Holiday Baking and Losing Weight

Thanksgiving is behind and Christmas is ahead. This is the time of year that can be quite a challenge for those who strive to eat healthy or are trying to lose weight. I've been hanging out at the LoveToKnow Diet forum where people are discussing all kinds of topics. If you go to the page, look in the top left hand corner for the yellow bar that says "Diet Forums". I brought up the topic Tips for Dieting and the Holidays, and have found the exchange is helping to motivate me to make better choices, and use the little tricks to help me through the times of temptation. If you're looking for some support, it's a great place to visit.

The tip I posted there today is about holiday baking. My family has a tradition of making a slew of Christmas cookies. Over the years I’ve narrowed it down to about four kinds of cookies, and most of those I bake to give away or bring to a special event. This way I can have a few of my favorites, without the temptation of eating them throughout the day...day after day.

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My Kind of Thanksgiving

Hope you all had a blessed Thanksgiving day enjoying time with family and friends. I did. This year as we planned the menu, we decided to try and make less starch. The way we did this was to ask everyone: If you could pick one of the following which would you want with Thanksgiving Dinner:

*mashed potatoes
*sweet potatoes
*rolls
*perogies (traditional with our Thanksgiving dinners)
*stuffing

Well, there's enough of us that only two of these were eliminated from the menu, but that's progress. It's not just about Thanksgiving Day, but also the days following. If there's a bunch of starch leftover, you know what that means....

Taking little steps toward eating moderately helps. Not that I expected to make huge changes on Thanksgiving Day, but we really did. We didn't over eat. We eliminated some starches, and we don't have to cook today!

Not only that, but we all went for a walk following dinner! Now that is my kind of Thanksgiving!

Holiday No Weight Gain Strategies

As we look ahead to the holidays and plan our strategies not to gain weight, I thought I'd pass this bit of wisdom on contributed by one of my faithful readers, Roberta:

I don't know if it is practical for anybody else, but one of the things I do to control what I eat at Thanksgiving is to have the dinner at my house. That way I can make food that fits into my weightloss plan: I've learned how to make everything low fat, even the dressing and gravy. Nobody knows the difference until I tell them. Although cooking and hosting a dinner for a large family is hard work, I look at it as another opportunity to burn more calories. LOL!

If I'm going out to a party I bring my favorite low fat dish or desert to share, so I always have something to eat that won't pudge me out! As far as those delicious traditional goodies that others bring, I've found that all I need to satisfy me is a tiny piece or a few bites.

If any of the rest of you have tips you'd like to share feel free to comment. Let's plan now. Thanksgiving is just around the corner!

I'm starting the second week of my cleanse today and am thanking God that I'm in one piece as I had an...accident...eye opening experience...well I took a fall this weekend. I was racing my 11-year-old grandson full out when i felt myself typing slightly forward. My mind said, I think you're going to fall. you are going to fall. Don't put your hands out, you'll break your wrists! And then I slammed into the asphalt. Left leg, palm of left hand, chest, and then my head snapped forward and my face whacked the pavement! Phew! And I'm alive. With a black eye, skinned palm and knee, and that's all! Of course everyone reminds me that I'm not 12. :) Guess I need those reminders every once in a while.