I've been enjoying the 'tips' articles that Ske and Denise have been posting re: holidays and saw this one. Nothing earth shattering here but always good reminders. I particularly liked the article linked re: all-or-none thinking. Enjoy!
5 ways to avoid holiday weight gain

Peg

quote:

Originally posted by Sandy:

I am not sure why- maybe this idea that it is about simple tips and not hard work.

I think both things are true at the same time. Yeah, it really is all about these simple tips... Hour after hour after hour and day after day after day... the consistency is hard work sometimes.

And some of the holiday tips are irksome because they are sooooo simple, like “Don't stand near the buffet” That sounds easy enough. Yes, that is a good plan. I can do that! Except I've been to parties and EVERYBODY was standing around the buffet... so if you are not standing near the buffet, you are standing alone...

So then it gets more complicated, and you have to ask people to leave the buffet and come sit with you on in the living room. And some well meaning hostess-type often gathers up half the buffet and brings it to the coffee table so that you don’t feel deprived… That happened to me last New Years.

But sometimes not standing next to the buffet actually works… and some parties it is pretty easy… and some parties it isn’t.

I took “Flip the Switch” out of the library yesterday. In the intro, he writes, “Most weight-loss books fail because they try to impose or apply a quick, easy solution to a highly complex problem.” And in some ways he is right…

But I also disagree because quick, easy solutions do work amazingly well sometimes. Like not keeping chips in the house. The reasons I might want to eat a one pound bag might be many and complex… but not having them in the house IS a solution. Maybe it is a Band-Aid until I get my mind right... but Band-Aids have their place in the medicine chest.

quote:

Originally posted by p7eggyc:
I think many of us have found ourselves adopting improved healthy choices that at one point sounded unreasonable or undoable or 'stupid'. I know you have mentioned coffee and 1/2 and 1/2 and lots of other things. I honestly have to say if someone had told me 5 years ago I was going to virtually give up soda I would've laughed out loud....

That is so true… And even though many of the tips are the same… and there is usually not anything earth shattering new… different tips “speak” to me different years.

quote:

I like the lists because they remind me to use skills I've already developed, encourage me to continue building my arsenal and remind me that I'm not in this alone. I've been at this long enough to say that there isn't usually a lot new per se but there is still good stuff.

For as whiney as I sound, I like the lists of tips, too… for the same reason. I read and re-post enough of them.

And the hardest part about following some of these tips is that “should I?” or “shouldn’t I?” process. Like “Should I make a second trip to the buffet?” or “Should I stay in my seat?” I’ve tortured myself with this question when I was both thin and fat. It isn’t so much not having a second helping that is the hard part of being thin… it is the deciding process before not going to get the second helping. And shoot, I did that when I was heavy, so in some ways, nothing has changed… except that I feel sooooo much better now.

So while we are all posting about how hard this is to do… it isn’t THAT hard.

KD said in the second book that losing and maintaining weight is hard, but it isn’t as hard as living life as an overweight person. And that is sooooo true.

quote:

Originally posted by Sandy:

I am not sure why- maybe this idea that it is about simple tips and not hard work.

I agree with Sandy 110%. Somehow reading "tips" makes it sound so easy.

I really don't like the tips that are too "touchy feely". I think you can only let yourself off the hook so many times. The reality is that if you want to be successful in losing weight and keeping it off, it's very hard work.

quote:

Originally posted by GoingSkiing:
And when you read a list of tips, is there often one tip that you disagree with?

I generally agree with the tips. I sometimes get annoyed with them, though. I am not sure why- maybe this idea that it is about simple tips and not hard work. I am working hard these days to stay in maint. range and am feeling good about it- I know that eating a sliver of pie won't keep my in range- I have to constantly do all the stuff we talk about- a sliver of pie is better then half a pie, but sometimes I still feel the quick tips are misleading and oversimplified.
Maybe I am just a bit cranky today.

Having done my complaining- I almost always read these types of tips and articles- they do help me stay present to my goals and daily plans-

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Sandy,

LOL Denise! You rebel girl!

I think that it isn't so much that I disagree and it sounds to me something similar is happening with you and maybe it's a reframing opportunity for you. I think (or wish I'd think) "That won't work for me" or even better "That won't work for me THIS TIME". I think many of us have found ourselves adopting improved healthy choices that at one point sounded unreasonable or undoable or 'stupid'. I know you have mentioned coffee and 1/2 and 1/2 and lots of other things. I honestly have to say if someone had told me 5 years ago I was going to virtually give up soda I would've laughed out loud. There are several things like that for me. I think the moral of the story is, not surprisingly, the usual moral of the story. Do the things you can do and those that you can't, set aside for now or modify so you can and most important, don't use it as an excuse to let it all go for indefinite periods of time. You know all that so I suspect when you look at a list, you've already done all you really can or want to do and it's ok if you want to eat 2 desserts Thursday. You are taking care of business and it will all work out fine. It's just a list of baby steps and you've already chosen yours. Frankly, I don't think I've ever eaten 2 slices of pie on Thanksgiving but let's talk about the number of servings of dressing! It's all in our choices. We would never tell a newbie to look at this list of 5-10 baby steps and do them all. We shouldn't tell ourselves that either.

I like the lists because they remind me to use skills I've already developed, encourage me to continue building my arsenal and remind me that I'm not in this alone. I've been at this long enough to say that there isn't usually a lot new per se but there is still good stuff.

Peg

Here is yet another one from WEBMD.

Avoiding Thanksgiving Weight Gain


I have a question of the day.

When you read these lists of holiday tips, is there often one tip that you disagree with or go, "That is just STUPID!!" I mostly agree with every tip in the webmd article... BUT...

There is some thing about the work, "sliver". I hate that word especially when followed by "of pie", "of cake" or "of dessert".

And the funny thing is that I DO eat "slivers" of pie. At the community band pot luck in Dec., I'll have a "sliver". And I’m going out to eat with my girlfriends in Dec. and we’ll split a dessert 4 ways… so that is pretty sliver-ish.

But if I ate a "sliver" of pie on Thanksgiving Day... I'd be back in the kitchen and I'd eat half a pie while cleaning up.

I'm planning on having two pieces of pie this holiday, not slivers, and not a quarter of a pie... but normal sized pieces of pie.

And I don't feel terribly guilty... EXCEPT...

I remember in the past, I said, "That's sooooo stupid" when Ediets recommended journaling food. And I actually made things harder on my self… so sometimes I worry when I look at some tried and true recommendation and I look at it and say, “That is just dumb”. I think… Am I just resisting?

But I often DO eat desserts in sliver like portions (I get 6 servings out of a pint of ice cream)… but I think that sometimes you just need your own normal sized dessert (or two) and not a sliver and not share it with your family of 8... And I happen to think that Thanksgiving Day is one of those days.

And if I eat a left over pie because I’m feeling deprived, that isn’t going to work for me. Better to plan a head and shave some calories the next three days and eat two pieces of pie.

So any way, take some of these tips with a grain of sodium… they may not all work for you.

And when you read a list of tips, is there often one tip that you disagree with?