Calorie-counting in the lead up to Christmas

[GoodNamesOnly]

This is my first year calorie-counting over Christmas and I don't want to derail the weight loss I have had so far.

I don't think I am particularly strict. I am still drinking wine at the weekends and eating what I want within reason at the weekend. My only rule is that I log it. I average around 1500 calories a day over the whole week, but this usually includes lower calories on weekdays and then about 2200 on Fri and Sat. This seems to be working okay in terms of loss.

I am just thinking that the lead up to Christmas every day feels like the weekend in terms of what I am used to eating and drinking. I can see it all going wrong if I am not more careful.

Does anyone have good tips for lower cal foods that still feel like festive treats?

I think a better perspective would be to have the actual treat you want but in moderation. Choose your indulgences and be smart.

What festive treats do you realllly like the most, mince pies? Gingerbread? Chocolate biscuits? Quality Street?

Decide what you really like and allow it in your calories. E.g. mince pies - buy a box of 6, allow yourself one a day and have with light squirty cream instead of double cream, that's around 250 cals so have it after your evening meal and just account for it. Even if this pushes your weekly average up to 1600 cals you should still lose fat just a little slower but you won't go off the rails and put it on.

Much better to have a little of the good stuff then loads of 'low cal' stuff that doesn't actually scratch your itch so you have more and realise you could have just had the thing you wanted!

Thinks you aren't bothered about, do a blanket 'no thanks I don't really like them' (no one pushes you to have something if you say you don't like it as opposed to, oh I'm trying to be good)

Then you need a plan for navigating office treats if you work in that environment, either a blanket no or you pick 3 quality street in the morning and thats your lot for the day, once picking starts it's really hard to rein in and the cals add up!

If you really really want something eg you are at a Christmas market or a special occasion then have it, enjoy it and draw a line, don't let it snowball (excuse the pun) and open the door to 'well I had that so now I may as well face plant the tub of roses'

This is how you will need to navigate food for life once you have lost the weight and want to maintain.

Hope that helps!

I agree with the poster above. It’s brilliant that you are counting calories and losing weight, so that’s obviously working for you. Keep doing that - if you want a particular thing work out the calorie cost and adapt accordingly. I have a doughnut every Wednesday at work, 400 cals or so. On Tuesday dinner is a veg soup with next to no calories. That sort of thing. I’ve lost 16kg (2 stone something) over this year. I can only do it because I don’t feel deprived.

Thank you for the replies. I think I am using this approach in general. For example, I want proper wine on a Fri night, not low cal wine. I am also trying to avoid UPFs, so not going for food branded low calorie, but looking for real food swaps.

However, I am interested to know that a mince pie is around 250 calories as that seems manageable to fit in my week! I also bought a bar of Christmas cake yesterday which I think was about 250 a slice. Re the quality street scenario above, I would be happier not having any quality street than giving myself 3 sweets. Luckily I mainly work from home, so those kind of things are easy to avoid!

It will probably be cheese and wine that I want/miss the most.

In the next few weeks I have 3 meals out, 5 dinners at friend or family's house, and then Christmas itself, where I am cooking but want it to feel special. It just feels like it would be so easy to undo any weight loss so far. I have only been trying calorie deficit since September, so this is the first real test of my imagination.

So, I guess I am just thinking of and asking if others have thought of ways to have lower calorie treats. I am thinking of things that feel generous and Christmassy, but actually don't break the bank in terms of calories. So far I have come up with:

• Porridge with mixed spices and berries, with a swirl of peanut butter
• Ham and chicken winter broth
• Popcorn bowl for movie night - salted popcorn dotted with white marshmallows and red and green M and Ms
• Whipped feta dip made with light cream cheese or yoghurt, topped with chilli flakes and coriander, served with crudites
• Smoked salmon always feels indulgent for the calories, I would maybe have it with a plateful of vibrant greens
• Vegetable tray bake studded with pigs in blankets
• I've got the spiced Ribena cordial/ options mint hot chocolate to have as a hot drink, which both feel treaty to me...

I realise my list contains a load of UPFs 😂- I am finding that part of my plan pretty hard! Especially when it is a pain to count all the calories in a recipe (and I usually make up a recipe myself) and you can just buy a packet of processed food with the number on the label.

I have been calorie counting since beginning of August (free version of my fitness pal) as well as cardio and weights 2-3 times a week and I’m now 0.75lbs away from losing 1stone. So it’s been slowish but has felt easy to do without starving. To have a healthy BMI I still need to lose another 1.5 stone but feeling optimistic it is achievable !

I’m approaching it like the rest of the year by planning well ahead and the only day off I’m taking is Xmas day. I’m just shy of three stone off and not interested in food like I was so that helps!
I’ve planned meals in advance and weekends and will factor that in across weekly allowances

I would suggest "earning" treats through exercise. So if you do additional exercise, you can bank a treat. So this allows you to stick to your usual plan but have extra. Easier said than done I know!

It’s also worth doing a mindful eating exercise if you have been eating healthily and trying to cut out UPFs. I used to love Quality Street but when I had one after a period of healthy eating, all I could taste was fat and sugar and the combination was not actually pleasant, let alone being worth the calories or the trigger to eating a handful.

Then you can save the calories for things you really love. I’ve avoided mass-produced mince pies and sausage rolls, processed crisps like Pringles etc on this basis - then if offered a really nice one I know I can indulge.
https://extension.purdue.edu/4-H/_docs/volunteer/resources-and-development/healthy-living/mental_health/mindful-eating-with-chocolate.pdf

How is everyone getting on? I’m really determined to not go crazy over Christmas and would love having some accountability here….I am planning to lose another 12 lbs by mid April so that I can feel comfortable in my bikini again.

I am planning to continue tracking my calories over Christmas but allow extra flexibility and calories on the big day. Plus wine 🍷 no Baileys this year!

I follow 16/8 intermittent fasting so usually starting eating around 10-11 and I do track my calories as best as I can. I weigh in daily as my weight fluctuates like crazy ( especially just before my period and when I ovulate) I work out at home (HIIT and weights)

Food is there to be enjoyed remember and "guilt" is not an ingredient.

As a previous poster said, allow some flexibility and fit it into your daily allowance. If you go slightly over, accept that and move on - don't deprive yourself. That's not what Christmas and food should be about!

I disagree with the previous poster saying to "earn" calories through exercise...remember, you burn calories by simply existing (i.e. normal bodily functions). Yes, a big part of losing weight is about calories in vs. calories out, but this idea of "earning" treats through exercise leads to a very unhealthy relationship with food.

Want a mince pie? Eat it, log it, move on
A few quality street sweets? Eat it, log it, move on
Cheese and wine? Eat it, log it, move on

I'm all about eating everything in moderation. Weight loss might stall and you might even go up over the festive season, but once things settle back to normal, you'll find your way again!

All the best!

I don’t tend to restrict any food groups as it always backfires for me and turns into a binge of some sort.

I also agree that earning treats through exercise is not a great idea, I’ve went through a crazy period when FitBit first came out and I was exercising like crazy , all for the calorie burn and I wouldn’t allow myself treats until I earned them. Sadly it got so bad I got addicted to seeing those calorie Burn numbers and I lost my period for 6 months as I wasn’t eating enough . I have an Apple Watch now and a much healthier relationship with exercise. I do it as I enjoy it and it makes me feel good and I love my watch as it tracks my sleep, periods and allows me to decline calls 🤣

I usually go off the rails completely at Christmas so hoping this year I can do a bit better and just enjoy food in moderation.

Agree, my aim is not to go off the rails and not to make it too difficult for myself in Jan. I would be happy not to lose and even to gain a bit over the next 2 weeks, but I just don't want to derail myself, which is what usually happens when I give myself permission to be a bit slack. So far, I think it is going pretty well in that I have been out for several meals and had some christmassy treats at home and still managed to keep it normal the next day.

I guess we are all different, but I think incentivising myself to exercise is not a bad thing, as I do feel better for it. I don't personally mind the idea of earning treats - you do actually earn treats other ways, like working to afford a holiday. I wouldn't like the thought of having to earn regular food. The watch I am using to track at the moment (samsung) doesn't allow me extra calories on days I have exercised more, so I am a bit less bothered about doing so! I do usually get at least 10k steps and the walking makes me feel good.

I find it useful to only have things that are really good quality - so no to shop bought mince pies, but I'll have a home made one when at a friend's house. No to quality street but yes to a posh choc etc.

I also find it useful to plan in advance, so 2 pieces of cheese the size of a match box if there's a cheese board, a glass of Champagne and then 2 glasses of red over Christmas dinner (and have fizzy water to help that be easier to stick to), olives but not crisps with the champagne etc.

Also I limit the windows where my eating is relaxed - we eat Christmas dinner at about 3, so until the cork pops at 2 I just treat it like a normal day. Over the season overall I have extra at a party, a dinner out or boxing and Christmas Day meals but most meals are normal.

I find that way I'm having what I really want and not going mad, so I might have a small gain but that's all.

Also I try and get enough sleep because my food choices do go to shit when I'm tired.

... I think keeping up some moderate exercise is a great idea, but I don't think bartering exercise for extra calories over Christmas is very healthy - it's the sort of thing that messes up one's head. It's Christmas, you do want to be able to relax.

I made a nice Christmassy salad for dinner tonight, which felt quite indulgent but was also lower calorie: blue cheese, lardons, sprouts, spinach, red onion, apple, pomegranate seeds and a dressing made from mayo, Greek yoghurt and mustard. It tasted like Christmas 😊 I served it with baguette and low fat spread, and overall it worked out around 550 cal per person.

My other recent discovery is in the evening having 2 After Eights (73 calories), plus an Options mint hot chocolate (40 calories). Mint + chocolate feel very christmassy to me.

@GoodNamesOnly I don’t trust myself with AfterEights - can’t stop at 2 so didn’t buy any this year 🤣 they are like crack to me