Oh Those Holiday Parties…

December is a time to let go, right? WRONG!

This morning I got up, meditated, did my morning routine and then planned my nutritional day. I do that by opening up my favorite food tracking app, MyMacros Plus, and mapping out my eating for the day. I am currently feeding down and that means on Mondays I am allowed 2100 calories; the only restriction is that my protein consumption cannot be less than 200 grams. 

On normal days where I am in control of my eating I simply fill up my bag with food and slowly nibble away until the last bite is gone. Once that happens if I get a craving to nibble I “cheat” with my old standbys — sugar-free bubble gum, cough drops and occasionally a few pickles or some egg whites if I’m really famished. 

The thing is, I’m not always in control of my eating plan this time of year primarily because of holiday parties. As I continue to network and build my practice I get more and more offers for holiday happy hours and end of the year sit down dinners. And since they are at the end of the day, usually between 6 and 8 pm, my resolve is low, the goodies are plentiful and just the right price — free. So planning in advance is the key to sustained success. 

So what to do? Well I have two approaches that I freely offer to you dear readers: 1. Don’t Eat! or 2. Build the get together into your day. 

Option One is the easiest — at least from a planning perspective — and exactly what I did Thursday night when I went to an awesome get together at The Goose in downtown Darien. I grazed throughout the day as always (usually six small meals around 350 to 400 calories) finishing my last meal about 6:15 pm on the train to the event. Knowing that I had event at the day’s end, I left myself around 300 calories to play with by omitting parmesan cheese and sunflower seeds from my Thursday salads, just in case I was feeling left out. 

Once I got to Darien I told the bartender I wanted a drink that looked like alcohol but was just seltzer (imagine a nice garnish, a straw and a swizzle stick or two) because alcohol is empty calories and lowers even the stronger resolve. There were tons of goodies floating about — chips and dip, handmade sliders and hand-tossed pizza — all of which I passed on thanks to my trust seltzer with lime.

Then I spotted a “safe” food that I could nibble; broiled prawns with cocktail sauce. I had around 8 ounces of shrimp and dipped each in cocktail sauce, equaling around 200 calories and 46 grams of protein — thank goodness I had saved myself some nibble room. 

When dinner came I sat next to some really interesting people. The man to my right had lost a considerable amount of weight some years past (and had beat the odds and kept it off), so we had loads to discuss. And the woman to my right, a family therapist from Fairfield, was a delight. 

The waiter slowly made his way around and everyone placed their orders — steak, lobster rolls, seafood au gratin —all way outside of my daily dietary orbit. When the waiter came to me I told him to bring me a plain dinner salad with no dressing and no bread. My plan for the rest of the night was to move the salad around on my plate and keep the conversation going. Why not skip ordering? People don’t tend to like that. They will cajole me and tell me how I should “just have a little bit” or even encourage me to “take a break the night.” But with food in front of me few people noticed and I avoided making others uncomfortable. I went home delighted with my numbers and the next morning my weight was right on track — 219 even. I was so proud of myself for holding the course and doing what needed to be done. 

Was I temped by seafood au gratin and sliders? What do you think? Of course I was—it’s homemade sliders with cheese! But after decades of struggle I know how it works — if I eat off course I am going to put weight back on, it’s just that simple. So while I am sometimes tempted I don’t waiver. I know what not being disciplined gets me and I never want to go back to that again. 

Later this week I will discuss plan two in detail and give you a real-world example from Sunday when I met friends for lunch across from Grand Central Station. But now — off to workout! Have a great Monday!