People gain several pounds in the 2 months from Halloween to New Year's Day due to surplus candy, holiday dinners, food gifts, and social gatherings. The days BETWEEN holidays are 80% of the holiday battle so honor the day, not the season, with these tips:
Wait For It
Holidays are no longer a single day. The continual barrage of candy, cookies, parties, and dinners turn them into seasons. Try to view each holiday as ONE day, not a week's worth of treats. Don't accept cookies, chocolates, or other treats leading up to holidays and don't take leftovers. Save it all for that one day and you'll find that day is much more special.
Even better, think of each holiday as a single gathering so you only have one bad meal. Do Christmas day dinner, but forget Christmas Eve dinner and skip the breakfast casserole. If you have multiple families you want to visit, pick one to eat the big meal with and then time the others so you come before or after their meal. You can still visit and will probably have appetizers or leftovers to snack on, but at least you won't have another giant meal.
Store Out of Sight
You may be the best dieter in the world, but if you have kids or live with someone who isn't, they may bring home bags of candy and boxes of cookies. Make a rule that any junk they bring home goes into a designated drawer, cabinet, or closet. Never look in there. It's off-limits to you.
Food Is Not a Gift
Food is such an easy gift. It's delicious, can be personalized to someone's tastes, is a necessity, and won't cause clutter or clash with the decor, but when someone's struggling with weight, the last thing they need is a restaurant gift certificate or box of chocolates. Small gifts like sausage and cheese boxes, a Ziplock of cookies, or chocolates in their stocking also add up because everyone is giving them. Even a fruit of the month subscription or certain "healthy" foods may not fit someone's current diet.
Now you know not to gift food to other dieters... ever... for any reason. So how do you protect yourself? Starting around Halloween, tell your family and friends that you do NOT want food gifts. Remind them any time gifting comes up and clarify that you also mean "small" gifts and general treats before the holiday. They'll want to spoil you anyways, but remind them it's like offering a sober alcoholic a free drink. Be adamant! If they care about you, they'll understand.
If you receive food gifts, immediately re-gift it or open and share while proclaiming how you can't eat them. Leave at the house if it's not yours. You already told this person several times not to give you food so they can't justify offense at your ingratitude. Don't take the gift home or you risk keeping it and having your friend repeat their gifting faux paus.
Decline Free Food
Coworkers bring cupcakes, friends bake cookies, and businesses give samples and gift baskets. You're going to be tempted. You'll probably feel guilty for refusing. You may even have a genuine interest in how a recipe tastes, but play the long game and remember your goals. Start refusing free food and you'll notice how often it's plopped in your lap. The holiday season is a never-ending conveyor belt of fat and sugar. Don't be Lucy and shove everything that passes by into your mouth. Instead, hold up your hand, say "I'm on a diet," and think about all the days you invested in a healthy eating. Single successes become habits so every time you're faced with temptation, you're forming a habit. Will it be a good one or a bad one?
Grocery Store Samples
Don't take free samples. It's not in your meal plan and it's not even snack time so why eat just because someone shoved food in your face? It may be one bite, but it could be 50+ calories and make you crave more. You may get weak and buy some! Just don't. You control what goes into your mouth, not a salesperson.
Ignore Sales
Advertisements offer tons of junk food on sale. Don't believe you can buy that half price jumbo bag of candy and hold to one piece a day. Who cares if cupcakes are a dollar a piece or your coworkers are selling candy bars for their school? You should be declining this junk food even if it were free!
Stop paying to be fat! Every dollar spent on junk food works to undo months of disciplined eating and hard work at the gym. You're not saving money when you buy something on sale. You're spending money you would have kept in your pocket, especially with a consumable like food. Food is not an investment so don't expect to hang that candy apple on your wall and admire it for the next ten years.
