by Lauren » March 30th, 2006, 1:35 pm
Hey, Gillian and Ascicles-
At the risk of seeming totally militant and relentless here, I think you should treat the holidays like any other day on MF - a day full of food you choose not to eat! I went through Thanksgiving by cutting up lots of extra veggies to have around the house (in case of emergencies!), preparing my own turkey (w/out all the butter) and being really proud and thankful that I could be there feeling good about myself. And then I went to Aruba over Christmas, and for a week I stuck to MF the whole time. I made oatmeal in the mornings, brought RTDs to the beach, ate L&G for dinners, had bars as mid-day snacks, and RTDs as dessert! It worked, and I lost several pounds while away.
So, why? Why shouldn't you go off the diet for a couple days? Why not have chocolate if you really want it? Look, you can choose to do anything you want, and you are the only one who knows if you have the power and desire to jump right on back after the event. I didn't want to take any chances, for one thing. But more importantly, I didn't WANT to go off the diet. Every single minute that I am on this darn diet I am losing weight. There has not been a moment of time that weight hasn't continued to fall off, and I refuse to take a single step back, because moving forward feels so good. Besides, the power that food has had in the past has been replaced by the power of feeling so much better.
Just like Nancy and others have said, one great way to stick with this diet is to really see it as medicine. We NEED this medicine to get better, feel better, make life better. You wouldn't stop heart or diabetes meds while on vacation, why stop this? Is the food that important?
An interesting thing: I am Jewish and while I am not super observant, I've always observed the high holidays, including Passover, which is the week when we can't eat bread or a million other things. I mentioned in passing to my mom about not knowing how to deal with MF during Passover, and she said out loud exactly what I was thinking: that our religion says that if you have any medical reasons you can't observe a holiday (like fasting on Yom Kippur), you should always honor your health first. Well, I am going to honor my health first, and do exactly what I would normally do on any other day. I am not going to break it and eat yummy macaroons or kuegel or any delicious Passover treats. I am not going to break it because it's not the right choice for me and because I have to believe that losing weight and getting really healthy is the best thing I can do for myself, my loved ones, and for any higher power looking down on me. :-)
Just my 2 cents, err, perhaps a nickel's worth. Whatever you all decide, I hope you have wonderful holidays and vacations and all good things!
Lauren