More "Diet" Help - "Special Occasions"
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Before I start my post, I want to remind everyone that I am not a fan of the word "diet". It is a necessary evil to drive traffic to my site. Losing weight has to be a lifestyle change & one has to find a food & exercise program that they like & will work for them long term & for life. I know, I say it all the time, but it never gets old because some people just don't seem to get it.
Back to "diet" tips. I have been wanting to post about "special occasion" eating for a long time now & I know I have in the far past BUT it is worth discussing again. So, what is a "special occasion" to you. Is it just a birthday for you, vacation and holidays? Is it a birthday for you, everyone in the family, vacation & holidays? Is it a birthday for you, family, friends, co-workers, vacation and holidays? Is it Is it a birthday for you, family, friends, co-workers, vacation, holidays and Friday nights out? OK, you get the point. "Special occasions" can wreak havoc with your "diet" and fitness goals. You really need to get a hold on what occasions you are going to splurge on and what ones you are not going to splurge on. If you celebrate everything in the book, you might as well throw it to the wind now! Listen, I am not saying to not celebrate anything but a person can literally be celebrating special occasions non-stop!
I just read a great article from Diet Detective on this titled Eat up -- It's Your Birthday. The author also counted up his own special occasions & this is what came out of that: "I made up my own roster of "special days," and the total came to about 50 per year. If I ate just 500 extra calories on those days (which is not hard to do -- it's about one piece of cake and a scoop of ice cream) that would be about 25,000 calories, or more than 7 pounds a year! Who would have thought that just "letting go" on a few "special days" could add up to so many pounds?"
HOLY COW!!!! 7 pounds a year just from "special occasions"! So, all I am asking you to do is re-evaluate what is a special occasion to you so that you do not mess up your own weight loss goals. The article discusses strategy for you before a special occasion, is it worth it (my motto!), dealing with an emotional issues prior to the event, excuse busters & more. There is also a list of "Calories for Common Special Occasions". Read it all at the link above.
So, what do I do? Now, keep in mind that I am a bit OCD when it comes to my health & fitness stuff. I celebrate my birthday but I do not eat "bad" on other bdays (although a may take a bite of my husband's piece of cake). I do not take a complete "cheat day" off per week. When I splurge, I want it to be something worth it to me. I like big ole cookies like at Borders & Starbucks so I always have 1 per week & sometimes 2!!! At holidays, I eat pretty healthy & save my calories for what is important to me.. like a cookie or dessert treat! I even bring my own food if I know there will not be something for me. All my friends/family are used to this. On vacation, I actually try to be pretty good but I do enjoy, just not every day & every meal! I also find ways to keep active & exercise on vacation but not anywhere the intensity of when I am home but enough to make me feel good. So, there, that is some of my program. I don't like the feeling after eating way too much & I don't want to eat just to eat. My choice is to plan ahead & also to always eat a treat that is something I really want vs. a so-so choice. I think you get what I mean.
Before I start my post, I want to remind everyone that I am not a fan of the word "diet". It is a necessary evil to drive traffic to my site. Losing weight has to be a lifestyle change & one has to find a food & exercise program that they like & will work for them long term & for life. I know, I say it all the time, but it never gets old because some people just don't seem to get it.Back to "diet" tips. I have been wanting to post about "special occasion" eating for a long time now & I know I have in the far past BUT it is worth discussing again. So, what is a "special occasion" to you. Is it just a birthday for you, vacation and holidays? Is it a birthday for you, everyone in the family, vacation & holidays? Is it a birthday for you, family, friends, co-workers, vacation and holidays? Is it Is it a birthday for you, family, friends, co-workers, vacation, holidays and Friday nights out? OK, you get the point. "Special occasions" can wreak havoc with your "diet" and fitness goals. You really need to get a hold on what occasions you are going to splurge on and what ones you are not going to splurge on. If you celebrate everything in the book, you might as well throw it to the wind now! Listen, I am not saying to not celebrate anything but a person can literally be celebrating special occasions non-stop!
I just read a great article from Diet Detective on this titled Eat up -- It's Your Birthday. The author also counted up his own special occasions & this is what came out of that: "I made up my own roster of "special days," and the total came to about 50 per year. If I ate just 500 extra calories on those days (which is not hard to do -- it's about one piece of cake and a scoop of ice cream) that would be about 25,000 calories, or more than 7 pounds a year! Who would have thought that just "letting go" on a few "special days" could add up to so many pounds?"
HOLY COW!!!! 7 pounds a year just from "special occasions"! So, all I am asking you to do is re-evaluate what is a special occasion to you so that you do not mess up your own weight loss goals. The article discusses strategy for you before a special occasion, is it worth it (my motto!), dealing with an emotional issues prior to the event, excuse busters & more. There is also a list of "Calories for Common Special Occasions". Read it all at the link above.
So, what do I do? Now, keep in mind that I am a bit OCD when it comes to my health & fitness stuff. I celebrate my birthday but I do not eat "bad" on other bdays (although a may take a bite of my husband's piece of cake). I do not take a complete "cheat day" off per week. When I splurge, I want it to be something worth it to me. I like big ole cookies like at Borders & Starbucks so I always have 1 per week & sometimes 2!!! At holidays, I eat pretty healthy & save my calories for what is important to me.. like a cookie or dessert treat! I even bring my own food if I know there will not be something for me. All my friends/family are used to this. On vacation, I actually try to be pretty good but I do enjoy, just not every day & every meal! I also find ways to keep active & exercise on vacation but not anywhere the intensity of when I am home but enough to make me feel good. So, there, that is some of my program. I don't like the feeling after eating way too much & I don't want to eat just to eat. My choice is to plan ahead & also to always eat a treat that is something I really want vs. a so-so choice. I think you get what I mean.
Great article!! I think, too, that when we do good on the holiday itself, we don't overindulge in the leftovers of that holiday as well. Kind of keeps us in check.
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Everything in moderation right. My philosophy eat well 90% of the time and eat whatever the hell you want the other 10%
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I absolutely agree. Everything in moderation. People that deny themselves whole food groups end up driving themselves crazy & then overindulge and/or give up.
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uh oh...this is really bad news for me. Every Friday is a special occasion (family night pizza), plus anytime there is cake involved - the cake itself makes it "special". I'm in trouble. I can resist anything but cake and pizza. I don't know what the heck my problem is!
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Maybe Friday night pizza is your "cheat meal" of the week. As for cake, well, I can only suggest trying the 1 bite strategy & stop there on all occasions but your own bday, if you can stick to the 1 bite. We all know that multiple "bites of food" and a pick here & there thru the day can add up to significant calories in a day. I posted about a lady that was "picking at food" that added up to close to 1000 calories in a day!!! YIKES!
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Well, maybe I could work down to eating just one piece of cake. I eat multiple pieces - like 4 or 5! The good thing is it's only several times per year. But the guilt is terrible!
Pizza, not so bad. I can stop at two pieces and I've been taking off the pepperoni and sausage. BUT I steal everyone's leftover crust. TERRIBLE! lol (at myself). You'd never believe I'm a size 4/6.
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Holy cow! Definitely going to 1 piece of cake would make huge strides!!! Like you, I love the crust too & the end piece of bread! I love bread & keep different kinds of healthy whole grain breads that have a really good nutritional make up & I use that for a treat at times. I have made my food program so that I can eat 3-4 pieces of my healthy bread a day! I know bread gets demonized but if you buy really healthy bread then it can be worked in or at least for me! You are too funny. If I had pizza & cake like you, I would be a size 14! I have struggled with my weight from a very young child so it has always been hard for me to keep off weight. Once I lost it, I always had & still have to do more exercise & eat way better than the average person but it is worth it!
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