Can you believe it’s practically December? Since November is just about done and dusted, it’s time to rate/recap the month on the Tuesdays on the Run Linkup.
As I mentioned back on November 2, I’m finishing this year strong. For me that means addressing the elephant in the room that I love to ignore: Weightloss. In order to achieve that, I set goals to do meal prep and food tracking for the rest of the year. I got off to a solid start with 2 strong weeks of meal planning (even though I made some mistakes) and food journaling and was rewarded with a 3 pound weight loss as well as increased muscle and decreased fat. Yasss!
I didn’t gain any weight in Las Vegas. However, as expected, Thanksgiving sort of threw a kink in the plan. Going off the rails on Thanksgiving Day is not the issue. Having foods I wouldn’t normally eat (I’m looking at you chips and dips, cheesecake, pie….need i say more?) in the house for days afterward is the problem.
What makes my situation extra tricky is I’m the only one in the house who eats the leftovers. The Caveman is not a friend of turkey so does not eat it at all. The kids were good for maybe one leftover meal. That leaves one helluva lot of leftovers for yours truly. I did send some home with family but still…..there’s more here than I need.
What to do?
I turned the leftover turkey and veggies into turkey/vegetable soup (holler if you want the recipe) and froze all but a couple of portions of it.
The desserts? As much as I’d love to have a sliver of pumpkin pie and/or a small wedge of cheesecake every damn day (like I’ve been doing all weekend) until the two are gone, my 3 pound weightloss would vanish faster than you can say Holidays. As much as I loathe wasting food, cakes of any kind and I just don’t cohabit well. I’ve gotta pitch the rest of these suckers, no matter how delicious they may be.
(Google Images)
Resume Meal Prep. I prepped for the week today. Go me.
Resume Food Tracking. Back to My Fitness Pal I go, kicking and screaming…kind of…
Keep going on workouts. Last week mine were lighter than I wanted but I’ll be back in the groove this week.
How do you stay on track during the holidays? What are your goals for the month?
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Wow, you did great pitching those pies if no one else was going to eat them. Not us. We had pie for dessert, and sometimes for other meals, until we finished them off just last night. Yeah we had three pies and only five people here at Thanksgiving. You are doing GREAT to do all that meal prep and MyFitnessPal and all through the holidays. I probably should. I’m at my high weight which is sort of OK, but not a great place to start the month of December.
We were sent home from Thanksgiving with leftovers but just enough for us each to have about 1 more meal and now its gone. There are still some pies and desserts in the fridge. Thats a great idea to make soup and freeze some of it. I just try to eat snacks and desserts in moderation around the holidays.
That had to be hard, parting with the pies! We didn’t host, but every Sunday we have Mike’s dad over for dinner and I usually make a dessert. I don’t eat the leftovers–but I do have 3 men who do!
You’re so resourceful. I don’t understand how people don’t eat leftovers. It’s the best part of turkey day!!
Good for you! My husband isn’t a fan of leftovers but that does NOT apply to pie! I made soup too. I also made an extra pan of stuffing that I am enjoying — I decided it’s a balanced meal with cornbread, sausage, and veggies (celery and onions). 🙂
Better waste than on your waist, I always say. My husband is still grumbling because I made him make only 1 package of stuffing — that doesn’t call to me, at all — and there aren’t enough leftovers. Like 2 cups. Too bad, so sad (he needs it like a hole in the head).
2 of the desserts went into work with him. Which leaves me with fig bars (they will be served at next week’s potluck) and the pie I made. Luckily I don’t have a piece of pie ever day — wouldn’t it be nice if we could? Sigh. My biggest problem right now is that I’m still craving sweets. I didn’t go nuts, I never do, but maybe it’s just the unusual eating + all the gray cold weather.
Don’t beat up on yourself, Marcia. That never works. Don’t aim for perfection cause it ain’t gonna happen. But don’t listen to the clean plate brigade, either. Your leftovers won’t help starving children wherever they are and it will hurt you. It’s okay to get rid of stuff that is hurting your progress.
And simply maintaining your weight at this time of year is a good thing.
Oh gosh…I LOVE my Thanksgiving leftovers, but no one else does after Friday morning. I could drink the gravy out of a glass (no shame, no judging), and the pumpkin pie? Well, at least I have others who are willing to help me polish that off. I need to finish off the turkey tonight…white “turkey” chili it is 😉
I think this was the first year in many that I did not splurge during Thanksgiving. I am going to try to keep it up throughout the holiday season but I know it will be harder once the holiday parties start.
There’s a cake in the fridge calling my name… I wish the hubby would eat it. Luckily he did eat the rest of the junk food.
Since I have been on the thyroid medication, I haven’t had the crazy swings in weight gain/loss…and I have somehow been able to stay relatively steady when it come to my weight over the holiday season so far. Bring on the Christmas treat all day…sike! I am a sucker for pies, sweets, and anything within eyesight. I just hope people leave that stuff at home and don’t bring it to work 🙂
That is great the food journal and meal prep is happening 🙂
I have been stuck for awhile now wondering if it time to cave and try hormone therapy. I am packing on weight easier than ever.
I know what you mean about tracking food. It’s like a necessary evil. I hate doing it, but know I have to!!! That soup sounds interesting, I’d love it if you posted the recipe!!!
Leftovers are the best! We didn’t have much since we didn’t host, but it was enough for lunch the next day. I do remember growing up and my mom would get a big turkey, and then work off the leftovers. After a couple of days, I was over the turkey and wanted something else.
I had to throw away some desserts too that is my weakness and I kept eating them even when I did not even want them. Gotta do what you have to do!
Good tip about getting rid of any unwanted leftover sweets. If it’s in the garbage, I’m not going to eat it. I have to draw the line somewhere! 🙂
I haven’t hosted Thanksgiving in a few years, so no leftovers here. All I made was sweet potatoes and those lasted basically a day…
I’m trying to be better about writing down what I eat, but it’s not my strongest habit…
Sounds like you did awesome!! I was one of the only ones eating our turkey too… I made a lentil turkey stew that I’ve been eating all week. A bit of indulging is good, but then I struggle for a few days to get back to normal eating!
Ooh it is a challenge keeping on track this time of year. I didn’t host TG this year, and we ended up eating MUCH healthier than we normally do. I almost regretted not pigging out haha! But I do have some leftover pie I need to get rid of…
Keep up the good work with the weekly meal prep…I still need to get on that!
I try to keep my portions smaller around the holidays. But I do track on MFP and carb cycle so it keeps me accountable to myself. Its hard hard hard though especially this time of year !
It is hard to stay on track over the holidays. I do like leftovers but there is a limit to how many times I will eat it.