Thanksgiving Fail

Karik posted a while back about having a plan for Thanksgiving. I had responded that I always do well the day of, but it is the leftover desserts that kill me. I vowed to send home with others desserts- and I did, to an extent. There was enough in the house leftover that the next day that was literally all I ate. Saturday was the last few pieces, so the only reason why it was not a full blown clustermuck is that we ran out. 

In my case I am fully aware that I simply CANNOT keep sweets in the house. Sure, at times I can resist them for a very short period of time, but never very long. I encourage newer members to get the crap out of the house. You are not depriving your family or whatever rationale you have for keeping it there- they deserve better health too!

Next year, I need a different plan. 

For me, it's carbs. There cannot be a carb in the house, esp. crunchy carbs. Mmmm chips. Mmmm crackers. Mmmm pretzels. :)

After Thanksgiving dinner was over, I brought out the containers, everything got divided. I kept enough stuffing for Boyfriend to have one serving. and his mom took all the leftover dessert. There's still a bowl of M&Ms in the house, but I'm not tempted by those.

Now, I'm doing another big dinner tomorrow. So I need to follow this plan again. As soon as the meal is over, out come the containers, and all the food gets divided. I'll keep the giant pork roast and all those leftover carbs can go OUT.

It's a daily battle, but fortunately, we're still choosing to fight.

Sheesh, I would pretty much snort the M & Ms. Clearly I will need to trash all of the desserts next year- I just don't seem to have a middle ground with this.

Not a fail, at all! Use it as a learning experience. Next year how will you plan so that you can enjoy a serving or two of sweets, but not over do?Maybe you can put a new plan in place for the Christmas holiday and see if that works out better for you. 

This year my plan was flexible enough to allow for some extra sweets - which I so enjoy. Because I allowed them, I was able to enjoy them without guilt AND I knew when they were beginning to be problematic and I was able to make the decision that I was done. I rid my kitchen of all the sweet temptations at that moment and went on with my normal plan. It was a different experience to be that aware and be able to make a choice rather than react. 

I don't do the "guilty" thing anymore. One of the benefits of learning from falling off the wagon is I let go of the whole "I cheated" or beating myself up for having a bad day or two a while back. Christmas shouldn't be an issue, as we are not hosting. I am right there with you on allowing for some sweets at the holiday dinner- that I can manage beautifully. My issue is if the leftovers are around the next day. I can stay out of the crappier carb stuff, such as stuffing or bread things... but the sweets get me everytime. 

I adore you K- I get so much from your posts! I am looking forward to seeing your post on getting rid of that last little bit of your regain. It seems like a journey well traveled in that you have gained a lot of insight through the experience. I have also gained insight from the path you traveled as well, Thank you!

Boy, I can relate to your struggles. On Thanksgiving, I bought only enough desert for the 6 of us, so when the meal was done, the desert was gone.  Of course, I did have my love affair with those blueberry muffins.  This speaks to my own weakness around carbs.  Last night, I had friends over for dinner and they brought pumpkin bread, and it was Soooo good.  Again, I was out of control.  My only solution is to keep the carbs out of the house, and hope that the transgressions aren't too frequent. 

Thanks for posting this.  Its a good reminder that we are still struggling with obesity - even when we have reduced our weight.

best wishes,

Carol

Like you sweets are my weakness & for that reason I try not to have them in the house!! I LOVE baking, I love experimenting and I always take leftovers to my coworkers or family! I get in trouble when I have them laying around the house. 

Fortunately, I don't like cooking much so I don't make stuff, so no issues for me unless I buy something and bring it in. My daughters bake, but are super thoughtful to ensure there is not enough around to get me in trouble. The boyfriends are well fed :)

Looks like I am going to be meeting up with Chengelis again for the gall bladder surgery. Here is hoping he is as good at that as he was the Vsg!

This book was written for anyone who has lost weight, whether from calorie restriction or surgery. There's lots of good info for those still losing weight. Excerpts from "Refuse to Regain!: 12 Tough Rules to Maintain the Body You've Earned by Barbara Berkeley":

The mistake most dieters make is in assuming that food is harmless, simple, and controllable. Food is none of these. Food is exactly like any other drug, a chemical substance which creates a cascade of effects when ingested....All drugs are not the same, and neither are all foods. An aspirin is a drug, but it has far different effects than a narcotic. I have yet to meet a patient who had told me that he or she is addicted to apples, salmon or spinach. On the other hand, it is rare to meet a patient who does not use the language of addiction when describing his or her relationship to chocolate, cookies, pasta, or bread. Why is this? Different foods have different effects.

Why can't we stop eating S foods [Foods that turn into sugar in the bloodstream. Sugars and starches.]? Because they are particularly drug-like....But I don't need to tell you any of this. As a POW [a previously overweight person], you are only too aware of the addictive nature of your trigger foods.

The process of maintaining weight is a battle between your resolve and the world which is constantly encouraging you to eat.

In taking on this battle, you are doing something very meaningful. Be proud.

Expect challenges.

Get rid of guilt.

Act like a warrior.

Remember the real long-term reasons you are in this battle. Stay on the offense by planning and executing.

The information in this book is good for us newbies too, those who are still losing weight or have recently attained goal weight. The author has a term those times well-meaning(?) people offer the maintainer harmful foods or who encourage us to eat harmful foods -- Food Assault [Unwanted intrusions of food into a maintainer's life]. These intrusions may be the major cause of the harm wrought during "The Eating Season."

psychoticparrot

That passage was spot on! I will have to look into that book, looks like a good read. Thank you for taking the time to post it!