Tis The Season to gain 1.5 pounds!

Thanksgiving is 1 week from Today. And anyone who's read this blog even once is aware of my year round struggle with "Exception" Eating. (Defined as eating crappy food because it's a "special occasion" which can ranges from a birthday to a Tuesday night happy hour). Considering I have not gotten a handle on this- I'm a little terrified of the next six weeks.
Thanksgiving is the official kickoff of Holiday Eating Season 2009- which extends until January 1st (Resolution Day) I'm trying to figure out a way to get through this season of while still fitting in my current clothing. (I bought the CUTEST pair of Hudson jeans yesterday- on sale & 2 sizes smaller than I was 4 months ago!!) Is that too much to ask for??
In hope of finding a solution I have been on a mission to learn as much as possible about this fat trap they call the Holidays. Today I came across "Holiday Weight Gain Myths" which helped me face a little reality on food & fun vs. the scale...
Myth #1: "Everyone Gains 5 Pounds During the Holidays So I might as well accept it."
Shocker- apparently that's NOT true! The average American gains only 1 to 2 pounds during the Holidays- but the bad part is that it NEVER comes off the rest of the year. So according to this theory- if I do "average" during this holiday season and the next few, buy 2019 I will have put on 15-20 pounds in Holiday eating alone. (Chris- don't read this- of course that would never happen :)
So what am I going to do about that? I think I'm going to "Just Say No" to gaining weight. I was already kind of rationalizing that it wouldn't be the end of the world if I gained "a pound or two" this year during the holidays- BUT not if they are going to stay with me forever! So- no mentally preparing myself for ANY weight gain. In fact- according to my boot camp & food plan I should actually be loosing 1lb per week. I know mental outlook is a HUGE part of weight loss- so if I go into each week of the season just as I do the rest of the year- expecting myself to be sticking on the plan rather than giving myself a permission slip to fail- my pants should continue to fit. :) Sound good? I also came across a few ways to lighten up a Turkey Day meal.
-Stick to White Meat. I know the dark stuff is good- but it adds 60 calories & 8 grams of fat per serving. Not worth it.
-Choose cranberry sauce (especially the fresh stuff) instead of gravy. **Honesty alert: I will not be doing that- I'm totally a gravy person BUT I promise to cut my serving of it in half. But if you can do it, good for you!
-Choose the Veggie Sides. Try and fill 3/4 of your plate with green stuff- salad, green beans, etc. Then you won't even have room for that 3rd piece of bread!
-Try weird substitutions. Girls in my boot camp were talking about blending steamed cauliflower with fat free sour cream (or even plain greek yogurt) with salt & pepper in place of mashed potatoes. There are lots of healthy recipes out there- try one fun one!
Maybe tomorrow I'll tackle myth #2: "I can take a "vacation" from my diet, because come January, I'll go right back on it."
Wait- that's not true??... I was really banking on that as my backup plan :)
XO
Chel