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See also: Taste for Truth Christian Weight Loss Podcast. Click here for more info! Click here to view on iTunes.
It’s that time of year again–the time when we throw caution to the wind, ignore all of our boundaries, and eat, eat, eat! It comes right before the New Year’s resolutions season–when we vow to lose weight, get back on the wagon, and then suffer, suffer, suffer, trying to get those pounds off again.
Here’s my question: is it really worth all that eating when you think of the consequences? Or would it be better to avoid holiday weight gain and stick to our boundaries?
That’s what we’ll be talking about in this episode of the Christian Habits Podcast!
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In today’s episode, we’ll be renewing our minds with the Holiday/Vacation Eating questions and a couple of the Bible verses from the I Deserve a Donut app. I’ve included the questions and an example of how I might answer them below as well.
11 Questions That Will Help You Avoid Holiday Weight Gain
1. Do you want to gain, lose, or maintain your weight on this vacation/holiday?
I don’t know about you, but I’m usually thinking about what I’d like to eat over the holidays, not what I’d like to weigh! This is an important question to ask, though, because it reminds us: Oh, that’s right. If I eat what I want, I won’t end up weighing what I want. Maybe I better be a little careful.
2. What will you need to do to accomplish your goal?
This will be different for each of us, depending on our boundaries. One of my current boundaries (thinking of making it a lifelong boundary) is no sweets unless it’s a social occasion or a holiday.
I was thinking of adding sweets for the holidays since I love Christmas cookies. Then I did this podcast, answered the questions and thought, Wait a minute. If I start adding in cookies, I’ll get out of the “no sweets” mindset and it will be really hard to get back into it.
So I’ve decided to stick to my regular boundaries. Taking the time to renew my mind (while working on the podcast) made me see the logic of following my boundaries, and now I actually want to follow them.
3. Will eating as much as you want make the holiday more fun? Explain, taking all factors into consideration.
No. It may be fun in the moment, but it’s not fun to a) gain weight, b) dread losing it, c) not fit into clothes, d) feel crummy from all that food, e) be tired all the time, and f) feel discouraged about ever being able to lose weight and keep it off.
4. What usually happens when you eat as much as you want on holidays and vacations?
All of the above, right? When we adopt an “it’s the holidays–let’s eat!!!” mindset, we don’t usually stop at moderate. Instead we eat far more than is good for us and end up discouraged and five or ten pounds heavier than when we began.
5. Do you want that to happen?
No. I don’t think we do. Do you?
6. Will you need to modify your boundaries during this vacation/holiday to make them easier to follow?
This will also be different for each of us. I’m not planning on modifying mine much, although I may have more friends over so I can eat more Christmas cookies. :) (If you’re my friend and I invite you over, don’t worry, I’m not just inviting you over so I can eat cookies.)
7. What do you think would be the most effective boundaries to use?
Again, think about this. You know your personality. You know if you do better sticking to a schedule without changes, or if you would be better modifying your boundaries a bit. Try to decide ahead of time, and not when that leftover pumpkin pie is staring you in the face!
8. Are boundaries easy to follow, or do you usually have to give up something to follow them?
We almost always have to give up something to follow our boundaries. That’s why we have them–because we know we tend to be out of control in that area of our life. Because of that, we should expect that at times it will be difficult to follow them. It’s inevitable.
9. What will have to give up to follow your boundaries this time?
I will have to give up my normal two or three cookie a day Christmas habit and my eggnog and whip cream for lunch most days habit. But it will be worth it! Can you think of any things you might need to give up?
10. What will you gain if you follow your boundaries?
Lots! We won’t gain weight. We’ll feel more energetic. We’ll be one step closer to lifelong maintenance with food. And we’ll feel hopeful. Come January 1st, we’ll be happy we stuck to those boundaries!
11. When you think of what you’ll gain, is it worth the sacrifice?
Yes.
If you struggle with holiday eating, it might be helpful to go through these questions every few days over the holidays. I give a little more info on the podcast but wanted to include the basics here in case you don’t have time to listen to podcasts.
If you’d like more help, click here to read a post I wrote for my friend Melanie’s blog that includes a lie/truth chart with lies, truths, and Bible verses that will help you avoid holiday weight gain.
Discussion: Do you have any other tips for avoiding holiday weight gain?
I can see the holiday eating starting to consume me already. This is the time of year where I need to focus on being thankful, not being consumed with food.
It’s easy to get consumed by it.
Thankfulness is a great idea. I wonder how it would work to start praying with thanksgiving to renew your mind when you’re tempted. I think that might be a neat thing to try!
Great comment, Sonia…I’m trying to fill up on God’s word, strength and purpose so I don’t overconsume food…also listening to a few worship songs to remind my heart about what it’s all about. Thanks Barb…helpful cheerleading and honesty that encourages us all.
Thanks, Becca. Love how you phrased that – filling up with God’s word, strength, and purpose. That helps! Enjoy your family this Thanksgiving!
Excellent questions and advice, Barb. It takes a while of asking those questions until our perspective is changed forever. Our generation was taught the mindset of “getting full” as if it was the goal. My goal now is to not ever feel full! The amazing part of eating clean is that it actually allows us to eat more often in smaller portions.
I’ve found that eating five to six times a day after time gives me the driving desire to fast and to feel hunger pangs. It’s a long ways from where most of us started. Okay, done rambling! Nice job, sister.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your entire clan!
Happy Thanksgiving to you to, Floyd! Hope you’re enjoying the holidays with your family. We have 3 kids home which is pretty wonderful. Planning to get out and go on some walks today, play pinochle, maybe shop a bit, and then a long hike tomorrow. Just have to wait until they wake up. :)
I heard recently that the average American consumes 4500 calories on Thanksgiving Day. That’s only one day for the whole weekend. WOW! They need to read your blog.
Wow! I can see how people could make it up that high though with all those yummy pies. :) Fortunately, I think I kept it lower than that yesterday, and also resisted the urge to have pumpkin pie for breakfast this morning! Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, Karen! We have three kids home which is pretty wonderful!
This helps a ton! These questions cause us to be mindful about our choices. About what we are putting in our body. I like asking if eating more during the holidays will actually add fun to your life. So much of what we do is on autopilot. Its not until we take control that we find freedom! Good stuff!!
Thanks, Adam, that’s another great question! I just checked out your website and it looks great! I was interested in your West Yellowstone workout as I’m from Montana and go to Yellowstone every fall to camp and hike. It looks like you have some great material on your website!
Great questions and advice. I’ve recently lost all my pregnancy weight and now my goal is to keep it off! It’s hard though because there is so much good food that I WANT to indulge in but I have to set boundaries to keep the weight off. Your questions will continue to guide me through the New Year!
Thanks!
Thanks, TC! That’s great that you lost all of your pregnancy weight already! I’m at my parents right now where there are homemade cinnamon rolls, lemon bars (my favorite), brownies, two types of ice cream, and numerous opportunities to go out for treats so I’m also having to watch my boundaries. :)
Hi Barb, something I’ve been trying to keep in mind is that I can have “holiday” food any time of the year if I really want to. Reminding myself of that helps me to ditch that, “better eat it now or it will be a whole year before I can have it again” mentality. As always, I love your questions and answers.
Thanks, Julie. I think that’s a great idea. I often think we’d enjoy some of those holiday treats more at other times of the year since we have so many treats available over the holidays!
That’s a good point! Last year, I think it was in Feb or March, I actually made a point to make a meal of stuffing and gravy with other “traditionally holiday” sides. It was kind of fun to shake it up a bit.
That is fun. I love stuffing, gravy, and mashed potatoes. I hardly ever make it because every time I think of it, I picture the whole Thanksgiving meal in my mind and how much work it is – but I have to remember that I don’t have to make the whole meal!
I think #7 is important, “What do you think would be the most effective boundaries to use?” We have to find which boundary would work best for us and what result we want to obtain from it. This can be determined between us and God. Great questions.
Thanks, Dan. I agree. Different boundaries work better for different people and in different stages of our life. I’ve had to adjust mine over the years.
This is perfect holiday advice! I believe that determining my boundaries ahead of time and sticking with them will make me feel much better over the holidays! I usually end up eating too many sweets especially and excuse myself because “we only get them once a year” but then I have to deal with that yucky feeling of having eaten too much or too many sweets… Plus, I have extra weight to lose. Again. Thank you for your wisdom!
So glad it was helpful, Darla! Holidays are hard! For the next six weeks or so there are so many opportunities to break boundaries! Praying this holiday season will go better than usual with eating!