The Holidays Don't Have to Be A Diet Disaster

So, we have made it past Turkey Genocide Day. How did you do? If you did well, celebrate and remember that it is possible! If you did not so well, move on. It's in the past and you've got to focus on how to manage your weight now, not how you did it in the past.

Personally, I weighed 131 before my trip (which is the lowest I've weighed thus far). I was afraid to get on the scale. There was a scale at my parents' house that I could have used, but it was in the living room and I couldn't weigh myself there because I don't wear clothes when I weigh and it was "too much work" to move it somewhere else. I also put off weighing myself when I got home yesterday too. But, this morning I braved the scale, and I weighed 132.7 today. I typically weigh 133-135, so by my standards, I didn't really gain weight, it's just a normal fluctuation. I drank wine. I ate desserts. I had rolls. I didn't drink enough water. I didn't have to starve myself or feel left out or restricted.

I tell you all this because I want you to know that it IS possible to manage your weight. Even when you're traveling and have to eat airport/plane food. Even when you're in someone else's house with their food options instead of your own. Even at the holidays.

Don't be afraid of the scale. Just because I don't know what I weigh, doesn't mean I didn't gain the weight. The same goes for tracking. Just because you don't write down what you ate, doesn't mean it didn't happen. When you look up the points and track, you learn more about the impact everything that you eat has, and maybe you'll choose differently next time. You're only trying to fool yourself, which hurts yourself. Honesty is always better than self-delusion. Even if you've done poorly, track it. Even if you've used all your points/calories for the day and week, track it. Because at the end of the week, you'll know why you got the results you got. It's much better to know why, than to have forgotten what you ate and say, "Man, I'm doing everything right but I still can't lose weight!" If you do that often enough, you'll start to believe that you can't lose weight "no matter what you do" when really, it's what you're doing that's the cause. Better to admit you had a bad week and didn't have the best self-control, than to confine yourself to a lifetime of obesity because you've convinced yourself you can't lose weight. You can lose weight. Anyone can lose weight.

I truly believe that weight management is a mindset. Your success is dependent on your determination.

Have you decided that you can't get under 200 lbs? Have you decided that you can't lose more than 20lbs? You lose 20 or get under 200 and suddenly, mysteriously, the weight starts creeping back up again? It's not a mystery! It's self-sabotage! You do it to yourself! Do you allow yourself to make excuses? There are no valid excuses for why you can't lose weight. I don't care how old you are, I don't care if you're disabled or injured, you can control your eating, and you can find alternative ways to exercise. I don't care if it's the holidays. There are plenty of healthier for you options for holiday foods. You don't have to overeat at holiday meals, you can still control your portions and enjoy your food. You can indulge, but don't over indulge and make sure to pick your indulgences wisely. Do you really need a GIANT piece of cake, or is one slice sufficient. Is the 2nd piece of cake really any better than just one? Would I rather have store bought cookies in the office, or homemade pie at Mom's house? Just because food is a part of the holidays, doesn't mean that you have to eat everything offered to you.

I think that too many people have decided that the holidays are about food (and spending tons of money on crap you neither need nor really want). This is false. The holidays are about those you love, not food. It's about letting them know you love them.

Make new holiday traditions. View staying healthy at the holidays as a challenge and make it a team effort. What will make your holiday more memorable? Knowing you did something as a group to improve your health and fitness, or eating buttery mashed potatoes? The pride of knowing you lost weight and exercised over the holidays will endure much longer than the memories of what you ate. Incorporate exercise into your holiday events. Do a group 5k before your feast. Go for a stroll or go caroling afterward. There are healthy ways to make tasty meals. You don't have to compromise flavor for health (may I suggest hungry-girl.com).


Eat before your feast. Eat light but filling meals and snacks throughout the day and you won't be starving and end up gorging yourself at the big event.

Donate your holiday feast leftovers to someone in need. In Salt Lake City, there are elderly folks with no family who would still like to enjoy some traditional holiday food. A group will come pick up your leftovers and ding-dong ditch platters of food on the doorsteps of these folks. Email heyysug@hotmail.com for more information if you're interested. :-) Now you're not stuck eating yourself sick on the same stuff for a whole week. You can enjoy your potentially not-so-healthy holiday dishes at your family feast, but you don't have to overdo it for the following week. It's not going to ruin your weight loss to enjoy the dishes once, but to consume unnecessary items all week is when things become disastrous.

Don't wait until "The New Year" to get your diet on track. There is no time like the present! If you don't hunker down and do it now, why would you do it then? Especially when you'll have the convenient excuse that it's a New Year's Resolution and who really expects those to be successful anyways?

I joined WW on Dec 22nd last year. My husband joined WW the day after Thanksgiving and in the middle of our vacation. If you can't imagine your holidays without over-indulgences on food, what does that say about you and your priorities? You can enjoy unhealthy foods in moderation without ruining your holiday season.