Focus On You > Plan on Having Fun: Strategies for Parties and Special Events

Focus on You

Plan on Having Fun: Strategies for Parties and Special Events

Reprinted from the TOPS publication Real Life: The Hands-on Pounds-off Guide

You’re on a roll with your weight-loss efforts, planning meals, staying within your calorie budget and then — boom! The holidays roll around or a special event comes up, and you’re worried your hard work will go right out the window. No need to skip the celebration though. Just plan ahead.

When You’re the Guest

• Don’t be the food police. Be gracious even if the food is high in fat and full of empty calories.
• Make the best choices you can from what’s available.
• Limit yourself to small portions.
• Don’t be self-conscious. Most of the other guests are in the same situation. It’s unlikely that anybody is scrutinizing what and how much you eat.
• If you’re declining dessert (or anything else), just say “No, thank you.” Don’t create elaborate excuses for why you can’t eat the food.
• If the host insists or you’re worried about insulting him or her, you can always say that you’re too full but ask for a plate to go. Or ask for the recipe!

A Few Other Tactics for Celebrating Sensibly

• Focus on the people, not the food.
• Don’t go hungry. Have a meal or a snack before you go.
• You can always offer to bring a dish — one you know you can eat without breaking your meal plan.
• Keep a drink, preferably water or diet soda, in your hand.

The Bottom Line

There’s no one right way to eat healthy and lose weight. Different things work for different people, depending on their health, lifestyle, and personality. No matter which food plan you decide to follow, you’ll have to invest a little energy before you see the payoffs. Give yourself time to adjust, time to succeed, and room to make mistakes and grow.

Food for Thought

After reading the excerpt from Real Life above, ask yourself these questions. Do it on your own or with your chapter, and share your favorite healthy holiday eating strategies.

• Do you have a favorite high-calorie party/holiday food? Can you find a way to enjoy that in moderation? If so, how?
• What’s your go-to healthy potluck or party dish? As a chapter or with friends, why not swap recipes to change things up?
• How do you react when someone pressures you to eat or drink at a gathering?
• Check out the holiday food guide on www.tops.org for information about lower-calorie cookie and cocktail choices, plus delicious holiday recipes from past issues of TOPS News and more.
• How could you incorporate some of these tips into your holiday party routine?
• What’s your go-to healthy potluck or party dish? As a chapter or with friends, why not swap recipes to change things up?
• How do you react when someone pressures you to eat or drink at a gathering?
• Do members/friends have tips that could be helpful?

Writing these things down ahead of time will help you remember that you do have choices in the moment and make it easier to commit to your healthy meal plan.

Finally, remember that there are no good foods or bad foods, and all foods fit in moderation. If you go overboard, don’t beat yourself up. After all, one day won’t undo your hard work. Just pick up on your regular meal plan the next day.