes - I eat mine. I stoped sharing long time ago. Bring 2-3 "cookies"and eat it.

I stopped sharing because people would eat mystuff, some complained it is nasty.. And eat their desserts..

My desserts are time consuming, and expensive..

As far as food to bring to parties, One of those shrimp rings is a great thing to bring- all protein. For Special desserts I will make a cheesecake. I have made a nut crust, and it is easy to substitute sweetener instead of sugar. Not low calorie, but low carb and a little is very satisfying.

I really like this idea and will be using it for sure! I need to come up with a dessert to bring. I enjoy sugar free angel food cake but maybe something else for the holidays.

I'm worried about the holidays, this will be the first time I've dealt with a family get together since my surgery really. My family and my husband's family is stressful for me so I would normally be eating while there to deal. I will definitely be watching the boards for suggestions to deal!

Well for Halloween, the answer is NO. Buy the candy the day of and get stuff you don't like, like Nerds, sour kid candy, etc.--not candy bars. Go out walking even if you don't have kids, and let the other spouse hand out the candy. Fall is a wonderful time for outdoor hikes, to smell the leaves and celebrate the changing of the season. You have to change your association of Holidays to fun, to meeting relatives, to what you are going to wear and not to think about food as the center of the event.

For Thanksgiving, bring a broasted veggie dish. Picture your plate before the event, enter your calories on an app like Myfitnesspal. Prepare for the dinner by shopping for a new outift. Picture how nice you will look, instead of wearing loose clothing. In our family, we go for a walk with little kids in blankets and strollers after dinner. If you want dessert, either make a low carb pumpkin or cheesecake and take a small slice.

For Christmas, get into the spirit, decorate your house, use candles for atmosphere not food. Make crafts not cookies. Make it a goal to shop for the right gift, like walking at different malls to find the gift that is low cost but perfect. Concentrate on things other than food. The holidays are a time to see family (stressful) and have fun or fights. Practice yoga, prepare for the tension, don't use food.