Christmas Dinner-Post WLS

I was 20 months post-op on Christmas Day and the "hunger-demon" has re-entered my life. Our home is always the holiday home. No big deal, we love having people over, especially when we're able to host the "kids" who can't go home on leave for the holidays. I'd rather they hang at my house, eat lots of food, and irritate me instead of going to a sterile, impersonal galley or mess-hall. It gives all of us a sense of how we're still "family", even when there is no blood ties. The problem that I had encountered with this holiday season is the memory of past holiday celebrations and how GOOD all of the treats and special dishes taste. I think I actually passed out over the Thanksgiving table, I ate so much of so many dishes that are BAD for me!!!! I decided Christmas was going to be different. I put the extra leaf on my dining-room table so I could fit more food on the table(I know, doesn't seem to make sense,but stay with me) and removed all of the dining room chairs, putting them in the master bedroom. I decided an open-house would be better for me, food-wise. I gave staggered times for the guests, family and friends to show up. I made sure that I was the one to greet everyone and put their coats away, get their drinks and make sure they were always topped up. It was more of a party than a "dinner". I won't eat unless I'm seated, and use a fork and knife for my meals. I keep the "shovel"(spoon) away from my plate and don't like to use toothpicks. I'm sure that you guessed it, I left spoons and toothpicks on the table for our guests and made sure that there was only enough forks on the table for all of us to have only one serving. I left the veggie tray and shrimp dish on the end of the table that I could reach easily,while all sugar products were on the far end of the table, making it MUCH harder to access. I couldn't believe it...I actually was able to keep track of my calories on Christmas. Thanksgiving....not so much!!! I did really well, I wasn't achy from consuming so much, I didn't have a carb-hangover, and I was able to ENJOY this holiday, unlike this past Thanksgiving. I am so glad that my family and I did not feel the need to be anchored to the tradition of a table-groaning, carbohydrate-laden meal that, in the past, we were trained to expect and "enjoy". It's amazing how easy it is to fall back into the "lifestyele of food" that originally helped me along the path to morbid obesity. I'm happy to say, I realized that I was sliding down that pathway again, and re-routed my way as quickly as I could. Julie

Congrats to you, Julie!! You obviously learned from your mistakes at Thanksgiving and took wise steps not to repeat them. Good for you! Much better than what I did, I grazed all day and it's taken me at least 4 days of restricting my intake and exercising to undo the damage! Thanks for sharing your smart strategies! Connie

I am 11 months out and totally pigged out during all celebrations, Thanksgiving and Christmas and another one Eid. What I found was that pigging out had new meaning, I could only eat what a very small pig could eat! No matter what I put on my plate, it was too much. I like this idea, since such holidays don't happen every month. I haven't gained anything and I didn't feel left out. Hardly anyone noticed what I couldn't eat and more to the point didn't point out what I did eat. Happy New Year!