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.

We have just replaced all our plates - wasn't a Christmas thing, more a 'we have broken/chipped so many' thing.

Purposely bought everything at least an inch smaller so portion sizes will shrink naturally.

Just don’t buy it. Or buy just enough treats for three days only. Keep thinking about all the effort you’ve put into losing weight. This is what I’ll be doing anyway.

Honestly, weights been a problem since just before the pandemic and the pandemic made it worse. But I gain weight whenever I try to diet, and I've tried a range of them. I have v little of cakes and sweets and drinks so there's little to cut out there. In normal times I might have a sweet a few times a month. I just love savoury food. The content of my diet is healthy. I like straight forward clean food, steamed things, no sauces, etc., I just eat too much of it. My only recourse is portion size and exercise. Bummer. So last night I bought a treadmill.

On Christmas Day and Boxing Day I enjoy all manner of festive snackery, double helpings of dessert, cheese course etc, but otherwise I just eat normally. It's not like the clock strikes midnight on 30th November and you have to start mainlining mince pies.

I dont see food as a treat. Like someone else said, if i want to eat 3 mince pies then some crisps then that is dinner. If i eat it as well as dinner then i dont need breakfast the next day. I can be a bit hungry for a few hours and i know ive still eaten enough in the round.

Following as i don't want to gain any weight either and slimmest I've been for ages! I've said to dh we will just eat on key dates but not mindlessly all through December!

I'm out tonight for Xmas meal. Old me would have started today thinking 'well I'm out tonight, might as well eat crap all day'.
Tracking my calories is the only thing that works. I will eat and drink what I want tonight. But track again from tomorrow morning.
I will hopefully maintain my weight this week or even lose a bit, depending what I choose. I am also sooooo much better at not clearing my plate if I'm full.

Forgot to say i have been finding it is def balance. If you have a Danish for breakfast than a super healthy dinner is in order. Over eating one day warrents under eating the next and this has been working.

Don’t buy it. Don’t have it in the house.

Just go overboard for a couple of days then that’s it. You’ll soon feel sick of sugary rich things and crave something simple.

@RealBecca

I dont see food as a treat. Like someone else said, if i want to eat 3 mince pies then some crisps then that is dinner. If i eat it as well as dinner then i dont need breakfast the next day. I can be a bit hungry for a few hours and i know ive still eaten enough in the round.

Understanding how many calories I've had has made me realise I don't need to eat every time I'm hungry. Hunger is our drive to go and find food. Stone age me needed to go further than the fridge to find food and wouldn't be immediately satiated. I actually find it easier to ignore hunger than cravings though.

And ditto - something indulgent for breakfast perhaps then no lunch. Balance it out.

Personally I find the piles of tins of chocolate and mince pies in the supermarkets from November onwards quite obscene. Just walk past it all.

I continue with my low carb eating. More calories come into play simply because of the roast dinners but I don’t eat the sweet stuff so the binge aspect disappears. I probably put on a couple of pounds that I can lose in a few weeks.

There's a lot of rushing around in the run up to Christmas: deep cleaning, lugging trees and shopping etc. I have a mince pie after a day like that. Not two or three mince pies every day.

Plan lots of frosty walks, and again, indulge after one rather than passing around the chocolates while watching TV.

Decoder to be the 'active' one. Be the one who leaps up when the door bell or house phone rings, clear people's plates, make tea, run down to the local shop on foot pick up the extra pint of milk, do a quick sweep and mop at the end of the day. Not to turn into house skivvy but to burn off the treats.

As PP said - go for treats at meal times: stilton and kettle chips for lunch not as well as lunch.

And either stock up on treats you really hate and wouldn't dream of touching but everyone else loves or buy small quantities of your absolutely favourite treats and share them around. Be generous - share everything at all times, so there's not too much left over.

Also stock up on your favourite healthy treats. I could eat my body weight in clementines. Not ideal as they are sugary but not as sugary as chocolates. I also love walnuts. Getting the ones in their shells means every nut is a bit of a faff to eat. Slows you down.

Decide not decoder. Weird predictive text!

Mini everything! So a pack of miniature mince pies, fun size mars bars, chocolate coins, so I have a little bit of everything.
If I’m going out for cake and coffee I’ll do that instead of lunch, not as well as.
I’ve gained a dress size over lockdown, and don’t want to gain another one!

A combination of lots of things already mentioned.

a) try not to start too early - it's not the whole of December.
b) if I induge - that is my meal, I might have a mince pie and a cup of team for my lunch if that's what I want.
c) increase exercise
d) decide what's worth it and what's not - for me the Quality Street/Roses/Heros/Celebrations at 50 calories each are just not worth it. However a home made mince pie or some luxury truffles etc definitely are worth the calories.

Starve self beforehand
Probably accept it’s inevitable-enjoy say a few days of it and then get strict. That’s what I do. I’ll probably be a bit bloated afterwards
I never eat breakfast either

Also, don't buy the stupid stuff. Don't buy tins of Quality Street, huge panettone etc. No one needs that stuff. If you are given some just put them in the food bank drop off as soon as possible. Pass them on.

I eat Christmas stuff, but in moderation. So I’ll have one mince pie, a few chocolates, a small handful of crisps, etc at a time instead of over doing it.
I have quite a small appetite which means I get uncomfortably full quite quickly which I do feel fortunate about.
I also love running, genuinely love it. So on Christmas Day I’ll probably pop out for a quick 5km- 25 minutes.
I’ve never put on weight at Christmas. So it’s certainly not inevitable.

Track every single thing I eat and weigh myself every morning.

Yes it’s strict, but it works!

I pig out on Xmas eve, Xmas day and Boxing Day then I’m done. Usually put a pound or 2 on but day after Boxing Day I’m off out walking. Soon goes

Also, you have lost 2 stone this year. That is amazing. Focus on the treat of being able to wear more glamorous clothes and feel good in them. Look at all the festive 'treats' that aren't food and drink related - gorgeous clothes, scents, candles, lights, cosy socks, mushy films and books, beautiful carols. Make a list in your head of non-food treats and indulge in those instead.

By eating less and keeping an eye what your eating.

I don't understand people who complain they've gained weight but have eaten everything in sight - it's obvious isn't it?

I find stopping at 6 pm helps somewhat