*Weekly Meeting - Planning for Christmas*

Around this time of year I seem to find that a lot of people I know begin to panic about Christmas and not just for finding gifts. Even people who are not following any kind of eating plan have a negative outlook on Christmas stating that they 'can't be bothered' as they 'know they are going to put on at least half a stone' over the Christmas period. Out of all the years that I have been on and off the Weightwatchers plan I can't remember ever dreading the festive season because of food. Although my weight has fluctuated over the past few years I know I cope best when I remember my tools learned by following the plan and as this weeks topic was planning for Christmas (I'm pretty sure next weeks topic will be the same too) what better time to start planning and using the tools suggested.

In the meeting we spoke mainly about the propoints values of 'normal' Christmas day food as this is the first Christmas all of us are having on the new plan it helps to be prepared. I guess I'm lucky in the sense that I don't eat meat and so the majority of buffet style foods that are reasonably high in pp values don't float my boat but boy oh boy do I find it hard to turn away the sweets and chocolates. Chocolate is easily my biggest downfall but cutting it out just doesn't work for me right now so I know that I will have to incorporate the consumption of chocolate into the day. Did you see what I just wrote there? Day? Yes, Christmas is just one day and so it should be treated that way or at least state Christmas will be 'christmas day and boxing day only', the more you mentally and psychically prepare for it the more successful your likely to be.

Apart from knowing the propoints values of the food your likely to consume and allocating a set day/days of celebration (and I don't mean a whole week here, I have easily gained more in a week than what I have lost in a month so keep that in mind) prepare a plan of what your going to eat and when. If you have decided to 'take the day off' on Christmas day I find it easier to state that I will eat 1 chocolate at say 2pm then I have to wait until 4pm until I can have another one. I look forward to that chocolate more than anything and when I do finally have it I'm super proud that I waited and had the will power to succeed in the small task I set myself. By doing that I am constantly praising myself with congratulations for my strength and will power, I get to eat something I love and it means I will consume less.

Another great idea is after the celebrations have ended get rid of any trigger foods that may call to you, for me that is chocolate. Give them away to friends or family, take them to a soup kitchen or take them to work. Although as I live with three other people and my sister and niece spend most of their time here too getting rid of food is out of the question so I have to constantly remind myself that unless I am willing to incorporate those said items into my daily/weekly allowance I am not to touch them, maybe just smell them.

Also don't forget that if you are following the new propoints plan you have a weekly allocation of 49 extra pp in which if you saved them could be used over your set day/days making sticking to the plan that much easier. As well as this don't forget that you can gain extra pp by doing some activity.

So there we have it. I have discussed:

• Allocating a set day/days to your celebrations - whether you plan to go off plan or not
• Allocating time slots for when you will consume your favourite things - by doing this I normally eat much, much less than I would if I decided to have a free for all.
• Plan meals for that day/days
• Save your weekly allowance for the said day/days
• Get rid of any trigger foods
• If your not going to point it don't eat it
• Earn some extra activity points
• Know your points values

That pretty much covers everything I have read and spoke about in this weeks meeting but I'm sure I will be able to add to this after next weeks meeting.

Now some of you may remember that it is my birthday soon after Christmas, in fact its new years day and I have been invited to my friends new years eve party and a birthday birthday a few days later. As I have a few days of celebrating myself I purchased a cute dress from ASOS and thought as I hadn't attached a photo for a while what better time to show you guys my new dress.

And just because it always makes me laugh, this is a little quote the grease monkey learned during his ten years in the army 'prior planning and preparation prevents piss-poor performance'. I always remind myself of this quote when I know I need to plan for something and it always seems to bring a smile to my face.