I just wondered what everyone was planning to do maintenance-wise over the Christmas period, as I'm sure it would be really helpful to everyone (and especially to those of us who only reached goal during 2008) to compare notes and strategies.

For instance, are you planning on staying totally on plan, or is this the one day of the year for you when you feel you can eat anything you want?

I know that some of you will have already experiencing Thanksgiving and come out the other side, so it would be great to hear what you did and how you coped with that too!

I had a great Thanksgiving dinner, and it was mostly low carb and low sugar. I did eat some appetizers and had a coke. I didn't go crazy, but I did have a few gummi bears.

Even that little bit sent my weight up 5 pounds. Yesterday my gf was trying to get me to eat pizza for dinner, but I resisted, and made beef bourgignon instead.

Its so odd to me now.....my first holiday at goal 3 yrs ago, I was so careful. I can see that I'm starting to slack off and that scares me.

3 yrs ago, I had a holiday meal at a friends home. I decided to put 1 tablespoon of each dish onto my plate so that I could taste it all. I had brought a stewed zucchini dish with me and thats what I had for seconds.

This year, I ate out at a restaurant. It was delish! I ate and drank too much of everything and felt so stuffed when I walked out that I was not comfortable...I hate that feeling!! Not to mention that it was all heavily salted food.

So, I'm whining today that I'm up on my scale by a couple and am working it back down now. For me, its crucial that I keep getting on the scale regularly to manage any damage before it gets out of control. I did not weigh myself for 4 days in a row just because I knew what it would tell me and I didn't want to face it. Bad old behavior patterns still pop up.

I would normally just eat whatever I wanted on the actual holidays (not at other times like work parties, etc.) but new food allergies prevent it this year (dairy, chocolate, shellfish). I guess it's keeping me in line. I was happy to find out that it was the honey and molasses in the squash I was eating that was causing me problems earlier in the fall, so I enjoyed pumpkin custard with white sugar and soy milk at Thanksgiving. It was very good! I've been trying to maintain but still losing about a pound a week despite it, so it wouldn't surprise me if I lost 5 or 6 pounds in December despite my freewheeling ways. But I would be very happy with just maintaining.

My best strategy to suggest is to really stick to only the holiday day and not all of the junky days that surround it. So, depending on your holiday tradition, you'll have time to recover from that.

Janine

Thanks Janine.....Is your plan to maintain over this holiday or are you still in weight loss mode?
I find that actually being in maintenance is different than when we are still in weight loss mode.

I ate what I wanted on Thanksgiving. Nothing on plan. I gained a few pounds.
I plan on doing the same for Christmas.
I weigh daily so that helps. One meal off plan and the next day or two cut back.
Actually, it's the way I have been maintaining anyway.
As long as I get back down to a comfortable weight, I will continue to do this.

This is my 4th year and I've done pretty well, I think. The first 2 years I was very strict with myself; last year I just went ahead and ate whatever I wanted, but only on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day...not during the entire 2 weeks prior and 1 week afterward like I used to do in my fat days.

This year Thanksgiving didn't happen because I ended up in the ER on Thanksgiving morning. Believe me, that blew the entire day! But I plan to bake my traditional nutmeg log cookies -- with sugar -- and eat as many as I want on Christmas. I also make lasagne every year for Christmas dinner -- real pasta -- and will likely make cannoli as well.

I will not step on the scale until a week or so after the Holiday because there's no point in upsetting myself over a weight gain that will be temporary.

After the first of the year I will only have class 2 nights a week (I've been having 4 night classes for a long time now) so I'm looking forward to more time at the gym as well. It'll all come out in the wash...

I am having a hard time maintaining right now. My daughter's boyfriend keeps on giving my pies, cakes, 'oliebollen', a Dutch delicacy by the end of the year, made of doughnut dough, fried in pure oil with a lot of raisins in them!, etc. etc. I just gave all those goodies to my neighbours (not to my children either) in order to have a chance of keeping on track.

Because I totally lost it on December 5th (which we celebrate like you do Christmas) I am just picking up de pieces again at the moment.

Maybe my family and I should shift our attention from food to just warm, loving and caring being together and listening to each other's stories and watching Christmas movies together. Maybe I shouldn't buy all that much since both days (December 25 and 26) we will be going out to dinner (to the Wok of Fame, don't you just love the name?), where we will have our totally fresh food wokked in a large pan with a huge fire underneath. I think I'll take fresh samon, vegetables, salads and fruit as dessert. Without icecream and without cream on top. And I'll be eating very, very slowly.

No wine or juice for me, just mineral water will quite do.

I hope that acting that way I won't have to pay the price for damage done during the Holidays. I'll have the memory of a wonderful atmosphere, being surrounded by my loved ones and by Christmas trees and candles, eating wonderful healthy Chinese fresh food (without any additives!) without having to slim down any excessive pounds afterwards.

How does it sound?

I try to do as you others are doing it. Sticking to plan and then cheating on only one day. I have been on plan for long enough that turning down potato dishes and sugary desserts are now WOL for me. I rate the "cheat food" on a scale of 1-10 and if it's not at least a 9.5, I pass.

I think it’s going to be tough for me, the weekends / days off work are usually hard enough, psychologically I feel I deserve a treat on days off, so the Xmas holiday being a 4 days off followed by New Year will be a challenge. Am thinking of practicing IF for some of the days (not on Xmas day, I will have a diet break on that day) but other days I will try to IF during the day and eat a nice meal during the evening , so even if I indulge some of the time, I am hoping to balance things out.

Here's my plan for the holidays:

• work 50-60 hrs/wk on my contract job to make up for lost income from the employer that laid me off
• Don't socialize (see #1)
• Stick to a restrictive food budget
• Treat myself to 1/4 lb of mixed nuts per week.
• Chew gum and celery

I love your comment about rating food. I do that same thing, but I've not used your numbering system before. I look at all the "cheat foods" that come through the office, that my husband makes (Rice Krispie treats today!) and that I see at the grocery store. Then I think about the fact that the scale may be up for a few days OR I will have to exercise extra to burn it off...then I decide whether or not it's worth it. Usually, the answer is no.

The doctor I work with likes to bring me treats and I will usually take a bite or two while she's around and then bury the rest in the trash...I don't want to hurt her feelings and I know she is just trying to do something thoughtful because she appreciates my work. She really does care about me (even though she knows I eat carefully) and she is from a country where people are very offended if you turn down food.

Last week she gave me a chocolate chip cookie that smelled wonderful. I broke off two little nibbles to eat in front of her and then tossed it in the trash.