Life after Lap-Band is filled with a lot of choices. Some of those choices can bring you towards a healthier lifestyle and lasting weight loss. Other choices can hold you up along the way. The holiday season makes it more difficult than ever to make the type of choices that promotes lasting weight loss.

Thanksgiving serves as the kick-off to the holiday season, and while the holiday is intended to evoke feelings of thankfulness and appreciation in us, it more often evokes deep pangs of hunger and sharp cravings for our favorite pies and side dishes. Even the healthiest people tend to let go of their diet plans on Thanksgiving Day, but after having Lap-Band surgery this isn’t a good idea.

The holiday itself may only last one day, but when you put together all of the food, desserts and left overs, the reality is a week of unhealthy eating that drives you right into the heart of the holiday season. By the time January comes and you look back, you’ll realize that there was a solid five weeks of cookies, pies and eggnog, and that you’ve accidently taken a month off of your weight loss program.

While this is bad for your waist line, it could be worse for your stomach. Abandoning your healthy eating habits after Lap-Band could lead to digestion related discomfort.

That is why this holiday season, as you are planning out your menu and getting all of your favorite dishes together, it is a good idea to take a step back and put some thoughtfulness on the table. For example:

• Spend some extra time thinking about how far you’ve come with your weight loss progress.
• Think about your ultimate goal, and the steps you want to take to get there.
• Remind yourself about your greatest motivation.
• Consider the way that you feel when you are eating healthy.
• Think about your overall health and well-being, and what it means to friends and family that you are healthy.

Taking the time to think about things like this can help drive those cravings out of your mind and help you keep the perspective you need to stay healthy throughout the entire holiday season.

So as the holidays approach, and throughout the entire year, think about ways that you can enjoy healthy food and appreciate what you have and what you are working towards. At the end of the day, having a healthier you is way better than having too much food.