To not start detox while there is still Christmas food

[Bakedpumpkin]

Need to loose weight - still have about 4 days worth of Christmas food left to finish. Meats, cheeses, party food bits, dips, chocolates. Chocolates would keep until end of Feb but I think it makes sense to finish off now then start, anyone else in same boat ?

I'm finishing food off before I start being healthy. I am being mindful of main meals etc. I know I will snack on it otherwise.

Don't waste food.

It doesn't have to be all or nothing, you can eat in moderation.

Have some of the indulgent Christmas food as part of your daily allocated food / calories.

I have frozen what I can, others in the house will eat but not so much the sweet stuff.

Not sure I can freeze open cheeses ?

have put aside some unopened boxes to donate but still a fair few half open chocs biscuits etc.

I have literally just binned all the leftover Christmas chocolates and treat foods . I've never done it before because having chocs around is a lifeline but my friend said she did it yesterday so here I was doing the same . This is the year I get on top of my weight

People binning food makes me sad. All the effort that’s gone into producing it and money spent on it. If you don’t want it then please try and give it to someone else rather than binning it.

Just stretch out the chops/savory snacks out, a few each evening as your treat while on a diet. In my mind they can last until Easter - mainly as the kids will get more.

Could you donate the unopened foods to local food charity?. If you are serious then start asap. No time like the present. Slimming World helped me loose 4 stone in 18 months.

Don't waste food! Build the leftovers in as part of healthier meals (I will be having a few party bits with a MN massive salad for the next few days) and ration out the chocolates as a daily treat.

This is why I’m having family over today for a NYD buffet! I have meats, cheeses, sausage rolls, mini sausages, a gateau, a Christmas pudding, crisps, dips, nuts…I didn’t really over-buy, but we’ve had some illness in the house over Christmas so haven’t eaten all the goodies! Thought having family over today is the perfect way to use everything up, so no waste, but it will clear the fridge and freezer so I can start the healthy eating again tomorrow!

In the same situation due to buying what was requested and then another deciding they only wanted to eat sandwiches and light things for a week in the run up to Christmas 🤦🏻‍♀️. I am going to enjoy the rest of this week and start this coming Monday morning afresh.

Eta: won't be over indulging and purposely piling it in to lose it, just enjoying some of the richer foods and bread and crisps etc before starting keto. Everything left will be either on olio or in a food bank trolley come Monday

Yes, this is what I do. I don't see foods like cheese as being unhealthy (unless you're eating a pound a day!).
For brunch, I've just made a big omelette with peppers mushrooms, spinach, Courgette, and tomatoes. I added some leftover cheese - two types of blue cheese and some brie. I see this as a healthy meal. It was delicious.
Will also make a cauliflower cheese with cauliflower, broccoli, Leeks, and cabbage and incorporate more Christmas cheeses.

Don’t bin them! Let them be there, have a treat now and again, balance is the key to consistency.

OH has just bough some more mince pies!

Why don't you just buy less?

Why buy excess treat food, just to bin it? Can't you buy less at the time? Equally you could just moderate your eating now and enjoy the food you have rather than wasting it.

Also, you do know that the concept of "detox" is bollocks, yes? Assuming you possess a liver and one or ideally two kidneys, you're already detoxing 24/7/365.

Aren't people capable of judging what they need when buying for Christmas? Why buy so much knowing that you are going to throw it away a couple of weeks later
?

I'm in the same boat... have loads of crisps, nuts, chocolate etc left. I've signed myself and DD up to the gym but can't go until Monday as DD needs an induction so we've decided to enjoy our last few days off work and school with our snacks but are making a plan for next weeks meals. If there are any snacks and chocolate left we're going to divide them up into treat bags for us to have a couple of nights a week to wean us off them!

Losing weight is the easy part, sustaining weight loss is the real challenge and why most people end up regaining the weight plus extra. If you don’t have a strategy to manage Christmas/birthdays/holidays/weekends you will not achieve and/or maintain your desired weight.

Life is not black or white and introducing long term changes to your habits, routines and behaviours isn’t either. It’s not a choice of eat all the food to get rid of it or throw it away to get rid of it - this is black or white thinking. Living in the grey is making small changes that you can maintain, because you’ll need to maintain these forever to keep the weight off. Eat less of these high calorie foods overall, but include them in your normal diet in lesser amounts, fill up on protein and vegetables and move your body more each day.

It's not always easy to judge. We were hosting my family (14 people!) for 5 days. I found it extremely difficult to judge the quantities needed. I was more or less spot on for most things but ordered way too many mince pies. Most years my family eat loads of mince pies but this year they weren't interested. If you're hosting lots of people for several days you really have to guess how much they'll eat.

It’s no wonder so many people have weight issues (me included), our whole attitude to food and eating is seriously messed up. Buying way too much then either eating it for the sake of it, throwing it away or giving it to people who don’t want it either - no thanks I don’t want your leftover mince pies/half eaten cheese/random chocolates in the kitchen at work.

We're back at school & work on Monday, so we're starting with better eating then. There seems little point until then with so much stuff sat around to be eaten. I don't want to just waste it, but I'm trying very hard not to go berserk on it.

exactly! surprised so few are getting this (and can a) afford to just chuck perfectly good food, and b) don't feel guilty about it - not to go all "starving children in Africa" but even in terms of environmental impact)

OP specifically said she wasn't including the chocolate in the 4 days worth of food so it's stuff like meat and cheese which isn't "junk" necessarily. As a pp said, just have the meat/party food with salad instead of chips, and the cheese as part of a balanced meal to use it up, rather than chucking it all.

The reason the vast majority don't stick to diets is because they go too hard, too fast, cutting out absolutely everything, and January in particular can be so bleak and miserable that living solely off salad, veg and "healthy" options is too hard so they give up completely after a few weeks (if that). Better to ease yourself in and make long term healthier changes that you can actually stick to. You can make a start today by not snacking on crisps, chocolate etc. and go for a long walk or whatever, but that doesn't mean you can't make reasonably healthy meals out of the other, more substantial leftover food.

YABU to call it a detox!
Put some in the freezer for later, eat some in small quantities, add more veg, salad and fruit, and more pulses.
Variety is the key to a healthy diet
www.bda.uk.com/food-health/your-health/small-steps-to-a-healthier-you.html