(This is a long over due post so it might be a bit late to help with the Christmas/Chanukah/Festive feasting but hopefully it help some people maintain resolve going forward)
It is remarkably difficult not
to over-eat during the Christmas period. There is so much good food and
so many social events that put you near that same food, it’s basically
an impossibility to avoid gorging yourself
on the seasonal delights available. Other people aren’t much help
either; “Diet? It’s Christmas!” is the general line they come out with.
While it is full of Christmas cheer it left myself feeling nervous and
wary of anything resembling and eating area.
What is my advice for dealing with
this? Well, you have two options. Either you can avoid it and stick to
your weight-loss guns. This is much harder than normal because everyone
is likely to be encouraging you to eat more
– sometimes to help them excuse their own over-eating, I’ll point out;
it’s okay if everyone’s doing it. Or you can accept that your diet will
take a hit, that you won’t lose much weight and may in fact put some on.
Having drunk my weekly supply of calories
in about two days, I have to admit to falling in the second camp.
I am not weighing myself until the Epiphany (6th
Jan). This will allow me to see what the damage is after the feasting
has taken a downwards curve and I will (hopefully) be back to my normal
eating habits. I have
tried to limit myself somewhat but I early on decided that my diet
should not impinge unreasonably on my enjoyment of life – and that’s
early on in my diet, rather than this Christmas season. Remember – once
your diet becomes the most important and only thing
in your life, you’ll probably stop enjoying it. So don’t let that
happen! By temporarily suspending the strictness of my diet I still get
to enjoy myself and the festive period without any guilt about
‘abandoning the diet’.
And this is because it’s not
abandoned at all. I am in control of it and while, yes, I would like not
have to micro-manage it every single day of my life, I have to if I
want to achieve my goal. Again, these are limits put
in place by me and for me; it is not a societal or cultural restriction
and neither do I feel it takes away any of my freedom. This is because
it doesn’t; you are only losing weight for you. Other people may
benefit, or admire, or support you but at the end
of the day you live with yourself every day and therefore you
are the person who gets the most out of it and is therefore the reason,
the target and (ideally) the most grateful beneficiary of the diet.
Don’t lose sight of that.
If someone else says, “Oh, there
goes the diet!” ignore them. Ignore that stab of annoyance that wants to
reach out and cut them. Ignore the one of guilt that makes you want to
stop eating or go and throw up. Ignore the
fact they, in that one action, have intimately reminded you that they
don’t fully understand what you’re trying to do. They’re just making a
joke, and they mean it to be funny and without any malice. Maybe tell
them later that you don’t appreciate it, or you
find it unhelpful. Dieting is a sensitive issue, and one that is
important and personal. Don’t let other people take away from your
success, your victories, by letting these thoughtless comments get to
you.
They just don’t understand. I used
to get defensive about these comments, or try to explain the difference
between relaxing a diet and throwing it away entirely. I never felt
either course of action was particularly successful.
Now I try to say, “Just for today,” or “It’s a special occasion,” but
this doesn’t make it any easier. There’s usually a wistful expression, a
brief conflict with personal responsibility and then I try to subtly
yet pointedly stop eating while looking troubled.
Gradually the ‘so much for the diet!’ comments are disappearing as a
result of this passive-aggressive strategy.
It’s not other people’s fault that
they don’t necessarily understand or foresee the effects of their
comments. They just see you enjoying yourself and want to be part of it,
or want you to share in their enjoyment. It is,
after all, the festive season; it is the season to be feasting. So give
yourself a break, don’t get depressed about how much food ends up on
your plate and enjoy yourself. I’ll see you all again on the sixth of
January, where I’ll share in your rueful stories
of celebration and talk in more detail about my own! Merry Christmas,
Happy Chanukah, a fantastic celebration of whatever you celebrate and
good tidings to all who don’t!
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