Losing Weight during the Holidays without Losing Friends

Since we'll be out of the office at a conference tomorrow (Fri. Dec. 4), I thought I'd share an article on ways to help prepare yourself for all the events (and sometimes stress) that can come with the holiday season!

LOSING WEIGHT DURING THE HOLIDAYS WITHOUT LOSING FRIENDS

Holiday parties are standard this time of year; whether it's a small office gathering or your friend's 100-person New Year's bash, chances are you'll be coming face-to-face with a smorgasbord of delicious treats. While all this food is tempting, what can be even worse is the pressure we feel from friends, colleagues and family members to eat goodies when we're trying to eat healthy. As daunting as it seems, you CAN lose weight at this time of year without missing all the social events that the season brings.

When people indulge, they typically want other people to indulge with them; this is why we run into so many saboteurs at parties and other social gatherings. Family and friends, the people you expect to be supportive, are the very ones who are most likely to sabotage your diet (either consciously or subconsciously). For this reason, it is important to PLAN AHEAD: think about how you'll react when people pressure you to eat the foods you don't want; think about which treat you'll really enjoy, and which ones you'll avoid; find a neutral buddy to help you get through all the social gatherings you're bombarded with. A neutral buddy can be someone you talk to before and after attending high-pressure, food-laden events.

Here are 10 Tips for the Holidays (from www.weightlossbuddy.com):

1. Find a buddy to help you get through the event and call or e-mail the buddy before, during and after the party.
2. If you are a guest, eat a small low-calorie snack before you go to the party at the time you usually eat dinner. If you are the cook, eat a small low-calorie snack before you prepare the meal.
3. Eat smaller portions of everything on the table.
4. Nibble your way through the party.
5. Use the three-bite rule: If someone insists you eat a food that's not in your nutrition plan, only eat three bites of it. That way you can tell the cook how much you have enjoyed it, and everyone is satisfied.
6. Ask whether you can take a piece of pie or cake home to eat later if you are being pressured. Do not feel guilty about throwing it in the garbage when you get home so it doesn't tempt you.
7. When you turn down a treat, substitute a lower-calorie food in its place. For instance, instead of the pumpkin pie with whipped cream, eat an apple.
8. Just say no to that extra helping of stuffing. But do it politely.
9. Change your holiday traditions so that activities, NOT food, are the centre of attention.
10. If you do get off track, don't punish yourself and don't get discouraged. More importantly, focus on GETTING BACK ON TRACK! Every day is a new day.

So remember: make the holidays MORE about family and friends, and LESS about food. Plan activities you can do as a group, and get out of the house. If your willpower falters with all the pressure of the holidays, remind yourself that getting back on track is the most important thing you can do. "When you learn to ride a bike, you sometimes fall off,” says Henrietta Harrison, a psychotherapist and life coach in Westport, Connecticut; "And when you learn, you don't learn to ride in a straight line; you weave back and forth and that's how diets should be.”

Always remember to keep on trying, even when the going gets tough. Never give up.

Dr. Doug