Thanksgiving: Don't Sweat It - Eat It, Log It, Be Proud Of It!

WinoGelato

I've seen so many threads already this year expressing concern about Thanksgiving...

"What Can I Eat?"
"How Do I Keep My Family From Thinking I'm Crazy Because I Don't Eat?"
"What's Your Plan For Thanksgiving Calories?"
"How Can I Not Gain This Week?"
"Lowest Calorie Thanksgiving Choices"

These are just a few of the titles I've seen the last couple of weeks, and the agonizing over December Holidays is already beginning as well.

The advice (especially from the veterans) is almost always "It's one day, eat it, enjoy it, move on", which I wholeheartedly agree with. The one caveat I would add is to still log the calories... even if they are nothing more than wild guesses based on not knowing how many sticks of butter grandma uses in her mashed potatoes...

Logging big, indulgent meals like this, can be scary, especially for those who are normally very strict about staying in a deficit, and who emphasize accuracy at all times. A lot of people want to enjoy Thanksgiving and give themselves the day off from logging, and I can certainly respect that! But I also find it to be quite educational (and fun) to make an attempt at logging the meal. It helps provide perspective, about what impact our choices for a single day have on our lasting results. This is my fourth Thanksgiving logging on MFP. Looking back at what I ate, how it added up, and what impact it had on my overall progress, has been really enlightening. Whether it was my first year eating at a strict deficit and worrying that indulging at the holiday would derail my progress, or the second year when I was newly in maintenance and worried that indulging at the holiday would derail my progress, or my third year when I was determined to really enjoy myself, calories be damned... the funny thing is? Every year the total calories I ate has been about the same (between 1700-2100 for the meal + alcohol + dessert) and the results have been the same also.

No Impact On My Weight Whatsoever

So rather than stressing, rather than agonizing about how to log, let's practice our estimation skills and be proud of our day of indulgence! Post your planned menus, favorite Thanksgiving recipes, pics of your plates, creative ways to use leftovers, and most importantly, your calorie estimates for the day. And then don't forget to come back in a week or so and let us know if there was any long term negative impact from a day (or in some cases, multiple days) of indulgence.

I'm guessing there won't be any regrets.... other than maybe wishing you'd had a second piece of pecan pie after all.

SalvationMountain41

Love this! This was exactly my thoughts on the subject. Seriously, it is just one day. Thank you and have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

dramaqueen45

All true. I believe that if you can keep it at one day of overindulgence, or even just eating a bit more than normal and go back the next day to logging, eating in a deficit, etc then you should be fine. It's when the overindulgence carries on throughout the entire weekend and into the following week and then you end up saying, well it's the holiday season so I might as well just eat whatever and start over in January. I mean, you could do that, but why back track? Keep it at one day and keep the Christmas and the New Year's celebrations to one day. The rest of the month stay within your goals or make those extra calories you have at parties fit by eating less other times or exercising more.

ninerbuff

Yep. One day won't derail you. The problem with the average American is that they CONTINUE to overeat up to New Year's day.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

joans1976

Thanks for this! I'm not in maintenance, I'm eating at a deficit but my plan was to eat what I want and log as best I could.
HOWEVER. Even before I began CICO in April I was feeling the effects of extra sodium after eating and I have had a few "cheat" meals (I don't like that term but everyone understands what I mean when I say it) and I have felt so very uncomfortable afterwards due to the sodium. At least I think it's the sodium. Puffy fingers, very thirsty. I felt puffy everywhere, not just in my abdomen, so I was assuming it's sodium. Anyway, what I'm saying is I'm worried about being uncomfortable afterwards. I want to eat what looks good but also dont want to be miserable. I work a 12 hour shift the day after and need to be on my toes! Not on puffy toes ha ha.
Any suggestions @WinoGelato ?
Thanks!
Happy Thanksgiving!

joans1976

Oh. My favorite way to use leftovers has been to make a dark meat turkey sandwich out of a dinner roll with cheddar cheese and mustard. Never do that any other day of the year.
Not very creative or exciting but my brother and I do it every year and it's our tradition.

U2Bad1

I plan on eating and working out a lot, and then just getting back at it on Friday.

CaliMomTeach

Love this post! I was just thinking about not logging at all, but to heck with it. I will log it all and eat it happily. After losing over 40 pounds in the last four months, if I gain a pound or two tomorrow, so be it.

WinoGelato

joans1976 wrote: »

Thanks for this! I'm not in maintenance, I'm eating at a deficit but my plan was to eat what I want and log as best I could.
HOWEVER. Even before I began CICO in April I was feeling the effects of extra sodium after eating and I have had a few "cheat" meals (I don't like that term but everyone understands what I mean when I say it) and I have felt so very uncomfortable afterwards due to the sodium. At least I think it's the sodium. Puffy fingers, very thirsty. I felt puffy everywhere, not just in my abdomen, so I was assuming it's sodium. Anyway, what I'm saying is I'm worried about being uncomfortable afterwards. I want to eat what looks good but also dont want to be miserable. I work a 12 hour shift the day after and need to be on my toes! Not on puffy toes ha ha.
Any suggestions @WinoGelato ?
Thanks!
Happy Thanksgiving!

Hmmm... do you normally eat lower sodium? That certainly is the usual culprit with water retention, etc. I think bloating is often something that occurs with gluten sensitivity as well but I'm definitely not the expert. Do you normally eat a lower carb diet also and on Thanksgiving have more than usual?

No one wants to be miserable at Thanksgiving, that's for sure! I would make sure to drink plenty of water and try to stick to small portions especially if the things higher in those potential triggers. Have a great day!

WinoGelato

CaliMomTeach wrote: »

Love this post! I was just thinking about not logging at all, but to heck with it. I will log it all and eat it happily. After losing over 40 pounds in the last four months, if I gain a pound or two tomorrow, so be it.

Enjoy! That's the right attitude! You know how to get the weight off and one day isn't going to derail you.

LivingtheLeanDream

Great post OP

snowflake954

Thanks for this--we all need perspective. Here in Italy, we don't celebrate Thanksgiving (last year my husband and I were home in Minnesota for the big day), so I have no worries about a big meal, however, Christmas here has many more traditions foodwise, and alot of days eating big meals with family.

DallasSusan

dramaqueen45 wrote: »

All true. I believe that if you can keep it at one day of overindulgence, or even just eating a bit more than normal and go back the next day to logging, eating in a deficit, etc then you should be fine. It's when the overindulgence carries on throughout the entire weekend and into the following week and then you end up saying, well it's the holiday season so I might as well just eat whatever and start over in January. I mean, you could do that, but why back track? Keep it at one day and keep the Christmas and the New Year's celebrations to one day. The rest of the month stay within your goals or make those extra calories you have at parties fit by eating less other times or exercising more.

Exactly. I lost 45 pounds using MFP. Been maintaining that weight loss for almost two years. One day of overindulgence does not matter - as long as you keep it to ONE day. It helps me to log my calories for that holiday feast BEFORE the day. The number may be huge to look at, but it helps me in two ways: (1) I know what I'm planning to eat (including the pumpkin cheesecake!) and I stick to the plan, (2) it reminds me to keep the days before and after the feast low, so as to make up for that spike in the chart. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

WinoGelato

So even though we keep saying it's one day, I do actually have two days of feasting plus fun activities interspersed...

My strategy usually is to focus on my favorite things at each celebration and forego (or minimize) the things I don't care for as much.

Today is my husband's family celebration. This family is all about the booze and the appetizers. They are hunters so there is usually bacon wrapped pheasant, deer jerky, bacon wrapped little smokies, chips and homemade salsa, and firecrackers out for people to nibble on. During the main meal, we will have deep fried turkey, and the best mashed potatoes EVER (butter, sour cream and cream cheese baked in a casserole dish). I am making sweet potatoes and decided this year to just do roasted with some cumin and brown sugar since this family isn't big on sweet potatoes. I'm sure there will be green beans or corn and rolls as well. Desserts on this side are usually store bought and not anything I love: A pumpkin pie and probably apple as well. So for today, my calorie choices will all be weighted toward appetizers, turkey, those amazing mashed potatoes, and booze (because drinking at the inlaws is a must!)

Saturday we will spend the day with my family and we have the opposite strategy. My sister in law who hosts is adamant that we don't have appetizers or foods that take away from the main meal. We will have salad, smoked turkey, my sweet potato casserole, my homemade cranberry sauce, homemade baked Mac n cheese, mashed potatoes (just the usual kind, nothing special), dressing, and I think my brother is making Brussels sprouts (ick!). The star of the show will be desserts there - pecan pie, pumpkin cheesecake, and I think an Oreo ice cream dessert for some odd reason that occasionally makes it on the menu. So on that day, my calories are all weighted toward the desserts!

So yeah, even though I always say it is just one day, for me it's actually two and it still won't be a problem with getting off track. Having a plan and knowing I have two meals to look forward to actually helps me limit myself to small servings of my favorites at each one...

Gotta run, cranberries are bursting! Gobble gobble!

joans1976

WinoGelato wrote: »

joans1976 wrote: »

Thanks for this! I'm not in maintenance, I'm eating at a deficit but my plan was to eat what I want and log as best I could.
HOWEVER. Even before I began CICO in April I was feeling the effects of extra sodium after eating and I have had a few "cheat" meals (I don't like that term but everyone understands what I mean when I say it) and I have felt so very uncomfortable afterwards due to the sodium. At least I think it's the sodium. Puffy fingers, very thirsty. I felt puffy everywhere, not just in my abdomen, so I was assuming it's sodium. Anyway, what I'm saying is I'm worried about being uncomfortable afterwards. I want to eat what looks good but also dont want to be miserable. I work a 12 hour shift the day after and need to be on my toes! Not on puffy toes ha ha.
Any suggestions @WinoGelato ?
Thanks!
Happy Thanksgiving!

Hmmm... do you normally eat lower sodium? That certainly is the usual culprit with water retention, etc. I think bloating is often something that occurs with gluten sensitivity as well but I'm definitely not the expert. Do you normally eat a lower carb diet also and on Thanksgiving have more than usual?

No one wants to be miserable at Thanksgiving, that's for sure! I would make sure to drink plenty of water and try to stick to small portions especially if the things higher in those potential triggers. Have a great day!

Thanks! Definitely not a low carb dieter, pretty much a normal amount of carbs. I don't eat low sodium exactly but I don't eat a lot of pre-packaged things. (I like to eat more of low cal things than just eat smaller portions of whatever to stick to my calorie goals.) I don't salt my food when cooking or after, so maybe I am a lower sodium eater?
I'm done with dinner now and I did smaller portions of everything but I have to admit, I feel stuffed. Not puffy skinned yet though! If that's going to happen it will be later tonight.
Thanks so much for taking the time to reply to me, I hope you enjoy your next two days of feasting!

malibu927

This is wonderful. This is my third Thanksgiving here and this is one of those few days where I don't bother to worry about sticking to my deficit. We have a smaller meal (two people plus I'm a picky eater), and I worked my retail job this morning to make sure I've burned plenty of calories...which when you're running around a large box store for seven hours will absolutely happen. I'm figuring 1500 for dinner plus pie, but I'm not going to sweat it if I'm closer to 2000.

workinonit1956

Well, by the time I eat dessert, I will be 395 calories over for today....but still 295 under for the week!! This is so doable with just a bit of planning!

joans1976

I made it through the day at 1,953 calories. Was very full about a half hour after eating but overall surprised at the final amount of calories. I was thinking it would be more like 2,500.
Overall, pretty okay with this but do not want to eat that much again tomorrow!

tracypreiss

I ate what I wanted today and logged it and of course I was way over. I am okay with it because I know tomorrow will be back to my making better choices. I have to say it was not worth the feeling of fullness I feel right now but at the time it was. Lol lol

Speziface

I also ate what I wanted, went back for seconds, and even had a couple of root beers. I got a rough estimate around 2500 calories, but just logged 3000 and peaced out.

Back on the horse tomorrow....

SalvationMountain41

Well today, I meticulously mapped out my meal beforehand and weighed everything that I consumed. I managed to stay within calories while indulging on yummy things like pie! Never have I felt more in control of food. It has been ages since I had an 1100 calorie meal and I am beyond stuffed and happy! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!