Holidays and special events should be a time of great joy, but dieters often imagine these occasions with dread and horror. Because? Because celebrations aren’t celebrations without lots of tempting high-calorie foods. Does this suggest that you have to become a social scrooge dodge temptation? No. The “secret” is to create a survival “plan” ahead of time and stick to it this holiday season.
“If you fail to plan, you can plan to fail” is a tired and clichéd statement. But it’s still a wonderful success tip. Most people not only fail to plan, they consciously plan to fail while on vacation.
Most people expect to “blow” their diet and miss workouts over the holidays. They expect to eat more, exercise less, and gain weight. Instead of making the effort to take control, they resign themselves to maintenance at best or back off at worst.
This negative expectation leads to a self-fulfilling prophecy. By the first week of January, they’re in the worst shape they’ve been in a year and frantically make New Year’s resolutions to get rid of the excess fat they’ve gained. Is that your approach? Or, are you going to be strong and really make it all the way to the New Year without gaining weight?
Let’s revisit October with the ghost of the compulsive past. Oktoberfest plus Halloween equaled one big junk food binge for some of us. Oktoberfest and Halloween are over and done. Does that mean you’re going to let the ghost of the binge not turn you into food? scrooge? Are you going to pass up the seasonal celebrations to avoid the fattening parties?
Ho um! How do you avoid becoming a wretch? Ohfood scrooge?
First, get the Halloween candy out of your house. Take it away. Granted, there are hungry children in third world countries, but you can’t help out by eating everything in sight! Also, feeding our sweet tooth is like watering a plant. It only makes the thing bigger, needing more next time. Ho um!
Wait! Search their secret stashes and throw them away with old coffee grounds and banana peel (so they don’t come out again). Yes, get rid of the candy on your desk.
If you empty out all the sweets and find that your house is echoing because there’s nothing left in it, swap them out for snacks like unsalted nuts, fruits, and vegetables.
Second, plan to tell your friends and family to forego food gifts. If you still receive them, thank the person, but then give the food to someone else. This way, you won’t hurt the donor’s feelings and will remove your temptation.
Third, manage your time. With hectic schedules, there never seems to be enough time to plan, eat, exercise, clean, shop, cook, and decorate. Sit down and write down the daily schedules for the weeks leading up to your events. Determine what you can reasonably do in specific time periods, and then plan to do it. Manage to have a meal replacement when you’re on the go. They are much more nutritious than a fast food and more convenient.
Fourth, plan to modify your recipes. You don’t have to give up traditional favorites, just tweak them. For example, make a low-fat turkey stuffing by sautéing onions and celery in broth instead of butter. Use sugar-free gelatin to slice calories into gelatin molds. Take a look at your recipes to see if you can eliminate or decrease some ingredients or use low-calorie substitutes.
Fifth, plan to leave leftovers. Too often, food scraps go into the mouth instead of the storage container, even if it’s already full. Give leftovers as gifts, make packs for guests to take away, take food to work, or portion leftovers to use with your diet plan.
Sixth, watch your eating. The moment you arrive at a festive gathering, go through the food and choose a few “healthy” foods to eat and skip all the others. Eat slowly and savor each bite. So you don’t overeat, eating a meal replacement beforehand can help fill you up before you arrive at the party table loaded with “once a year, you gotta eat me treats.”
Seventh, meal replacements are your answer if you’re like most people and don’t have several hours a day to prepare healthy, nutritious meals. A study shows that people who replace several meals a week with portion-controlled foods like liquid shakes or snack bars lose significantly more weight in three months than people who simply try to cut calories. What is the secret to meal replacements? Meal replacements keep it simple. Forget counting carbs or calories!
So you see, you don’t have to stop planning. You can really make it to New Years without gaining an ounce by including meal replacements in your diet. And, when you get to New Year’s Day (and you haven’t gained any weight), you’ll be able to avoid the parade of New Year’s dieters. Everyone else will start with the latest fad, but you will live your new lifestyle without deprivation diets. Nothing tastes as good as feeling thin.