Have Your Healthiest Holiday Celebration Yet!

The holidays are here. And you may be feeling a little nervous about the challenges of upcoming celebrations if your weight loss surgery was recent. Then again, you may be over confident and think that weight loss surgery is all you need to protect against weight regain. In either case, some holiday survival tips are in order.

Our discipline to diet and health will be tested time and again across the holidays. And so you should implement a holiday plan for success if you are sincere about maintaining your current weight through the tangle of holiday temptations.

Gain Support from Family and Friends

Be social and use your allies. Talk to them in advance about not pressuring you to eat foods that will sabotage your diet, if need be. And if you are feeling pressured, make them aware and ask for their support. If all else fails, politely excuse yourself and go somewhere for a 5-minute break (the bathroom if you must). When you return, the conversation focus likely will have moved onto another topic. Learn more “Post Weight Loss Surgery Holiday Survival Tips.”

Similarly at these gatherings you may have to handle harsh or inappropriate comments about your bariatric surgery. People make inappropriate remarks for a few different reasons. Some have poor filters while others may think they are being helpful. Some have poor boundaries and others may be passive aggressive. Too much to drink is always a possibility. People can be rude and that includes family members. Learning to cope in a healthy way is the best choice, so here are some suggestions about what to do if an inappropriate comment is passed: Read, “Coping Skills after Weight Loss Surgery.”

Practical Tips for Controlling Portion Sizes

A moderate, healthy snack just before a celebration can help to control hunger and thus begin the afternoon or evening with a more reasonable appetite.

Remember when making your plate that small portions of favorite foods are a better choice than tasting a little bit of every dish.

And by all means do not sit by the serving tables. Mingle away from where the food is displayed.

Controlling portion sizes is a vital addition to your plan! Get more tips, read, “Controlling Portion Sizes at the Holidays.”

Weight Gain at the Holidays Isn't Just About Food

Some people overeat at the holidays because there are seduced by rich holiday foods. Others have different motivations. They use food to relieve the holiday stress that inevitably creeps in for so many. Celebration and pressure often accompany one another.

Some people overcompensate for the pending New Year’s diet resolution and eat with abandon through the holidays.

Other people succumb to unrestrained eating because of a single episode of overindulgence. A breach of discipline can open the floodgates to weight gain at the holidays. Continue reading, “The Skinny on Weight Gain at the Holidays.”

It’s Not All about Eating Healthy at Parties

It is important to take the focus off of eating and instead turn your attention to the friendships and conversations around you. This is a time to give your attention to someone rather than some food thing.

Before my gastric bypass, all I could think about was the food and drink being served. I was oblivious to what was happening around me! That has long ago changed for me… the reverence and importance of the gathering of friends and family is most important. For me it is a time of gaiety. And that is the richest experience of all.

Respect yourself and your weight loss this holiday season.

Living larger than ever,

My Bariatric Life