Christmas is a Time for Treating

Merry Xmas, Happy Holidays, etc. etc...we all know the season and the stores remind us of the reason at every opportunity. It's to overeat and indulge, right?

Well, that's what one aspect of the holiday has become. My indulgence today is to not do my weigh-in, meaning I'll do my next one on Monday. I don't need to be reminded that I'm stuck in a plateau...Merry Christmas to me!

People with the Roux-en-Y surgery...and I suspect Lap-Banding...can't really "indulge" in the way that other people do. Loosening the belt just doesn't allow us to stuff in another helping of ham or stuffing.

The bad part is that we may want to still eat the way we used to; it's a head hunger and habit. It's also bad because eating is a social bonding experience. Families equate eating with social bonding. So while the bari post-op has finished his or her small portion (actually closer to a "real portion") of food on the mini-plate, everyone else is going back for seconds or thirds.

This is a tough time for post-ops. This is my first Xmas without being able to indulge...I'm rapidly approaching one year since starting my dieting program. And in some ways it kind of sucks; I'm the type of person that just isn't happy with having a thumbnail portion of each item available, so I have my meals that I tend to stick with.

On the plus side, the reduced stomach size helps warn you when you've eaten too much. I get this half-uncomfortable blah feeling that signals that it's time to stop ingesting. Now, this can be "beaten" by just eating slowly over time, or overeating by taking many small snacks that add up the calories.

In the end losing weight comes down to calories. Eat less, lose weight. The holiday treat time is to find the one or two things you really really enjoy and have a portion of it. As long as it doesn't have sugar as a primary ingredient (a coworker makes the best fudge, and I couldn't have it this year because I would get sick as a dog if I did...I also learned that the chai at Sam's Club has sugar as a first ingredient, and it did indeed make me sick, even though most other chai teas don't).

Hopefully other post-ops are doing well with their diet efforts over the holiday season. Everyone else is probably indulging as usual and then will swear off foods until New Year's rolls around, then will make their annual promises to lose X amount of pounds. And the cycle continues...have fun!