How do you not gain weight at Christmas?

[malificent7]

It has taken me a year to loose 2 stone...im not tiny bit much happier at about 10 stone 8. Last Christmas i put on half a stone and it took me 6 months to shift.
This Christmas i just want to maintain as much as possible. But i can feel the temptation all around. I love mince pies, chocolate, cheese etc and I don't want to feel deprived. How can i have fun without it piling it on?
I posted here for traffic than weight loss so any tips, recipes etc are most gratefully received.

I've been low carbing for 12 weeks and I've lost about a stone so I plan to do a 36 hour fast tomorrow, I'll do a fast on st stephen's day, new year's day. That will help.

I tend to eat less but bigger meals. So hold off having breakfast but instead have a big filling brunch that will tide me over until dinner. Lots of things like eggs at brunch which make me fuller for longer.

Also agree with more exercise. My Apple Watch tells me I burnt 700 calories last night dancing at our Christmas party so that’s a bit of a bonus

I am already planning my Christmas and realised that last year (and every year) it is the festival of animal fats. I am not replicating the 2 giant tubs of double cream in the freezer this year

Current plan:
Cut down the number of days we have to have 'a special meal'
Massively cut down the overcatering so we aren't eating leftovers, especially pudding/biscuits/chocolate for all of December and January
Have looked at what I actually do cook and rethought it. Red cabbage does not need half a tub of jam in it, Christmas pudding is going to be the recipe on Diabetes UK and so on to cut down on all the sugar but still have Christmassy food
We are going out for walks everyday

@KosherDill

I read on method is to allow three bites of anything you fancy, then quit.

That's interesting.

I went for afternoon tea at a lovely hotel with my friend recently and all of the gorgeous intricate sandwiches were three bites, so many pretty little desserts, all like works of art, and all about three bites. But the experience was so lovely and we got to try a lot but not feel like gluttons.

I do much more movement and exercise when not working so that balances the eating more. I'm planning some hill walks for the holidays and we will try and do parkrun too or get out for a family run.
We have loads of Xmas food and drink but it's all out of sight so I am not tempted to eat it all the time (under stairs cupboard is where tubs of chocs etc get hidden). Then treats comes out only really from about 23rd until new year and not all at same time. So I guess moderation is the thing. I'm not bad at moderating but my 12 and 14 year olds would hoover up everything in sight so this is why m strict on it!
I agree with not needing to easy it all, we've been known to discover a box of chocs or biscuits well into the summer from Christmas. They were still fine and usually still in date.

Great tips on here!

Moderation is the key for me, coupled with some logical thinking.

If I want a mince pie, I'll have some.
If I want chocolate, I'll have some.
If I want a fry up breakfast, I'll have it.

But, I'll have just 1 mince pie, not 2 or 5. I'll have a few cubes of chocolate, not a whole bar, I'll have the medium fry up, not the Big Boy breakfast.
That way, I get what I want, enough to enjoy it.

Then logically thinking, if I have a big breakfast or a Mcdonalds or chocolate etc I'll know I've had enough calories and I don't need more intake to fuel myself so if my tummy rumbles, it doesn't matter, logically I know my 'fuel tank' isnt empty.

It's worth remembering that there is no "Bad" foods, just bad portion sizes and there is absolutely nothing wrong with feeling a bit hungry and every meal doesn't have to end with you feeling stuffed. I don't think the human body is designed to eat to fullness each meal tbh, overflows the fuel tank as it were.

If chocolates are a thing - don't buy a tub of celebrations, heros, roses and quality street. I would normally do this as everyone likes some of each etc.

Use an old tin, and just buy a smaller box of each - it does work out more expenisive which does make you also think - but there are less items to munch on.

Without knowing how much you usually drink at this time of year, i'd say be aware and limit/cut out alcohol. I've basically been eating what I like but not drinking alcohol at all, since September, and when I looked on the scales the other day I was 2kg lighter than my usual weight. I checked again 2 days later and this was still the case. Not saying I was a massive drinker beforehand, although I was having a drink 3-4 times per week over the summer. It all adds up.

As others have said, everything in moderation. It's one or two days, not the whole month.

I put on weight over lockdown and worked hard to lose it this summer. As a PP have said, it's best just to not buy the stuff you know you eat a lot of. So I do things like no longer allowing myself to have chocolate i
or biscuits in the house because I'll binge whole packs in one sitting (my advent calendar is a small exception ofc) and eating smaller meals.

I'll eat huge meals and chocolate at Christmas naturally but unless it's sustained it's not a problem.

Same as a PP I indulge but not in addition to what I'd normally eat, just instead of.

And try not to have too much in the house. If it's not there then you can't snack on it. One tub of chocolates for the family instead of 3, one box of mince pies instead of one a week.

Be as active as possible. I keep going to the gym/for a run and get outside with the kids a lot (or the holy grail of a solo walk with a podcast, bliss!).

On the food front, I try and take a little bit less of everything. So one less roast potato, half a slice of Christmas cake, one less piece of cheese etc. and just fruit for breakfast. I really try to limit bread. Also keep drinking lots of water. You tend to eat less when well hydrated.

Agree with a lot of what's been said already.
Christmas eating starts Xmas eve or 23rd and is max 1 week.
I calorie count and have my fitness pal linked to my fitbit so my activity adds to the calories.
I set it to maintenance rather than losing weight for that week or so.
As others said, if I overload on cheese and crackers I don't need tea as well. I can go for a walk to increase the movement.
Unfortunately for me, staying a healthy weight takes work.
I haven't had any Christmassy food yet, its 11th Dec, why would I have?
If I go mad for December I'd easily gain a stone. That'd take me a couple of months to lose!

Oh yes, I definitely just don’t buy more than we actually need. I really struggle with moderation so if it’s there I will eat it. It doesn’t help that DP is a twig so I try to buy treat food that he likes and I don’t and as he has the taste buds of a teenager that isn’t difficult.

I'm very much of the mind-set that having lost weight, I don't want to put it on, it's all about maintaining it for me (I'm still overweight by BMI anyway!)

I eat normally the whole of Dec, so won't put on weight, just eat more/different things on Christmas Day, possibly Boxing Day but that's it.

Then as others said, do some swaps, so mince pies for breakfast or whatever.

I think you've just got to know yourself- some people are really good at losing weight, then don't mind putting it back on for Christmas/holiday, get a lot out of letting go, and then go back to dieting.

I don't 'diet' officially, I just eat healthily all the time and prefer to stay relatively stable. I normally eat sweet things a couple of times a week, enjoy a meal out or take-away once a week anyway, but just within calorie limits. Three meals a day, one or two snacks (but low cal like carrots and hummus, 0% Greek Yog). So, I don't live a life of deprivation followed by tonnes of food- I prefer the slow and steady method.

My 'Christmas eating windows' will be from when I finish work on 24 December till the end of Boxing Day, and then again on 31 December and 1 January.

I'm going to weigh myself daily (which I normally do) to avoid the situation where I'm afraid to weigh myself after indulging and instead of getting back on track, I keep promising myself I will weigh again soon but it doesn't happen.

I track still. Last Christmas I adjusted my eating so I had a surplus for that week and didn't worry if I went over. This year I'm not tracking Christmas day as it was miserable but the rest of them are as normal. It worked pretty good.

And that special desert I like to have at Christmas is being logged at the beginning of the week so I can work around it.

This thread is very helpful. I have lost about a stone in the run up the Christmas. We are going to DD1 and her partner for Christmas from 23-27th and they are both fabulous cooks! I think I am going to try and eat the lovely meals and not snack too much. The alcohol may be an issue. I will try to be moderate. We are taking the dog so I will try and get out with her a lot.

I completely rewired my brain about food over the summer (a programme called Wildfit) and now see so-called “treat food” as “stuff that will make you feel like shit and affect your overall health”. If that doesn’t work I’ll have a bit and then an hour later agree that “I feel like shit” (tired and foggy rather than bright and alert). Lost 3.5 stone since May.

I don’t crave crap food anymore. Can leave shop bought mince pies quite easily. I’m holding out for one of my dad’s homemade ones and will thoroughly enjoy every crumb. I’m not a milk chocolate/cake eater so none of that bothers me. Don’t eat meat so no pigs in blanket cravings. And I don’t drink much.

There is so much spent advertising shit food that we aren’t designed to eat to make money for multinationals that ravage the planet and reward us with poor health. So many conditions could be alleviated by better nutrition. I find that very powerful too.

And if I do indulge (which will be to a much lesser extent than previous years) I have the tools to undo the damage very quickly.

Eating well is mainly about mindset.

The only way imho is to increase your exercise levels to compensate.

@DeepaBeesKit

The only way imho is to increase your exercise levels to compensate.

You can’t out train a bad diet.

now see so-called “treat food” as “stuff that will make you feel like shit and affect your overall health”. If that doesn’t work I’ll have a bit and then an hour later agree that “I feel like shit” (tired and foggy rather than bright and alert)

Alas. This doesnt work for me. I've done a sugar/carb reset before and it did not stop me finding sweet calorific food makes me feel happy, buzzy and energetic.

No, but OP hasnt asked that, she's asked how not to put on weight. If you make sure your calories used are the same as/higher than calories eaten you wont gain weight

Just avoid all the crap. You don't need it. Allow yourself one day (Chrismas day?) to eat what you want and then eat normally the rest of the time. It's what we do in our house now.

I got fed up of buying crap that nobody but me will eat.....spending weeks scoffing.....and then not fitting into work clothes come new year. Last year I just didn't buy the crap. Mince pies for example...there's only me that eats them so I end up scoffing the whole packet. I scoffed what I wanted Christmas day but then planned our normal meals for the rest of the days. Felt brilliant come new year. It's a mindset.....you can do this.