Christmas/new year's eve food

[bluebirdthebird]

Hi everyone,


I wanted to know how you all handle the Xmas/New Year's eve food? Do you stay strict or do you just loosen up a bit knowing that it's gonna hurt the scale more the next days

[hieronymous]

I get to have my Mum's kielbassa potato salad and meatballs and trifle only 1 day a year. Christmas Eve. I eat it and enjoy. The turkey dinner for Xmas I can limit since we have the same stuff for Thanksgiving so it's not AS special.

[tinktinktink]

im not going to be on my diet at all over christmas/new year, if i gain i gain, i just lose it again, im where i wanted to be by the time christmas came

[DaniGrrl]

This weekend is going to be a food fest for me - cooking for the inlaws on Friday, prob seeing my family on Saturday and then I'm cooking a nice dinner for us on Christmas Day, ham and yummy sides = stuff I would not ordinarily make. It's going to be rough but I think as long as I exercise some portion control, I should be okay. I ate to the point of feeling ill on Thanksgiving and don't want to do that again as it almost made it not fun.

I will keep my other meals in check for the remainder of each day and just try to use common sense and not overdo it. NYE is my bday and we always go to the Brazilian steakhouse for lunch = all you can eat, but I've learned my lesson there as well and know when to stop.

I think in the end, though, it's a couple days out of the year and as long as you're not in the middle of contest prep, it's not going to kill you or totally sabotage any goals. Maybe add a few extra minutes onto your workouts for the next couple weeks to try to combat the excess. I usually find things even out once the holidays are over and you get back into more a normal routine. So don't beat yourself up if you have a couple extra treats you wouldn't normally have - it's so hard not to.

[womanoid]

I don't celebrate holidays except for the actual holiday DAY. Like if you don't snack on cookies for 2 weeks leading up to Christmas day, there is no problem having a couple on the actual day.

Same goes for Halloween, just don't be one of those people that buys bags of candy to snack on for the month of October & you're good.

[bethtwenty4]

I put on my eatin' pants and enjoy !!

Luckily(?), I'm only 'home' for one holiday a year and so manage to miss all of the amazingly delicious food. But whenever there's holiday goodies--I indulge!

[birdiefu]

I don't celebrate holidays except for the actual holiday DAY. Like if you don't snack on cookies for 2 weeks leading up to Christmas day, there is no problem having a couple on the actual day.

Same goes for Halloween, just don't be one of those people that buys bags of candy to snack on for the month of October & you're good.

Yup. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn't really matter if you let loose on a particular day as long as you don't make that day drag into a week or something. I have no qualms enjoying a good meal and some junk on Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas (I don't really "do" New Years in a foody manner). Just get back into whatever your nutrition plan is for the rest of the time (and yes, my plan does include leftover Halloween candy for like 2 weeks, LOL), and everything is fine.

[dsm246]

I'll definitely loosen things up (including my waistband) over the holidays. If something I love is being passed around I'm definitely going to partake and not feel guilty about it. That said, I'm also going to try not to be a total eatin' fool. The biggest challenge for me over the holidays are going to be the cookies. I'm a total cookie monster. I deal with it at home by not having them in my house. My mom will have 6 different kinds of my favorite cookies when I go to stay with her though. So i'll have to exert some self control in that area or I'd easily eat 12 a day for the entire week I'm there.

[bluebirdthebird]

Glad to read that many of you will just enjoy the Xmas food!

[HopeSmallwonder]

I was planning on having xmas day and new years be my last cheat meals this year, but when I really thought about it.... its just food. Ya it taste great but not worth the bloated upset stomach the next few days. Ill be sticking clean. Eating the xmas meats but no extra carbs or sugars.

[shmalex4]

I was planning on having xmas day and new years be my last cheat meals this year, but when I really thought about it.... its just food. Ya it taste great but not worth the bloated upset stomach the next few days. Ill be sticking clean. Eating the xmas meats but no extra carbs or sugars.

You don't have to eat pie until you ralph, moderation!

[NOVA888]

I've been on a carb-up since Thanksgiving.

[thepowerwithin]

Pie and eggnog. Bring it on! .

[HopeSmallwonder]

You don't have to eat pie until you ralph, moderation!

LOL very true. I know Ill have a bit or two :-)

[DocSI]

Singin like a bird... moderation is key.

I feel like over the years the focus has shifted away from the food to the family and conversation and catching up with everybody... and the crazycompetitive game of poker that usually gets going after dinner. But I suppose that happens when the "kids" in the family aren't kids anymore!

Also, we do have lots of delicious food that still falls in that healthy category. We do appetizer type food on Christmas eve, so there'll be shrimp cocktail and veggie trays and lean meats and whatnot. On actual Christmas day there is typically turkey, someone brings a green salad and a veggie tray, someone brings fruit salad, etc.

It's my grandma's dang Bourbon Brownies that'll get ya...!!

[LoraJR72]

I'll probably splurge a little once or twice but I don't want all my hard work to go out the window. If I stick with a mostly Paleo based plan, I should be golden!

[andrerox80]

for all your eggnog lover's, t joe's has eggnog flavored/coated almonds. i haven't tried them but...

[WariorGoddess]

I plan on allowing myself something a little extra; sweets are my down-fall everything else I can easily do without. Every year I worry about gaining a pound or two during the holidays but when it comes right down to it, I usually end up maintaining or even losing. So instead of pigging out all at once I will practice moderation and mindful eating; last night it was a rice crispy square I just couldn't refuse! Enjoy ladies and Happy Holidays!

[maeva27]

I don't celebrate holidays except for the actual holiday DAY. Like if you don't snack on cookies for 2 weeks leading up to Christmas day, there is no problem having a couple on the actual day.

Same goes for Halloween, just don't be one of those people that buys bags of candy to snack on for the month of October & you're good.

Yes, same thing here!
I will eat what I want, but I won't go crazy and binge; or my stomach won't handle it well anyways. Moderation is my key word this year, but I plan on trying most of the tasty desserts my boyfriend's mother will bake

Most of the food is sort of healthy at my mother's place anyways; and I will skip the alcohol (don't care for it).

[gwnorth]

I've been dieting/training almost non-stop since March, so the week between Christmas and New Years is going to be a deload week for me. No going to the gym. My goal will be to eat at maintenance. The only problem is, without my gym workouts, I am basically eating at maintenance as it is so I won't have any extra calories to play with. We have 3 Christmas dinners, Christmas eve with my family, Christmas day with dh's family, and boxing day (with Christmas dinner leftovers) with dh's extended family. The dinners themselves aren't that big a problem for me, turkey, potatoes, a little bit of stuffing, just a bit of gravy and cranberry sauce. It's all good. The problem are the nibblies, desserts, and alcohol. These are the things that I've mostly deprived myself on my diet, and my real weaknesses. I figure if I can eat conservatively for breakfast and lunch, a little extra at dinner will be ok. Moderation will be my challenge.

The advantage of not hosting Christmas though is that once we go home, there are no leftovers and it's back to our regular eating habits. So really it's only 3 days I need to be mindful for. I will partake of the goodies, I'm just going to try to focus on keeping it sensible so I don't gain any weight that week. After New Years I can get back to training and dieting.

[AndyFJ]

I've worked too hard for the last 6 months to lose this weight to let myself get too far off track. I'm going to allow myself a day off on Christmas Day (and maybe Boxing Day) but then it's back to the gym and eating properly again. I'm not planning on losing weight this week but I don't really want to gain either.

[aussieangie]

I made veggies and a salad, piled my plate with those first then added a few little extras that I dont normally eat. I have a diet specifically written up but I used xmas day as a little treat and had a cannoli for dessert. A little in moderation is ok, just get back on track the day after. I retain water if I eat stuff I dont normally eat, but it is the holidays so its best not to stress.

[jillybeansalad]

Not well. lol Icing cookies are my vice. Of course, the pity food we get (since we're working the holidays) seems to be a bunch of cookies and pies... what I wouldn't give for a celery stalk or something. lol

[merse]

i gave myself the xmas long weekend off my low carb diet. i endulged but didnt go over board. probably had way too many sugars as i made the most amazing treats
vanilla cream cheese mini cake balls drizzled with white and milk chocolate (couldnt get enough)
i also made way too much desserts, now to give them away....
im still deciding about my new years foods. i need to relax more i know, its only a few days out of sooo many in the year!

[jillybeansalad]

i gave myself the xmas long weekend off my low carb diet. i endulged but didnt go over board. probably had way too many sugars as i made the most amazing treats
vanilla cream cheese mini cake balls drizzled with white and milk chocolate (couldnt get enough)

... can't say I blame you, those sound delish!