holiday plans

so since denise mentioned it, i thought i'd throw it out there for some discussion. how do you get through the holidays without getting way off track with your program or feeling deprived? tips, tricks etc. i have lots but i'd like to hear what others do and get some discussion going....

Hi Andrea, I allow myself to have small portions of those foods that I really want and hopefully are decent choices so I can enjoy the meal. I have also learned recently to stop beating myself down. However during the rest of the day I stick to my diet and may make some leaner, lower calorie choices at those meal times. I don't want to get so hungry that I go wild over an orgy of food and I don't want to completely deny myself something I really want, or it might fester and lead to more eating problems. With desserts and cookies, I try to avoid them like the plague and allow myself only the occasional treat. I try to limit the size of the treat before I even put it on my plate. Once it's on my plate I have no control. I did well on Thanksgiving and when the kids left, we gave them what leftovers they wanted and the rest I immediately threw out in the garbage to avoid temptation.

Hi Andrea, Do you read the Health section of the Washington Post? I pretty much follow the Lean Plate Club. I don't try to lose anything, I just want to maintain. This is the hardest time of year for me. I've been eating a ton of junk lately but I increase my activity to compensate for it. Juli

hey! i've never seen that before - looks interesting! i really should read the newspaper. i subscribed to the newsletter so i'll definitely read it from now on along with my daily hungry-girl email. i totally compensate for my extra food intake, which is bad and actually a form of bulimia. i just need to get better control over the eating and be able to sit with the anxiety when i overeat. my trainer always yells at me because i'll go workout at 10 pm or some other rediculous time. its been hard lately after my PS revision but i'm trying to ease back into things. still up a few pounds from thanksgiving but i'm hoping a little of that is swelling. probably not. thanks for letting me know about it! andrea

I have thought long and hard about this question. Christmas will be my first holiday away from home since my lifestyle change. I have yet to figure out how to maintain my lifestyle change while visiting family. I guess I will eat small portions, stay away from the deserts or just have a little and do some floor exercises. I am really uncertain and can't wait to hear more input about what others are doing

hi cammy! the best way to avoid those feelings of uncertainty is to PLAN. you know where you are visiting - what is the environment like? is it a place you could take long walks w/ a family member? is there a branch of a gym you belong to or a clubhouse in your relatives neighborhood you can use? you can often get a one week membership at a local gym - sometimes you can get it free from their website - i know gold's does this. i found that exercise during the holidays especially is really important since you know you will most likely be eating more calories than normal. plus taking time for yourself will help you keep sane around family and holiday stress. if you can't go to a gym and its really cold or rainy there is still stuff you could do - try a kitchen workout. do some squats while you hold a melon or a bag of flour. do bicep curls with some canned goods. i know it sounds silly, but its better than nothing. take a family member to the mall and do some mall walking while christmas shopping. if you are going to any family events where there is food, offer to cook a dish and bring it to the event - make something healthy that you know will be okay for you to eat. i'm going to a potluck on sunday and have been skimming through the cooking light website looking for something that will be healthy-ish but also something good that others will eat. try to eat very well on the meals that aren't holiday-ish. like breakfast - you can easily chose a bowl of cereal over pancakes, even if you are at a restaurant. if you can give some more specifics, maybe we can help you brainstorm some more ideas. most important: don't give up! bottom line is that there is always SOMETHING you can do - you can ALWAYS make a healthier choice. its tempting to just say it's just go "off" program for 2 weeks for the holidays and then get back on but that rarely works. its also an atitute thing - if you are truly making a lifestyle change, you have to learn how to work around special events. andrea

Andrea, I have NO intentions of going off track of what I am doing. I am truly dedicated to this. For the first time, it's fun and not so much of a headache. When I would "diet", I was always stressed and impatient. I'm really practicing those things now. That's why since I found out we were going to visit my dh's aunt, I've been trying to figure out how to incorporate my lifestyle change. Here's a little more background. We are going to Alabama to visit my husband's aunt and her family. His mother, father, and his mother's twin and her 3 children will be there as well. I don't really know his aunt well. I have only seen her once before in the 6 years we have been married. Therefore, I don't feel comfortable enough to prepare my own meals in her home. As far as workout, last time we were there, we had to sleep on an airbed on the floor in the den. Hence, no privacy. Maybe it's just me, but I like privacy when I work out. I figured I could probably get some floor exercises in though. I spoke with my trainer and today we are going over some exercises that don't require any extra stuff.I also was planning on me, dh, and our son going for a walk. I figured since her house is going to be full of people, it will be nice to get a quiet moment. Plus dh's mother's twin's children are terribly bad.lol I don't belong to a gym here, I goto a personal trainer who is local to where we live. Food: I'm not sure what she's cooking, but no one in his family has ever had a weight issue, so they aren't concerned with cooking healthy. I was thinking of trying to find some meal on the go bars that are not loaded with sugar because I do faithfully eat every 3 hours.Portion control and calorie counting will definately be apart of it all. I have a calorie counting program in my phone that is extremly helpful and I use on a daily basis. I don't know what else I can add as far as information is concern. I will ask my husband about the area and see if they have a gold's gym. That's pretty cool that you can get a week for free. Oh by the way, the second part of my holidays we will be at my family's home in mississippi. There's not issue here considering my mom is a very healthy eater and semi vegan. She also has a home gym. So, I just need help figuring out what I can do while in Alabama. I really appreciate your help. YOu are AWESOME!