Be of Good Cheer

For the next two months, I'll be referencing Thanksgiving and Christmas quite a bit. Yes, those are the danger days. People with lots of family will have lots of food and eat a lot, either out of solidarity or because they are under the stress of making sure the family occasion goes well. People who have no family and who aren't happy about it may be depressed and eat a lot, and so on.

I don't want you to stress out over these holidays. Do your best to stick to your smaller portions routine, and if you have an extra candybar or calorie-rich dessert at some kind of party at work or whatever, don't stress about it!

Do not be afraid to gain a pound or two in November, and a pound or two in December. Obviously, you do not want to gain more than that.

The thing is to be realistic. Many people on a diet, who go off that diet on an uncontrollable binge, will give up on their diet completely afterwards, feeling like, "what's the use."

Therefore, allow yourself to have a snack. Do not think of it as you breaking your diet, think of it as you accepting the fact that in November and December, you're going to allow yourself to eat a bit more so you don't get all stressed out by denying yourself food when everyone else around you is over-eating.

If you are jut a few months into your weight loss/weight maintanance program, approach these two months in a scientific manner.

Make sure you keep your journal completely during these two months, to learn how you react to eating extra portions of various foods at a time when you are still supposed to be losing weight, as opposed to maintaining it.

Are there certain foods you eat that trigger an urge to eat more? (No one can eat just one potato chip or one pistachio - for example. It's the salt that doees it.)

Or, let's say you do have the willpower to not eat while everyone else around you is. How do you feel about that - no issues, a bit resentful, etc.?

These are all questions about yourself that you should answer - the most important thing any person can do - regardless of what they are trying to do in life - is know themselves.