dealing with christmas parties..

[Littleslimmingbee]

I feel like such a grinch, i super love christmas.. its my fave time of year-
However, last year i was at my original target weight (the same as what i currently weigh) so i just enjoyed christmas fully off plan as always have done.

However, lets not kid our selves- christmas isnt just the 25/26th of dec is it? .. wev got christmas parties, events and do's to contend with before we even get to the big day!


- Iv just receieved an e-mail that my work is paying for 3 course meal and zizi's. Its very greatly appreciated.. and i LOVE zizi's.. but this is going to put a major dent in my weight loss plans.
I have 7lbs to go and after a 1lb gain last week, it put me 'behind' in the grande scheme of things. Iv never managed a proper meal out (unless at harvester) even when picking the best options, without a gain. Flexi syns dont work for me, and because i usually average 5syns a day.. it means that all those hidden syns always result in a gain. A gain i just cant afford.
Were on a self catering hols 22nd-26th this month, which i recon il be okay on. (maybe wishful thinking) i have full intention of using the pool, and cooking sw healthy meals ALL week. .

but i need to loose every single week right up untill xmas and im concerned...

so what do i do?

 

[avisk]

What you do is to decide what is most important to you. If staying strictly on plan is the most important thing, then don't go to the dinner.

If it is important from a work/social point of view that you go to the dinner then go, do your best, don't eat everything on your plate, and put up with the consequences, if any.

In the end, you are the only person who can decide which is most important.

 

[Littleslimmingbee]

I feel very stuck.. its important for me to be there- we are a very small 'team' and i am the original member of staff, have been there since day one. There will only be 6 of us at this meal..
but all i can think of is the dent it will cause in my plans

i want to go, enjoy, relax and i know it will be good team bonding for us, as the other girls are only very recent.. and as one is my SIL, she'l be expecting i go anyways.

... i juust wondered how everyone else plans to tackle the up and coming events??


XXX

 

[Shabba]

Personally, i would just go and do my best the rest of
the time. Unfortunately its life that these things come up isnt it? So we have to work around it before or after and be careful on the night!

 

[-Laura-]

I'm just going out for Christmas meals and intend to enjoy them. I don't want to gain, and ideally I'd like to have got my 2 stone by Christmas itself, so I feel like I can relax a bit and enjoy Christmas and New Year... but at the end of the day, it's a couple of potential gains out of a whole year, and it will come off again. I'm fitting the plan around my life, not the other way round!

But I can appreciate that it's easy for me to say that, as I'm not aiming for a specific date or event for target. Is there any particular reason that you need to lose every single week until Christmas? Would it reaaally be such an issue if it took a couple of weeks longer to shift those 7lb?

 

[Littleslimmingbee]

well, im on a 'fishy' week this week, im trialing it after all the fuss and massive losses some other members experianced.. so depending on this weeks loss.. if it has worked aswell for me as it has done others, maybe it could be my answer, if i did it that week and just had that meal 'off' but still making the best of it i can.


to be honest i dont think il be having this xmas ''off' like i usually do. my C made a comment that she thought my lower T was 'unmaintable' as i was only there a very short period before gaining some weight when i hit it a few months ago so im detemerined not to hit T at xmas and gain 6lbs over xmas week like i always do and struggle to get back again.

bit gutted but if id worked harder sooner i could have had a shot at being under T and had more leway. nevermind! x

 

[funcurls]

Hey Fern, how are the kids?! PMSL!!! Just a thought, I know it sounds strange, but could you eat a meal at home before going to the do, and just have one course when you're there, the lowest syn thing there, so at least you're joining in without having to fill up on all the wrong things?! It would be a shame not to attend at all, but if it's really really important to you to lose the weight you want to by Chimbo, then it may be necessary to take such action! You could always be brutally honest with your hosts and colleagues and just say you really want to get rid of the last few lbs by Christmas and you're just going to stick to the one course X

 

[Shabba]

Thats actually a really good idea! Keeping you full and keeping that goal in sight!

 

[lindsay88]

over xmas and new year i'm just going to take it as it comes, try and be sensible, but not deprive myself. I undoubtabley will havea gain of some sort, but i try to look at the bigger picture, jnauary is a new month, straight back to plan. Any damage done can and will be undone again. Although why does it never come off as easily as it goes on.... lol xx

 

[Claireybella]

You could alwaes try and go synfree up to the meal day, and then use those 5 syns a day then? Being at Zizzi's, I know they do bottles of water, so drink that instead of alcohol? What night is the meal? Is it near WI? Mine is the night of WI, so I'm gonna get weighed and then go, and work it off all week. Probably not the best way of doing it, but there you go!

I love Christmas too, fave time of year!

 

[MadameLaMinx]

Is it possible to get hold of the menu in advance or is it a fixed "Christmas Dinner" thing?

Most of a typical Christmas meal will be ok, heap your plate high with veggies and turkey, just have one roastie, go for the lightest starter option and just have a little mouthful of dessert before proclaiming yourself stuffed and unable to eat another mouthful. Drink diet coke or sparkly water and no-one will be any the wiser.

Win/win!

 

[Wee Doll]

i would go ... slimming world is a better way of eating, its not meant for you to give up the things that you want or like.

Not going i think would be the wrong thing to do ... go to the dinner eat alot of veg, opt for baby boiled potatos and lean meat .. ditch or syn for gravy and drink a good bit of water to fill up

i would deffo go if i was you ... its not fair to have to miss out

hope it all works out for ya missy xx

 

[Littleslimmingbee]

http://www.zizzi.co.uk/christmas/pdfs/Zizzi_Xmas_Menu_16.95.pdf

This is the menu-

what do you guys think?

I want to get it off because i need to get back to target. I need to prove to myself that i can get back there.. and im enjoying being 'back in the zone' - its not that i want to deprive myself.. and of course after being with sw 2 and a half years, im the first to know that not going isnt the right thing to do- but ultimatly i also know that you have to make sacrifices to achieve your dreams sometimes.

I have no choice but to go, so i guess its a syn free, superspeed week, with lots of exercise.. and the best options on the menu- what do you all think of the menu??

I dont drink anyways, so unless im forced with a glass of wine, i should be absoloutly fine! il proberly make sure i drive to be honest, so that i have extra cover.. as i hate being bullyed into drinking! xx

 

[Littleslimmingbee]

Oh p.s, i totally appreciate all the advise with it only being a couple of gains in comparison to the years worth, but its actually my birthday january 26th so i always feel a bit more pressure to keep off as much as i can leading up to xmas, as i usually gain 6lb on average over the xmas week.. which as im so close to T takes ages to get back off again and i dont have enough time between xmas and birthday! xxx

 

[Wee Doll]

well it sounds like you know what you need to do

good luck with it.

I was so close to my target the last time and then i completely fell off the wagon and went back up by a stone .... im hoping to be very close to target for Christmas so i can be a sexy snow bunny lol

Good luck with your dinner ... tighten the reins in for the week and loosen them a bit on the night
xx

 

[Littleslimmingbee]

thanks wee doll! you know how it feels then!

I hit my original target back in aug 09, stayed there for a a year and a half and decided to drop 7lbs and get my 5 stone award. I fought tooth and nail for 3 months to get there.. stayed there for a matter of weeks, then i had event after event, unavoiable gains, but only little ones.. then i went away on hols and came back 8.5lbs heavier... so have been trying to get back on top of it since, but took me a good month to really get myself together to really put my all into it, so iv only been trying my hardest the last few weeks, and with a slow weight loss, i know itl take time xx

 

[-Laura-]

il proberly make sure i drive to be honest, so that i have extra cover.. as i hate being bullyed into drinking! xx

I do this!! I know that as soon as I'm persuaded to have one, all thoughts of SW go out the window... and as soon as I have a drink, I'm guaranteed a gain or maintain!!

The menu looks lovely.. The starters don't look too SW friendly but if they're to share, you could probably get away with only having a little bit without it looking obvious. Mains, I think I would go for the pan-roasted chicken (second one down). And for dessert I would reward myself for being so good for the rest of the meal with the chocolate torte.. but that's just me!!

 

[Wee Doll]

yes fern i do know how it feels ... i was so close and now it feels like im so far away ... but im not gonna let my weight get the better of me lol im gonna beat it lol

ive set my target but i know when i get to it il want to go down another 1/2 stone to my original weight i was when i was 6 mths pregnant... im 2 stones heavier now than then :S lol

you have done so well to lose the weight you did ... you can do it again and get those last few pounds off x

 

[avisk]

Not a whole lot of choice on that menu! This is what I would do.

The "starters to share" - go along with what everyone else is having and just don't eat any, or just a tiny mouthful. Say you are saving yourself for the main course.

For the main course, either the risotto (eat all the seafood, leave most of the rice) or the chicken (take off the skin, go easy on the vegetables if they are oily, leave the potatoes).

Sorbet for dessert. It will be sugary but not fatty, so the best choice available there.

Personally, I would not be able to resist the limoncello afterwards. I once went to an Italian restaurant with a friend who was a regular there and they just brought us the bottle of their special Limoncello at the end of the meal. You can imagine the rest - well, you will have to, because I don't remember much about it!!!!

 

[avisk]

Oh - and remember that it is not compulsory to eat everything on your plate.

In polite circles, it used to be considered quite vulgar to clear your plate, so just imagine you are an aristocratic character from Downton Abbey!