Eating healthy while visiting in-laws

Like many of you, I will be vising my in-laws over the holidays. My mother-in-law is a great cook, but her meals are usually very heavy in calories. Because she's usually cooking for the entire family, I don't feel comfortable asking her to make something low cal for me, but I also want to eat while I'm there.

What do you recommend? Should I give her a heads up that I'm on a diet before we arrive? Should I prepare some of my own meals, like breakfast at least?

Mon. Dec 12, 2:28pm

I would suggest offering to help by bringing a dish, if you think that would be okay with them. If that isn't a comfortable option, I would recommend trying to keep your portions relatively small, but grab lots of salad, beans, and foods that were prepared with less butter, etc. Maybe bring a low-carb energy bar along to snack on so that you're not as hungry when mealtime rolls around, and you'll be able to control your appetite better.

Remember that taking a family walk around the block can be a good idea too!
Good luck!

Monday, December 12, 2005, 3:36 PM

If you're close to her and friendly, maybe call her and let her know your concern, and offer to bring a couple dishes, both to help her out and to give you a couple healthy options w/o burdening her with more prep. If she hears how considerate you are, she may throw in a couple healthy options of her own as well! Offer to help her in the kitchen as much as possible if you can keep from munching when you're there. Then you'll know what goes into what recipes, and you'll be able to make better choices about what you eat.

You can certainly make your own breakfast - even bring a box of your favorite healthy cereal or oatmeal if that's what you eat, it's easily portable.

As a holiday gift, if you're sending one, send a Harry & David fruit basket - they'll probably *insist* that the guests help out with eating the fruits, and then you'll have healthy snacks on hand all the time.

Find out if there is somewhere to exercise and bring the appropriate clothes - do they have a treadmill that you could use, or will it be warm enough to jog outside, etc. If you're staying in a hotel, maybe they have an indoor pool that you could use. Find out ahead of time and bring enough layers and proper shoes for whatever exercise you can fit in. Also, when visiting the in-laws, sometimes exercise is the perfect excuse to get away from them for awhile!

Monday, December 12, 2005, 4:08 PM

There is some great advice here. I couldn't tell if you were just going to the inlaws to eat a meal or to spend a few days. When I go out of town I take a cooler with me. I take some of my favorite snacks and will even go to the local grocery store to make certain I have what I need. When I go to a dinner I take some healthy dishes to be certain I will have some good choices. I have no problem trying a little of this and a little of that. The exercise advice is great too. Good luck to you!

Monday, December 12, 2005, 4:49 PM

Original poster here...I am staying with my in-laws for 3 days. We are driving 7 hours to get there so bringing a dish is not an option. My concern is not just the Christmas meal, it's breakfast, lunch and dinner while we are visiting. I'm already planning to go for a walk every day and maybe use their treadmill.
Maybe if I at least eat oatmeal for breakfast I can join in on the other meals in moderation.

Tuesday, December 13, 2005, 1:49 AM

I'm in a similiar situation. I am driving 7 hours too and will be there for 3 days. I plan to pack almonds and fruit leather that I can eat privately. My plan is to sort of push the food around my plate so it looks like I ate more than I really did and then resort to my own food. Plus, I'll keep breakfast small and try to workout everyday (although I'll be in Chicago so the weather may not cooperate!). Overall, it's only 3 days so try not to stress. 3 days, in the grand scheme of changing your lifestyle, will not make any difference.

Tuesday, December 13, 2005, 10:47 AM

There are tons of little things you can do when eating with a group for a holiday. If you eat out - which I'd imagine is likely - you can make good choices for yourself. When eating with everyone else at a home-cooked meal, fill your plate with greens and other colors, and minimize the beige. Leftover meat on sandwiches? Eat yours open-faced, with mustard, and skip the mayo and cheese. At any meal, serve yourself. Take small scoops of the unhealthy stuff and big ones of the healthy. Eat the healthy first - you'll be more full and won't eat as much of the bad stuff.

There are plenty of things you can take for a 7-hour car ride, don't use that as an excuse not to follow your diet!! You can certainly bring cereal/oatmeal for yourself, but you can bring a veggie tray for everyone, nothing will happen to it in the car. You can make "healthy" no-pudge brownies, so you have a dessert to turn to and can pass up the others, if that'll help you. You can make a soup or a side, and freeze it; then let it defrost in the car (it won't defrost completely, so it'll keep itself cold) and then put it directly into the fridge when you get in so it can continue defrosting before the big meal. If you have a small cooler and a few ice packs, really, you can take anything.

Tuesday, December 13, 2005, 2:11 PM

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