I am a Nutrisystem Nation blogger. I am provided with a Nutrisystem plan in exchange for writing regular updates. All opinions are my own.
A couple weeks ago I shared how the holiday season is often thought of as a disaster for diets. I explained how we try to not look at the entire season as “a waste” and instead look at each meal time as a chance to make a good choice. That post is titled Holidays, Food and Family if you want to check that out. I talked about our Thanksgiving experience then.
This weekend we had our first Christmas themed party. I thought I would share how Ryan chose to handle his food today. We woke up about 3 hours in advance of the party (it was set to start in advance of lunch so we could eat lunch as part of the party). We woke up and Ryan cleared our driveway of snow which took over an hour, then showered and got around. We also had to make a trip to the store before the event. Seems how he knew he would be busy he chose not to eat breakfast to save calories and also because he knew he was busy enough that it wouldn’t be too difficult.
Ryan & I hanging out in the background at our first Christmas party of the year. My little niece showing her new dolls.
For lunch he ate with our family. Our main entree was ham, and there was also mashed potatoes, corn, gravy, homemade mac and cheese, rolls, 3 types of pie, fudge, two types of cookies and a type of rock candy. In total, about half the food available was desserts.
Ryan chose to rely heavily on the ham because of it’s protein. He also had a small helping of mashed potatoes, and a side of corn. He is a big fan of pie so he chose a small (2-3 inch piece) of pie and a small (less than 1 inch) piece of peanut butter fudge.
This allowed him to feel like he was participating in the holiday like everyone else. However, he was careful to limit his desserts to very small portions which was a big help to keep calories low.
Of course, this lunch was still much higher in calories than his normal Nutrisystem lunch would be. So avoiding breakfast and his morning and afternoon snack helped to fill that gap. It’s hard to estimate calories on homemade desserts (at least without a lot of info from the chef) so we don’t know for sure but he was probably still over calories for today. However, when we got home he went right back to Nutrisystem for dinner. Tomorrow he’ll continue just like usual.
While it would be a better choice to stick with Nutrisystem 24/7, it’s an important step for most people to learn to adapt to social environments with a lot of unhealthy food choices. Participating in eating with others can still be done carefully to do as little damage as possible while still “fitting in” so to speak.
How do you handle social events while watching calories? I’d love your advice!
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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.
This post currently has 7 responses.
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I am so impressed with his discipline. Thank you for sharing his journey. It is inspiring.
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ellen beck
He did great. Snow shoveling helped a whole lot too- trust me we shovel here and its hard work so he for sure burned calories! I think his choices were smart too. High protein yet still some comfort foods. I think it really is important to enjoy the holidays, and although it might feel like youre ‘sliding’ what youre doing is living and enjoying some dishes you would only have once a year. Keep making the good choices. I bet when the holidays are over, you will be surprised in that you did great!
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Amber Ludwig
I definitely try to stick to small portions, I make healthy choices but also indulge a little (can’t not 😉 ). I also try to stay active during the holidays!! Playing with my kiddo and goofing with family can burn some calories!!
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Deb E
You’re so right and if you can make it through the holidays, you’ll have no problem starting off the new year with better habits that you’re sticking to. I love fitness, so I exercise more if I know I may have extra calories. I usually get at least one fitness gift at Christmas and get busy using it which burns more calories. I have a birthday at the end of the year too and that usually gives me huge motivation to keep in shape!
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Jeanine Carlson
I try to eat something before I go to a party so I don’t feel like eating a lot when I get there.
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I am so proud of Ryan. He has so much willpower. I think he made really good choices of how to handle calories and what to skip. Good luck with New Years declarations.
Good luck on your weight loss journey. Hope you can keep the weight off long term.