The holidays are tough. Food is everywhere, and there’s not always as much time to exercise. Almost everyone has trouble eating normally at this time, and the stakes are way higher for weight loss surgery patients. If you find yourself getting off track during the holidays, with a little extra nibble here and there and the occasional excessively large meal, how do you get back on track?

• Each time I eat too much, I feel like the day is shot. I concentrate on starting fresh the next day.
• I think hard about what went wrong so I can try to prevent it from happening again.
• Nothing in particular. I just try to forget what happened and get back to my usual meal plan.
• I don’t worry about it now. I’ll get back on track in the New Year.
• I don’t get off track. I’m super careful and I use a bunch of strategies. Read about them in my answer below!
• Other. Read my answer below!

Let us know if you get off track during the holidays, and what you do about it. Your answer will help other BariatricPal members fight their own holiday battles!

Well, I can only say what I did for Thanksgiving. I went to the gym the day before and the day after. I ate a little of everything I wanted to on Thanksgiving. Day. The band kept me from binging, so I just let the band do what it was supposed to do. I approached this holiday season different than I have every single year of my life.

BEFORE..... a free for all eating frenzy from Thanksgiving until Jan. 2.

THIS YEAR....... Keep exercising and let the band do what the band is supposed to do. I always go for the healthier options to eat first, and then I taste one or two things I want to try. I am burning those calories at the gym, so I am not in the dieting/restrictive mode any longer !!!!!!!!!!

At 2 years post op, it's easy to get off track during the holidays! I have a variety of things I do to prevent it, and some things I do to understand and deal with it.

• I still track every bite I put into my mouth, and I do it as I go. When I see it in print, it has a way of helping me make the decision to stop eating.
• I track my weight daily.
• I try to plan in advance, if I know I'm going to be facing a day of temptation. For example, I'll scale back other meals that day to accommodate a larger meal to balance the calories
• I'll go way lower a day or 2 before or after days where I consume too many calories to get my weekly total intake closer to my usual maintenance amount
• Even when there is an abundance of foods I love, I still try to make good choices. Protein first, limit carbs, and smaller portions (usually just a bite or two) of the more fattening things, like deserts.
• I try to observe that I'm full, and stop eating.
• I try to keep leftovers out of my house so that I don't have to battle the temptation too much. It can wear you down!
• Since I entertain a lot, I try to serve things that are on my plan, and not have an abundance of choices so that I don't get sucked into that "need to try it all" vortex.
• I accept that I'm human, and that it's normal to over indulge once in a while. I even allow myself some freedom to indulge.
• I get right back on track either the next day or meal, depending on what I've allowed for.

Of course, all of these things take some effort. My success requires that I stay diligent about what I'm doing, and I stay mindful of what I'm putting in my mouth. That's probably the most important change I've made since having WLS, and the one I am most protective of. If I do those two things, everything else just sort of follows.