I have been provided with a Nutrisystem plan in exchange for sharing my honest experience and results on my blog. All opinions are my own.

We all hear statements about how “impossible” it is to stay on track with a diet during the holidays. It’s such a common phrase that it seems to be accepted at face value without really thinking it through. I thought it was worth analyzing this statement.

I think there are a few different misconceptions wrapped up in this. One is the assumption that watching what you eat is always for a limited amount of time, and if you’re going to “skimp” on eating, you should do it when it’s not a food-focused season. In reality, to stay at a lower weight you have to continue eating less calories long-term. You shouldn’t view a diet (or meal plan like Nutrisystem) as a short-term fix where you can just eat less food for a few months, because if you do that and then go back to eating larger portions (too many calories!) you will gain the weight back. It has to be a permanent change.

Another big misconception with this is the idea of “all or nothing”. I’ve read blog posts by others sharing how they did great and lost 20+ pounds, and then got anxious or depressed and ate a ton of junk food one weekend so they gave up. Of course, eating a lot of junk food over the course of a weekend isn’t ideal. However, you shouldn’t give up overall just because of a bad day, or week or even year. You can always start fresh. If you gorged on Thanksgiving that’s no reason to not choose to eat well today. Weight doesn’t go off or come on in a day. Look at each day, or even eat meal time as a fresh start because that is exactly what it is.

For example, even if you plan to indulge for a holiday lunch or dinner, you can still make a great choice for breakfast.

My final point is – are the holidays really about food? Does it really ‘ruin’ your holiday if you choose to avoid unhealthy foods, or to only eat small portions of dessert? Of course not! While we have traditions for many holidays, such as eating Turkey and stuffing on Thanksgiving, that doesn’t mean your Thanksgiving needs to be a waste if you don’t eat Turkey that day. If you see your family and have a great time it can still be a great Thanksgiving. Sticking with Nutrisystem on a holiday wouldn’t cause your day to be a waste. However, if you choose not to eat a Nutrisystem entree on a holiday, that doesn’t mean the whole week, your your entire weight loss plan is a waste either.

If you decide that certain foods are an essential part of a holiday, keep in mind you can indulge in one food without them all. For me, Thanksgiving is usually the one day a year where I get to eat pie. Seems how it’s only once a year, I want a small piece of apple for Thanksgiving. However, I don’t get too excited about pumpkin pie, stuffing or green bean casserole, so I can skip those foods (and calories!) without feeling like I missed out. Regardless of which foods you choose, remember how important portion sizing is. There’s no need to eat a heaping plate (or two plates) or to eat any of the foods or desserts that are high in calorie if they aren’t special or important to you. If you choose to go off of your meal plan for the holiday, consider if each food is important enough for you to be worth it. There’s no reason to indulge in everything just because you indulge in one item. For me this means I can indulge in a piece of apple pie but I skip the other pies and desserts, stuffing and green bean casserole.

My last piece of advice is to talk about your plan with someone close to you. Ryan & I both talk about our plan for eating when we go to any kind of party or event. We’ve found that discussing what we will and won’t eat and just having a set plan in place helps us to avoid over-indulging once we get there.

If you want to indulge in the holiday spirit by saving money, Nutrisystem a la carte items are now all 50% off!

How do you handle holiday food while still watching what you eat? I’d love to hear your thought process on making food decisions, as well as tips or advice.

Emily

Hi there! I am Emily Evert, the owner of Emily Reviews. I am 28 and live in a small town in Michigan with my boyfriend Ryan and our two pugs. I have a large family and I adore my nieces and nephews. I love reading memoirs, and learning about child development and psychology. I love watching The Game of Thrones, Teen Mom, Sister Wives and Veep. I like listening to Jason Isbell, John Prine, and other alt-country or Americana music. I created Emily Reviews as a creative outlet to share my life and the products that I love with others.

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