Coming up on the Holidays... Just Remember

During the Holidays I like to weigh my options. It's hard, but I don't 100% deprive myself from some holiday indulgences. I just don't go overboard like I used to. I see a lot of friends saying, "well, there goes my diet!" and I try and put things into perspective that as long as we stay within a caloric budget and a lot for a small piece of... or a bite of... I feel more satisfied than completely NOT allowing myself to enjoy. I still have a life to live and if I want a piece of chocolate, as long as I write it down and KNOW I'm not going to have more, I am happy.

Excellent advice!

One thing that I've learned since I started recording everything I eat is that my "bad" days usually aren't that bad. In fact, I no longer see them as "bad" days. Instead, I see them as part of the normal variation. Some days I feel the need to eat more, and some days I'm just not as hungry. On my hungry days I can eat twice as many calories as on my non-hungry days. It all balances out over time.

For me, the key to making that work is: If I eat more than I feel I should have at one meal, I forget about it and approach the next meal as normal. I don't try to make up for it by eating less at the next meal because that would leave me hungry and trigger a feeling of scarcity. Neither do I give up and decide the day is ruined, because that would lead to a lot more overeating.

I don't even worry about it anymore. I enjoy the holidays. My pouch will not let me overeat by very much anyway. On January 1, I go to a strict diet until around April and lose about 10-15 pounds. Because I have no forbidden foods, I do not crave anything.

Since having WLS I don't use the word "diet" anymore. This is just how I eat. If I choose to have something that may not be the most friendly to my type of WLS, like you said, I weigh my options and make a decision. Once I make the decision I don't agonize over it or beat myself up.

These times are so hard on everyone in one way or another that, particularly this year, this is not something that really matters in the grand scheme of things.

Enjoy your holidays the best way you can. Hopefully staying safe and healthy.

I am going to need this in the next several months!

You can always get the same TASTE by tweaking the recipe in a healthful and less calorie-laden direction !

Tasting is NOT the same as EATING...I usually decide after I've had a BITE of someone else's holiday treat that its not really worth the weight gain/possibility of dumping to eat more .

Guilt free eating tastes so much better ! ( and gives you so much more energy !)

For me , a bigger temptation is alcohol... but I always remember how bloated I looked and sick I FELT when I drank regularly.

I'm WAY too VAIN to do that to myself lol

Yes! this too! I find myself loving new creations and testing things out!