Photo Cred: emikojaffe.wordpress.com
1. Create a deficit
During the week leading up to your FEAST, create a calorie deficit to cover the surplus calories! This means eating cleaning and working out strategically so that you end up maintaining weight instead of GAINING WEIGHT.
2. Eat dense clean food first
When you are preparing to eat your holiday meal, fill up on the healthy stuff first. This will leave you less space to binge on junk. Start with a salads, healthfully prepared fruits and veggies, water etc... then move on to your holiday faves!
3. Healthy-ify a few dishes
Take the challenge to recreate a few of your holiday faves. Remake them in a way that is still DELISH, but lower calories, lower fat and lower sugar. You can do this by subbing out the high fat and sugar ingredients for "better for you ingredients". Some of my fave subs are banana or apple sauce for butter/oil/eggs, stevia or fruit juice for sugar and fresh herbs and seasonings for salt or fat. Google and YouTube are great sources for info like this.
4. Don't go "WHOLE HOG" (if you are vegan like myself Don't Go HOG AT ALL lol-- sorry I had to!)
If you recall previous to your healthy life journey, whether that means weight loss or maintenance etc, your portions were probably OUT OF CONTROL. Now is not the time to go back to bad behaviors! Monitor yourself, don't pile your plate mountain high. This is not an eating competition. Don't go back for seconds and thirds. Don't munch ALL DAY. Get you a taste of what you love... and MOVE ON. Use a smaller plate if you have to. If you know that you will not be able to control yourself, choose to NOT PARTAKE!
5. No left overs
The holidays are notorious for LEFTOVERS. You cook all this food and eat on it for DAYS, some even WEEKS. Now you have taken ONE BAD DAY and turned it into a BAD WEEK. Send the leftovers home with friends and family. Put the leftovers in your work break room. Make plates and give the leftovers to the homeless. OR THE EASIEST THING... just make less food (novel idea). Whatever you have to do, DO NOT CONTINUE to eat on this food for DAYS!!
6. Pre exercise and post food/workout return
Don't take the holiday as a rest day. If you get you a workout in you are more likely to eat a little more mindfully, as we rarely want to lose the benefits of that hard work we just put in. This can also help you achieve #1, a deficit. You don't have to physically go to the gym. You can complete a home/hotel room workout. You can pop in a exercise DVD. Doesn't Matter -- Just get it in! Following your meal, RETURN to your healthy eating and exercise regimen IMMEDIATELY.
7. Track your food
Sounds scary to actually SEE how many calories, fat and sugar you consume in one day of holiday eating, huh? GOOD! That's the point. If you track the day of food, you are more likely to eat less than your past holiday binges because seeing all of your hard work slip away is a sure deterrent. Besides that fact, you will likely be surprised at the amount of calories even a small portion of traditional holiday food contains!
8. Don't forget alcohol has calories too
Simple as that... alcohol is FULL of calories that people usually don't pay attention to. All those shots, toasts, mixed drinks... that counts! Refer to #7... track it!!
9. Negotiate calories for your faves
This piggybacks off of #4. Instead of eating of all of the junk... you could fill up on clean food and pick just a couple of your faves to sample. Some of us have a fave aunt's pie or grandma's mac and cheese. Those few items that you wait all year to get... taste those and leave the rest alone.
10. Don't feel guilty, but don't negate all your hard work
Enjoy yourself but remember it's ONE DAY, you have a lifetime of goals to accomplish. So, remember how hard it is/was to LOSE just one pound, remember all those sweat and tears. Don't let one day put you months behind!!
During the week leading up to your FEAST, create a calorie deficit to cover the surplus calories! This means eating cleaning and working out strategically so that you end up maintaining weight instead of GAINING WEIGHT.
2. Eat dense clean food first
When you are preparing to eat your holiday meal, fill up on the healthy stuff first. This will leave you less space to binge on junk. Start with a salads, healthfully prepared fruits and veggies, water etc... then move on to your holiday faves!
3. Healthy-ify a few dishes
Take the challenge to recreate a few of your holiday faves. Remake them in a way that is still DELISH, but lower calories, lower fat and lower sugar. You can do this by subbing out the high fat and sugar ingredients for "better for you ingredients". Some of my fave subs are banana or apple sauce for butter/oil/eggs, stevia or fruit juice for sugar and fresh herbs and seasonings for salt or fat. Google and YouTube are great sources for info like this.
4. Don't go "WHOLE HOG" (if you are vegan like myself Don't Go HOG AT ALL lol-- sorry I had to!)
If you recall previous to your healthy life journey, whether that means weight loss or maintenance etc, your portions were probably OUT OF CONTROL. Now is not the time to go back to bad behaviors! Monitor yourself, don't pile your plate mountain high. This is not an eating competition. Don't go back for seconds and thirds. Don't munch ALL DAY. Get you a taste of what you love... and MOVE ON. Use a smaller plate if you have to. If you know that you will not be able to control yourself, choose to NOT PARTAKE!
5. No left overs
The holidays are notorious for LEFTOVERS. You cook all this food and eat on it for DAYS, some even WEEKS. Now you have taken ONE BAD DAY and turned it into a BAD WEEK. Send the leftovers home with friends and family. Put the leftovers in your work break room. Make plates and give the leftovers to the homeless. OR THE EASIEST THING... just make less food (novel idea). Whatever you have to do, DO NOT CONTINUE to eat on this food for DAYS!!
6. Pre exercise and post food/workout return
Don't take the holiday as a rest day. If you get you a workout in you are more likely to eat a little more mindfully, as we rarely want to lose the benefits of that hard work we just put in. This can also help you achieve #1, a deficit. You don't have to physically go to the gym. You can complete a home/hotel room workout. You can pop in a exercise DVD. Doesn't Matter -- Just get it in! Following your meal, RETURN to your healthy eating and exercise regimen IMMEDIATELY.
7. Track your food
Sounds scary to actually SEE how many calories, fat and sugar you consume in one day of holiday eating, huh? GOOD! That's the point. If you track the day of food, you are more likely to eat less than your past holiday binges because seeing all of your hard work slip away is a sure deterrent. Besides that fact, you will likely be surprised at the amount of calories even a small portion of traditional holiday food contains!
8. Don't forget alcohol has calories too
Simple as that... alcohol is FULL of calories that people usually don't pay attention to. All those shots, toasts, mixed drinks... that counts! Refer to #7... track it!!
9. Negotiate calories for your faves
This piggybacks off of #4. Instead of eating of all of the junk... you could fill up on clean food and pick just a couple of your faves to sample. Some of us have a fave aunt's pie or grandma's mac and cheese. Those few items that you wait all year to get... taste those and leave the rest alone.
10. Don't feel guilty, but don't negate all your hard work
Enjoy yourself but remember it's ONE DAY, you have a lifetime of goals to accomplish. So, remember how hard it is/was to LOSE just one pound, remember all those sweat and tears. Don't let one day put you months behind!!
...Quick Disclaimer...
If you are like myself, during the beginning of my weight loss during I was not able to eat "off plan". I had (and in alot of ways still have) an ALL OR NOTHING personality type. Once I started eating badly, I could not easily turn it off and go right back to my good habits. It was like an addiction. No, it definition was an addiction. If I were to "fall off", I would be off the wagon for days sometimes weeks. All the cravings would return and I would have to break myself ALL OVER AGAIN. It was like going through rehab over and over!
This would put me months behind on my goals, because I not only gained weight - but now I had to lose the weight I had gained and then lose the weight that I was supposed to be losing during that time period in the first place. It is double work. It was also very discouraging, but I had no one to blame but myself.
I found out that I had this personality type from my previous attempts (if you want to call them that) to lose weight. So when I ventured on my last journey (2010-11 losing 100 lbs), I was determined not to make the same mistakes again. If you want something you have never had, you have to do things you have never done. I forget the author of that quote. BUT anyways, I knew I couldn't get to my new self doing old shit.
This time period (my "holiday" feasts) in my life fell during the spring and summer (not end of year holidays). That year I missed every BBQ, pool party, house party etc because I knew that I could not even be AROUND THE FOOD! As my mindset improved and my will power got stronger, I was able to go to these events and either eat healthfully or employ some of the above tips. It took me a long time to get to that point though... so know yourself and remove yourself if need be.
I will not quote you how long it took me to get to a "strong point" around food because people have a tendency to compare. I don't want anyone to assume they are behind on their journey or moving too fast on their journey based on what worked for me. Every person's struggles and triumphs will be different.
Just keep moving forward!!
I SAY ALL THIS TO SAY... if you know GOOD AND WELL that you are not at a point in your journey where you can A) be around the temptation and eat like you have some sense B) eat the food and be able to rapidly return to your healthy life style and/or C) eat the food and not have a guilt complex after, by all means DO NOT PARTAKE IN THE FOOD and/or EVENT at all.
-What Maybe Difficult-
I was never one to care about what others thought of my absence (or of me at all for that matter). I knew I had to do what I had to do for me, because no one else was going to do it. No one else woke up in the morning and had to funnel through my thoughts or stare at a person in the mirror that they did not like to see. So, me declining a family/friend/work event didn't affect me! Nor did people thinking I was being "antisocial". I was being ME SOCIAL! Doing what I needed for MYSELF!
So, if you are one that it bothers, then that is another journey you are going to have to go on and overcome.
All I can say is, at the end of the day, you are putting in all this hard work to become a better person and get to new levels in your life. Continue to do the things that you know help and uplift you. And don't return to those things that make you feel bad or hold you back!!
You are worth it!!
If you are like myself, during the beginning of my weight loss during I was not able to eat "off plan". I had (and in alot of ways still have) an ALL OR NOTHING personality type. Once I started eating badly, I could not easily turn it off and go right back to my good habits. It was like an addiction. No, it definition was an addiction. If I were to "fall off", I would be off the wagon for days sometimes weeks. All the cravings would return and I would have to break myself ALL OVER AGAIN. It was like going through rehab over and over!
This would put me months behind on my goals, because I not only gained weight - but now I had to lose the weight I had gained and then lose the weight that I was supposed to be losing during that time period in the first place. It is double work. It was also very discouraging, but I had no one to blame but myself.
I found out that I had this personality type from my previous attempts (if you want to call them that) to lose weight. So when I ventured on my last journey (2010-11 losing 100 lbs), I was determined not to make the same mistakes again. If you want something you have never had, you have to do things you have never done. I forget the author of that quote. BUT anyways, I knew I couldn't get to my new self doing old shit.
This time period (my "holiday" feasts) in my life fell during the spring and summer (not end of year holidays). That year I missed every BBQ, pool party, house party etc because I knew that I could not even be AROUND THE FOOD! As my mindset improved and my will power got stronger, I was able to go to these events and either eat healthfully or employ some of the above tips. It took me a long time to get to that point though... so know yourself and remove yourself if need be.
I will not quote you how long it took me to get to a "strong point" around food because people have a tendency to compare. I don't want anyone to assume they are behind on their journey or moving too fast on their journey based on what worked for me. Every person's struggles and triumphs will be different.
Just keep moving forward!!
I SAY ALL THIS TO SAY... if you know GOOD AND WELL that you are not at a point in your journey where you can A) be around the temptation and eat like you have some sense B) eat the food and be able to rapidly return to your healthy life style and/or C) eat the food and not have a guilt complex after, by all means DO NOT PARTAKE IN THE FOOD and/or EVENT at all.
-What Maybe Difficult-
I was never one to care about what others thought of my absence (or of me at all for that matter). I knew I had to do what I had to do for me, because no one else was going to do it. No one else woke up in the morning and had to funnel through my thoughts or stare at a person in the mirror that they did not like to see. So, me declining a family/friend/work event didn't affect me! Nor did people thinking I was being "antisocial". I was being ME SOCIAL! Doing what I needed for MYSELF!
So, if you are one that it bothers, then that is another journey you are going to have to go on and overcome.
All I can say is, at the end of the day, you are putting in all this hard work to become a better person and get to new levels in your life. Continue to do the things that you know help and uplift you. And don't return to those things that make you feel bad or hold you back!!
You are worth it!!
Share your experiences, tips, tricks or even struggles below.
Let your journeys help the next person!!
Let your journeys help the next person!!