Actually, I think it's neat that you'd be thinking of this in advance of the holidays. This is a good way to make sure you don't gain a bunch of weight at this time of year. I think lots and lots of people end up gaining a few between Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, and if you've already started something now, it'll be far less likely to happen.
This isn't to say you wouldn't enjoy the holiday season, just that you'd be more likely to keep the level of treats/indulgences to a minimum.
It's like me starting up a gym membership at the end of November last year. I remember joking around, "Should I be waiting until January?".
I started out a long time ago with Atkins. It was the first time I tried it, and I was afraid that it was really unhealthy. It wasn't - one of the requirements of the first phase of the plan is that you get most of your carbohydrate intake from vegetables. That said, over time - I veered into a more flexible plan - read a ton of diet books and sort of applied the best things from each into my current plan. My current plan - the one that was the most do-able for the past couple of years is similar to The Paleo Diet by Dr. Loren Cordain. Another similar plan would be The Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson.
I have a lot of experience with this now, so I am not following any one particular plan to the letter. That said, the very best advice I could give is to pick a plan, and learn to master it. Get really, really good at it, and try to continuously improve.
Long time ago, I went over my little Atkins paperback book, and highlighted some of the so-called Rules of Induction that I *wasn't* following and created a plan to make sure I was doing it properly. For instance, I wasn't exercising, and the book said that exercise was non-negotiable. Furthermore, I wasn't exactly following the rule that said get most of your carbohydrate intake from vegetables etc. I created a worksheet - where I logged all my food, accounted for my exercise and had this non-negotiable daily goal of 3-cups of fresh vegetables minimum per day.
It worked beautifully, and it was then that I realized that the real beauty in some of these plans wasn't necessarily the carb level, but rather the quality of the food.
Back then, I just said that I had to get 'some' exercise every single day, and even a walk around the block counted. I remember when I first started really tracking this stuff - had filled out this great little worksheet, ate my vegetables, logged all my food. It was like 8pm at night, and everything was looking good, but I hadn't met the 'exercise' goal. I threw on my clothes and took the dog for a walk. Then, I had a perfect worksheet.
You wouldn't believe how happy that made me. I *knew* then that I was going to make it. I had proven to myself (via these silly worksheets and a fancy looking binder) that I was doing everything I could to make things happen. It would only be a matter of time before the weight would be coming off. I found success in the journey itself, rather than the number on the scale - which can be fickle! When you're losing weight, there's all kinds of things that can cause the scale to blip upwards or not cooperate somehow, and it can be demoralizing at times. Thing is - I had *proof* that I was doing it, in the form of my daily logs. I knew I was on track, so it wasn't so bothersome to me if there was some minor bloat or what have you on a particular day of the month.
You know what? I would recommend something like South Beach as a really good plan to start out with. It's a "lower carb" plan, but it's also a bit more similar to WW, and not as 'weird' as Atkins. I wouldn't recommend my current plan to anyone just starting out - because I don't count calories or carbs or have any particular set limits on portions of certain foods - and I think this is crucial in the beginning. Absolutely crucial.
The Paleo Diet says you can have unlimited fruits, vegetables, nuts, eggs, fish, meat, nut butters, even some honey. The goal is to go for non-processed foods as much as possible. That said, it's pretty darned restrictive sounding to someone just starting out, plus there aren't really any limits on portions or anything - very flexible. The Primal Blueprint is similar.
A good tip within Primal Blueprint though is that you ARE successful even following plan only 80% of the time.
Over time, you will find that this flexibility will serve you well. Another good example came from a book called "The New Rules of Lifting for Women" (a weight training book) - where the author, Lou Schuler, explains that the most successful people are the ones who are both systematic and flexible. I have found this to be very true. There are times when you're really good at following all facets of your plan of action, and then there are other times - a special get together, a vacation, a business trip, a holiday or what have you. The deal is not to get into 'all or nothing' thinking. If you have something special, and slightly off plan - this is actually "ok" within the parameters of things like Primal Blueprint or New Rules of Lifting for Women. So often, when someone goes off to a special dinner somewhere, and has a slight deviation from plan - they think they've ruined everything and sometimes continue the 'off plan' thing for days, weeks or even months. You don't wanna do that! So, being 'flexible' is important for overall, long-term success. You have a life to live, and this will include some times when you're not perfect on the diet or the exercise plan, and this has to be ok.
Meanwhile, there's something else I'd like to address here.
For years, I thought that I had a 'problem' with overeating. I'd eat too many cookies or have two pieces of cake, or too much pizza or whatever. Thing was - I was simply a person who didn't really know how to cook or even how to eat properly. I was wandering around with this belief that there was something wrong with me. I ate too much and gained lots of weight.
In the end, I have come to the realization that it wasn't ME - but it was the kind of food I was eating. Certain foods are very addictive, and will have you in the predicament where you find yourself overeating them. Things like sugar, processed/refined carbohydrates, anything that has a combination of fat+sweet or fat+salty - the list goes on.
In fact, at one point, I even signed up for OA - Overeaters Anonymous. I was mostly looking for local, in-person diet support. Only went about three times. In any case, you exchange phone numbers and part of the deal is that you can phone someone for support. Well, one day my phone rang, and it was this woman I'd met at one of the meetings, and she was in tears. Could not stop eating M&M's and felt like a total failure. Believed she was defective or that she had some sort of serious problem. What I said to her was, "It's not you, it's the food you're eating". I never went back to OA, because I didn't like hearing and seeing all these people believing they had some sort of 'character defect' or what have you because they couldn't stop eating certain foods. That you're somehow powerless over your "compulsion" to overeat. Well, if you eat well, there will be no compulsion to overeat. It's not the person - it's the food.
The real failure is in the type and quality of the food you eat. Most people can't eat just one cookie or four potato chips. This isn't to say you wouldn't ever have these things, just that you don't want to have them in your life on a continual, constant basis. You might very well have a cookie - but hopefully it's out of the house, and in some fabulous cafe. And you really enjoy it. But then, it's back to reality - good, healthy eating.
For the first time in my life, I eat three meals a day - I eat TONS of fresh fruit and vegetables, and I don't feel deprived at all. I cook all kinds of wonderful meals and I'm so happy to be past all that stuff I went through when I simply didn't know how to eat properly.
The biggest and best realization from this long journey of mine is that it was never me, it was the fact that I simply didn't know how to eat properly, how to cook or even shop for good food. My idea of a vegetable was a can of corn. These days, it's more likely to be baby spinach leaves sauteed in garlic, olive oil and freshly grated lemon zest. What a turnaround!
This leads me to another important point - you don't want life to be all about 'diet food'. One of the keys to my long-term success is that the food I eat is very tasty. I am not tempted by McDonald's or store-bought cookies. My food is better....lol! At first, yes - it was diet food. But, over time, I began to get creative and try to make meals as good-tasting as they were healthy, and weight-loss inducing. Think garlic/lime/cilantro grilled halibut filets. It's very hard to sustain long-term weight loss, or lose a lot of weight if you're dealing with dry salads made with iceberg lettuce and so on. You can't last on frozen Lean Cuisine meals, or horrible bowls of All Bran cereal with skim milk.
I mean, sure you can put your nose to the grindstone, and suffer through a draconian, awful diet, but I don't think most people have that kind of willpower. You might last a week, two weeks, or maybe even a few months. This is all well and good if you just have 10 or 20 pounds to lose, but I had a lot more weight to lose than that, and in order to get the job done, I needed to come up with a whole new way of eating and living. A 'by the skin of my teeth' plan wasn't going to work. I simply don't have that kind of willpower.
All of that said, I'd strongly encourage picking a set plan (I vote for South Beach or Weight Watchers) and following it for a good several months. Not so much flexibility at first (well, except maybe the upcoming holidays) - because this is a major learning curve. You will need those guidelines and it's important to get good at a plan first before customizing it to the point where it's not working anymore (been there, done that).
Geesh - I've practically written a novel in here, sorry about that! If the discussion continues, I'll maybe write some more things I've learned re: off-plan incidents.
In the meantime, I'm full of admiration for having the guts to contemplate starting now, instead of waiting until the New Year. Woo hoo! You might merely maintain over the worst of the holidays, but this won't be one of those years where January rolls around and you're all mad at yourself because of too many indulgences. Yes, I've been there too - gained a bunch of weight because of way too many cookies or too much chocolate or whatever. That said, this does NOT mean iceberg lettuce, or suffering through a special time of year. You can 'flex' a wee bit, while also being 'on plan'.
I'm so excited for you Michelle! If you need any help, feel free to ask.
Once again, sorry for the very-long reply.
