It's all fun and games until your JEANS get tight!

[PassingFair]

I have been eating (and drinking) anything that came within grabbing distance
of my hands for the past two weeks.

My jeans DON'T feel tight, but I'm pretty damn sure I didn't LOSE any weight
this holiday season.

I ate so much I actually felt BAD. Acid reflux one night, and problems with the old
intestinal tract another.

I'm back on the straight and narrow today. After losing over 60 pounds last year, I'm
not willing to pack it all right back on.

Anyone else "lose it" over the holidays?

[BayouBengal07]

1. It's been a long slide.

I calorie-counted my way to losing at least 25 pounds last year, but gained 15 back over the course of the second half of 2015. It's so hard to go back to the counting/measuring mentality!

And yes, my first tipoff was the tightness in my new pants I bought when I lost all the weight.

[PassingFair]

2. The hardest bit...

is not being able to just go and grab anything you want from the kitchen!

I had taken to eating cookies with my tea at night, or just grabbing squares of
chocolate at any given time.

THAT'S over....

On the positive side, one of my Xmas presents is a set of underwater headphones.
They have really amped up my swim workout!!

[kcass1954]

3. It wasn't easy, but I made it through the holidays and weigh less than I did before Thanksgiving.

Counting calories gave me an excuse to skip my SIL's yucky dressing and jarred gravy at Thanksgiving dinner.

I've lost just over 50 pounds since May, and was dreading the holidays because of worries that I'd go overboard. I'm down 3 sizes, and loving how I look in skinny jeans.

[PassingFair]

5. I LOVE my skinny jeans too!

Unfortunately for me, both my mother AND my husband are excellent cooks that LOVE to
do up the traditional family dinners.... including roast beef and yorkshire pudding on Xmas.

Also, I really loaded up the stockings with candy and chocolate this year...
I "dieted" from May thru Thanksgiving. I took off the 4 pounds or so I gained over
Thanksgiving, but Xmas.....

I haven't gone back on the scale! Since my clothes don't feel tight, I guess I have
managed to stem the damage.

Congratulations for sticking to your plan!!!
You are doing GREAT!

[ginnyinWI]

4. This holiday season I weighed myself every day!

It helped me stay on the straight and narrow. I have been fluctuating within three pounds the whole time, and my net gain as of this morning is only one pound from right before Thanksgiving. For me, that is success! I actually went one pound under my starting weight for a few days, and I'm sure that pound isn't staying long.

I just watched how much I ate, and didn't eat everything--only the things I liked the most, and then limited the amounts. It is much easier than trying to lose it all later. I gained seven pounds last year.

p.s. and one other thing I think really helps, and I'm keeping this up: I started a policy of not eating for 12 hours out of every 24. Gives the body time to lower insulin levels, the hormone which enables fat storage. Carbs raise that level, especially sugar. I stop eating at somewhere between 8 and 9 p.m. and don't have breakfast until at least 12 hours later. It is really easy to do after the first few days. I recommend it.

[PassingFair]

6. Such willpower!

I will sometimes have a "snack" of 0 fat yogurt before bed.

If I go to bed really hungry, I sometimes have trouble falling asleep.

Good work on sticking to your program.
How much weight have you lost?

[ginnyinWI]

7. well...

First of all, one thing the 12 hour nightly fast does is it reduces my appetite. Sugar and refined carbs increase it!

I am down 62 pounds from my all time high. I would still like to lose about 25. It came off over a period of years: the first 30 by changing what I ate, and the second 30 by reducing the amount I ate. That's about it.

I do exercise nearly every day which also helps eliminate stress eating. It doesn't do much to take weight off though--that is a lie that the big food industry would like us to believe: "just exercise and you can work off whatever extra calories you eat!" lol. Exercise keeps me fit and gives me energy, that's all.

I enjoyed the holidays maybe more than if I were eating "everything in sight". Less tummy aches, less guilt, less heartburn, more fun!

[PassingFair]

8. Got on the scale this morning...

Gained a total of 2 pounds! Not so bad!

I had expected it to be a much bigger gain than that...
But, I've been back on my diet for 4 days, so I may have lost a pound or two already.

I'm not sure I want to lose any more weight, although I'd like to shave a couple more inches
off my waist, I don't want my face to start sagging...

[ginnyinWI]

9. good for you!

Any bit of self control during the holidays helps. I think the real harm is to turn it into a months long binge all winter.

[crewprimal]

10. diet

do some cardio and decrease in calorie intake