I bought a skirt back in September for that Yelp party that I went to with friends. The dress code was plaid and I ended up buying two skirts–a new one from Target and a really cute one at Goodwill that I ended up wearing to the event. Fast forward two months later and I decided I’d wear that skirt I got from Target for Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving day I pulled the wool pencil skirt on and zipped it up. It was tight. Very tight. Tighter than I remembered it being two months ago. I could zip it up but the skirt felt uncomfortable. It wasn’t quite the “it’s so tight I can’t breathe or sit down” tight but it was close. I ended up wearing a different skirt for the holiday.
It was disheartening. I felt depressed about the skirt. I was frustrated that the extra couple pounds I had were effecting my wardrobe. I was angry at myself for getting lazy with my food. It was probably a combination of several things. I had gained 1.5 pounds since I got back from Hawaii and then I took a week off from the gym when I was sick. I don’t think I’ve been THAT lazy with my calorie counting and I’ve definitely had more good days than bad food days…so why is that skirt so tight!??!
What I’m Going to Do
Michael said it was all in my head. The combination of taking the week off from the gym and Thanksgiving foods was playing tricks on my brain. Perhaps. But I think the skirt being too tight is physical evidence that is clearly NOT all in my head. Michael suggested I ditch dairy and carbs for a few weeks. That’s a decent suggestion. I have been eating more bread lately. Dairy is too hard for me to give up. I eat a lot of plain Greek Yogurt and cottage cheese and I don’t want to give those up.
What can I do?
I know what to do. I’ve done it many times and I need to just be more accurate with my portions, measure my foods, and count my calories diligently. I don’t have a problem eating healthy snacks because I love fruit and vegetables (my lunch today was cottage cheese, steamed green beans and 2 satsuma oranges). It’s the “other” temptations I need to focus on.
Limit the Nibbles and Bites. I know I’m not alone in this habit: do you ever stand in front of the fridge, deciding on what snack to eat and you mindlessly munch of cheese? And then don’t count those calories? Yep, I do that sometimes. It’s a bad habit that needs to be STOPPED! Those nibbles catch up to my waistline quickly.
Limit Desserts. My house is now free of ice cream, cookies and candy. All of the Halloween candy I had stashed and had been eating is gone and won’t tempt me. I can make better choices for dessert, and I DON’T have to eat dessert every night. Even though I want to…
Limit Alcohol. This is easy for me to give up for awhile. While I love wine and I love pairing with meals, I rarely feel like it’s a necessity with my meal. Sparkling water is fine with me!
Timeline
I started this diligent plan a few days after Thanksgiving and so far it’s going well. The holidays are coming up. There are two events that I am concerned about: my family Christmas party and Michael’s office Christmas party. I know those events will be hard. I’m going to do my best to eat what I want in moderation without getting crazy and bingeing on the things I want (i.e. Christmas cookies and egg nog).
What about you? Are you feeling the squeeze from the holidays? Are you trying to reign it in?
Lori
Oh yeah – John and I both talked about food creep yesterday for both of us, although it was more than creeping last week! It was a full on trip to snack town. It’s a matter of getting back to basics, but more importantly – sticking to that. It’s hard to get back to basics and *stay* there when you have been maintaining (or creeping) for a while. I am doing 4 days a week where I am really calorie controlled and making sure I don’t go overboard on the other days (the hard part).
You can do it. You have the tools.
Lisa Eirene
FOOD CREEP! So true, great name too. I like your idea of doing 4 days a week of control and letting yourself have some treats once or twice a week.
Roz@weightingfor50
You’ll be back where you want to be in no time Lisa.
Lisa Eirene
I hope so!
Beth
I hear ya – hubby and I went back to basics last week – lost 3 pounds and hoping to continue going down! Good luck – that skirt will be fitting in no time 🙂
Lisa Eirene
That’s awesome you saw immediate results. What did you do?
Beth
Low carb – only veg, protein and low-fat dairy — will start to add whole grains and fruits back in but wanted to do kind of a back to basics for a bit
Beth
And – importantly – cooking again! We were going out to eat A LOT
Lisa Eirene
YES! Restaurant eating will do it!
Lisa Eirene
How long have you been doing it?
Beth
About 10 days now – will get on the scale again Friday and let you know – have a sick kid home with the flu so have not made it for a workout though
Lisa Eirene
Good luck! I weigh next week.
Alex @ Operation Skinny Jeans
These are some great (and timely!) tips for the holiday season! I’m currently working on my holiday plan, because I definitely tend to overeat at holidays (especially when my granny’s the one doing the cooking!). I’ve pretty much decided that I’m going to limit myself to SMALL portions (not half-a-plate-sized portions) and use a smaller plate.
I definitely feel your pain about giving up dairy…I’m giving it up for a couple of weeks because I think I’m lactose intolerant and I want to see how I feel without it. I’m expecting it to be hard…it’s my favorite food group! Best of luck to you!
Lisa Eirene
I love your tip about the SMALLER PLATE! That’s a good one! It makes it harder to overeat. 🙂
I ❤ 2 Eat
I’m so with you on this! Something happened right before Thanksgiving, then we went to visit family and ate a ton.While my husband got sick and lost a bunch of weight from food poisoning/flu, I worried and ate. And the clothes are tight. I’ve been sick myself over the past few days and haven’t felt like watching what I eat or working out. Hence my latest post on reinventing yourself…haha. 🙂
Lisa Eirene
Ooof, I hope you guys are feeling better! Sounds awful!
Jess
I’m having to get strict with my food intake 🙁 I am 2kg away from my goal weight and I am stuck. I want to meet my goal before my holiday in January so I only have 5 weeks to lose the last 2kg. I have been eating a bit more than usual, so I am being very honest with my tracking. My weight hasn’t budged in weeks. At least I know I can maintain!
Lisa Eirene
Sorry you are stuck! That’s the worst. Have you tried changing up your exercise?
Jess
Thanks for thinking of that! I recently started a boot camp to change things up. I still do my usually boxing (the love of my life) and weights (whom I have an affair with), but the boot camp twice a week gives me a bit of a change.
Lisa Eirene
Sometimes just changing things up wakes the body up. Good luck!
Kassi
Hi Lisa!
It’s been a while since I’ve commented on your posts, but I still read them every day :). I just wanted to say you’re doing an awesome job with the planning! I’m having some problems myself with gaining some weight back.
Early this year I started getting much better about going to the gym (something about this office job helped me put on a decent amount of weight — sitting at a desk for 40 hours a week?!) and my eating habits. I was able to shed something like 20 pounds and felt great. I think I’ve unfortunately put most of it back on. I’d like to get down about 30 pounds from my current weight. The snacking makes such a difference! I’ve been trying to only bake really healthy treats and have those around, plus fruit for when I have a sweet tooth. That seems to help a lot.
It’s hard around the holidays, but we know how much better we feel! It just takes a little extra work to get the cycle going again, but once you’re there, it’s easy as pie. Right? I think so. Even with a few slip ups here and there, as long as the overall habits are on the good side, you have no reason to be down on yourself! Go Lisa! Go us 🙂
Lisa Eirene
It’s always nice to hear from you, Kassi!
Sitting at a desk job definitely doesn’t help with staying active. Not only do we sit all day, but sitting makes us feel lazier. I know I always feel MORE tired after doing no activities. Walking during my lunch break helps a lot.
Thanks for your support!
Deb
A few weeks ago, I was gaining and losing the same 2 pounds week after week. Why? Because I kept finding myself nibbling on stuff and not recording it. I just overlooked it like it didn’t count. Obviously it did, and I’ve battened down the hatches again to get back on track.
The smaller plate tip up there is a good one. I may need to try that with certain dishes I always over-eat.
Lisa Eirene
Yep, it’s so easy to trick our brain into thinking “this bite doesn’t count!”
Tiffany
Food Creep is such a great term! I finally started actually tracking what I’m eating today, and I can already see the problems – 1. I completely underestimate calories eaten, and 2. I graze: bites here and bites there… it adds up pretty quickly! I know you’ll fit into that skirt again!
Lisa Eirene
YEP! Me too! Underestimating calories! UGH