 Ossie-Sharon 11 years ago | No no no, traditiions should not be given up. But perhaps gradually, make little adjustments to the recipes and lighten up on the portion sizes, and of course, account for at least some of it in your daily plan.
For example, maybe you can mix some high-quality flours in with the white, bake with canola, olive, and nut oils, sub some of the sugars with xylitol, etc.
And remember – food preparation can be MOST of the fun, along with watching your loved ones enjoy it. It doesn’t mean you must eat the usual large amounts to make it a holiday. |
 skinnyboater 11 years ago | I love to bake. Deep Dish pizza and chocolate chip cookies are two of my favorites and during the holidays I love to make all kinds of cookies and candy. It is all wrapped up in family tradition. It would be impossible to give up entirely, because it would disappoint my family. What do I do? |
 Stevie 11 years ago | One challenge for me is not falling into the routine of eating the same things all the time. For example, sometimes I diet by eating few of my favorite low calorie foods, but in the long term I know it’s not healthy to eat the same foods over and over again.
I admit that sometimes I’m just too lazy to break the routine.
Best way to do that is to plan out my groceries list and resist buying the same stuff as always. |
| Ossie-Sharon 11 years ago | Sounds great! If it starts to get tough with this swap, you can also try cold fruit. |
 Elena 11 years ago | A recent heat wave reminded me how my biggest summer obstacle is ice-cream. When it’s hot, I’d rather eat ice-cream than anything else. To overcome that, I am cooling vegetables in the fridge before making a salad. So, in the evenings I eat cold sliced tomato and cucumber instead of ice-cream. It’s not as tasty, but at least it is refreshing. |
 Steven 11 years ago | You are right about avoiding the “Quick Mart” I’m not always hungry when I go there. I go to put gas in the car as well and everything I always liked to eat is right there at the register as soon as I walk in the door. I think it goes back to my childhood and getting money to go to store as a reward. Then growing up tasting everything possibly in the store because it always looked so good to me. |
 Joanne 11 years ago | You know what’s good? Avoid going to the “Quick Mart” stores while you’re very hungry. It’s always a challenge to go food shopping on an empty stomach. Sometimes this can’t be avoided (like when you’re at work and taking a break), but whenever possible, try to eat something – or drink water – prior to going there. I also fail to be rational with food at times, and found that this method can help. |
| Steven 11 years ago | My biggest struggle is the “Quick Mart” convenient stores. They always have the best looking convenient foods and always at the right time, during my commute to and from work. Lately I have been doing good with, “just saying no” but there are times especially when work was hard that I just give in and have something from there that I know I don’t need. |
 Leonard 11 years ago | For me it’s more about maintaining than losing weight. In other words, the biggest obstacle comes after I lose some weight. I tell myself that I’m fine and can relax… It then takes only a few days before sugary juices and too many sandwiches put me back to the start. The biggest obstacle is to stay disciplined. I suppose that the only way is to change my menu from the core and create a lifelong healthy habit… but that’s easier said than done. 😛 |
 Courtney 11 years ago | My sister is my biggest obstacle. We both struggle with weight issues. I have recently lost 80 pounds and I’m determined to get to my weight goal. My sister will ask me to run an errand with her and at some point arrive back to the car with 2 ice cream cones! At first I gave in to it because I didn’t want her wasting money. Now I refuse to take the cone. She sometimes will eat both cones! Other times, she’ll toss it out. Don’t get me wrong. We love each other, but I think she finds comfort in me being overweight. |
| Ossie-Sharon 11 years ago | With regard to setbacks, maybe it would help to have a separate plan for illness/injury states. Think what would make you feel better but not be totally off track – maybe just smaller portions of your favorite foods.
As for the workplace issue, they say the best defense is an offense, so go for it – you start bringing in healthier choices that are just as irresistable and see how it goes. Maybe even start a conversation about how tough it is to stay healthy during the holidays, and other folks might follow suit. If not, again portion control is the make-or-break factor. Budget a certain amount of treats into your day just for “show” and respect. Completely depriving oneself isn’t healthy either 😉 |
 Tisa 11 years ago | My biggest obstacle is when I have a setback–illness, pulled muscle, etc. It seems like each time I have a setback it causes me to want to go off track with eating healthy or exercising regularly. I really have to convince myself that I need to stay on track. I also agree that the workplace is a huge challenge at times, especially during the holidays! It’s crazy how much bad stuff people bring in and they are eager to see whether or not you like it. |
| Joanne 11 years ago | Well, I’m a stress eater. Whenever something bad or troublesome happens, I get cravings to eat something immediately. And immediately is the key word there, so I usually end up eating sandwiches and candy… the worst. So, in my experience, the big challenge is maintaining control in these situations. Usually I try to distract myself and do something else while trying to calm down (going for a walk is perfect).
I would also agree that workplace provides many challenges. I found that bringing a healthy lunch from home indeed helps – that way I don’t have an excuse to order a bunch of comfort food even if I get stressed. 🙂 |
 Miranda 11 years ago | The hardest part of losing weight is all the good intentioned people who want to bring you food (at the office especially)- the wrong kinds of food – as a treat or gift because they see you are overweight and assume that it is the key to getting on your good side. And they get offended if they don’t see you dig in. Also ordering lunch out every day at the office can leave you in a pickle if you are not prepared. I was reading the program guide and it is correct preparation is the key. Prepare and bring lunch and snacks to work. Thanks a mil, I am looking forward to learning and participating. |
| Ossie-Sharon 11 years ago | Very, very true. The trick is to really absorb that knowledge and let it become second nature. It does take some time for most, but cravings for unhealthy foods eventually do weaken and even disappear. |
