Eating on Thanksgiving
jessikundrick
Posts: 7 Member
So Thanksgiving is coming up. My boyfriend's family is having an early thanksgiving this saturday, so I'll be eating that day. But I'll also be celebrating on the actual thanksgiving five days later, and then the next day is my boyfriend's birthday and we're going out to eat, and having cake.I can't get myself to stop thinking that I'll gain all my weight back over those few days. I feel like I've kind of developed a food fear. Is it okay to splurge a little?
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Yes, it's okay. Remember that it isn't holidays and birthdays that caused you to gain weight in the first place.0
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Yea, don't lose your mind, just have fun, but don't eat until you feel sick. You can also get some long cardio workouts in, I plan on going on a 20 mile bike ride thanksgiving morning so I can go H.A.M.0
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It's fine to splurge. I would advise making a game plan ahead of time. Decide if you're going to full out eat whatever you want in any quantity you want or if you're just splurging on foods you don't eat regularly or some other way of eating. Then stick with it.0
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No reason to fear food. Its three days. Enjoy, log it and carry on.0
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Yes, it's okay. Remember that it isn't holidays and birthdays that caused you to gain weight in the first place.
I echo this as well. Dieting isn't about ruining holidays and special occasions. Maybe identify good choices on those days but even if you go nuts you'll be alright a few days later after returning to your diet and your water levels return to normal. Lots of sodium in thanksgiving foods and eating out.0 -
Eat at maintenance on those days, keep calm, and carry on. Don't freak out over a small scale jump the following days as it could be from sodium, or food in your digestive tract.0
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I agree with making the game plan. Also, life is too short. Enjoy yourself, but don't let it spiral out of control. Treat it as just another day in your life and not as you "messing up". Makes it a lot easier.0
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Thanksgiving is one of those days that you should not even worry about calories…eat, drink, enjoy time with family and friends, and be merry. I am shooting for 5,000 + calories on Thanksgiving and I plan on enjoying every last one ….0
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Having several days close together eating much differently than usual, and usually more calories, completely throws me off track. I find it really, really hard to get back on track and not have calorie creep. You have to psyche yourself up for it and be very, very disciplined. Extra exercise can help a bit.0
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This year Thanksgiving and my wedding anniversary fall on the same day. We're having a small (not full-blown) family dinner at my parents' house. I fully intend to eat whatever I want, but I'm pretty sure I won't be able to "pack it in" like in years past. 7 months of eating mostly under 1400 calories daily has made it much easier to eat until satisfied rather than making myself completely miserable before I stop. I'll still likely log everything I can just so I have an idea, but I'm not going to worry about it.
This is my life now. There's no reason to deny myself an occasional celebration! 0 -
Eat a healthy small breakfast and lunch. For dinner eat the carbs and the Turkey! Try to limit yourself to one or two desert items do you don't feel to awful0
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For holidays and birthdays I say, mangia. Mangia lo. It's all the normal days you have to worry about!0
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It is ok to splurge for three days. Stay on track for your other days. 0
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You know you don't have to eat ALL the food, right? No one will force you to over eat. This is where that "want to lose the weight" should overbattle the urges to eat too much. You know what you need to do to lose the weight. Just find a happy medium and get back on it. You can't make special occasions and holidays an excuse to overeat forever. If that was the case, I'd overeat at least 2x week because there's always SOMETHING speciall to someone in my life.0
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In addition to all the great advice from other posters, consider bringing a dish that you know you can eat. At family gatherings, I always offer to bring salad or vegetable dishes that I know I can load up on. I fill my plate with large portions of healthy food and small portions of unhealthy food. That way I still enjoy all the deliciousness of the holidays. And even if you do overindulge - just keep at it and get back to your healthy habits the next day. Move on, don't obsess, and you'll do great.0
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kristen6350 wrote: »You know you don't have to eat ALL the food, right? No one will force you to over eat. This is where that "want to lose the weight" should overbattle the urges to eat too much. You know what you need to do to lose the weight. Just find a happy medium and get back on it. You can't make special occasions and holidays an excuse to overeat forever. If that was the case, I'd overeat at least 2x week because there's always SOMETHING speciall to someone in my life.
why not? we are talking about maybe three days = thanksgiving, christmas day, and new years eve. so why can't one eat what they want on those three days and still lose weight. I have not tracked on any of those days and I have had zero issues losing, and keeping the weight off.0 -
Sad truth is I'll be doing good to make 1000 calories that day. I have severe food allergies and eating at other people's places is a dangerous nightmare.
I also barely got 1000 calories the day I took my niece and nephew to the county fair, for the same reason.0 -
Eat what you want. Log it honestly. Return to normal eating the next day. Odds are if you've been counting calories long you won't have the stomach to overdo it by that much anyway.
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Thanksgiving day, I will be eating lots of good food, and after that, through January 1, I will be eating at or near maintenance, and not denying myself anything. We will be traveling, visiting friends and family that we don't see any other time, so the holidays for me last a couple of weeks and they're intentionally filled with good food.
Like someone said, it's not the holiday meals that get you, it's all the days through the rest of the year. If you want to lose weight and maintain your goal weight for the rest of your life, you have to get comfortable with just realizing that we're human beings and we need to eat, and we need to enjoy the good times and not be stressed that we might gain a pound or two now and again. Just be mindful of it and don't let a few meals ruin everything you worked hard to achieve.0 -
It's a holiday, enjoy it. No stress. Thanksgiving happens once a year.0
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I learned in WW that the average person gains 7 lbs during the holidays. Some of the tips I gained there were helpful. One was pretty obvious. Save up your calories for the day for the big meal. It's not like you need a big breakfast on TG day. Another was to divide plate into 3 parts.....one for protein, one for starchy stuff, and the third for veggies/salad. Pie is separate, naturally.
Anyway, I know for me my appetite is far more easily satisfied today than when I first started to diet. I am in no danger, really, of overeating. I get full quickly now. I bet you will, too.0 -
Enjoy yourself but in moderation is my advice. Meaning eat what you want on those days and enjoy, but eating 2-3 portions, multiple slices and pie and cake, etc, is just not nessesary.0
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Agghhh this "smart" phone is stupid but you get what I'm trying to say
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kissedbythesunshine wrote: »Enjoy yourself but in moderation is my advice. Meaning eat what you want on those days and enjoy, but eating 2-3 portions, multiple slices and pie and cake, etc, is just not nessesary.
Not to mention that it will probably make you feel really awful if you have been eating "clean" or at a deficit. Seriously, ERs will be packed on Thursday night with people thinking they are having heart attacks, but really just ate way too much.0 -
I think having a plan helps. 3 days of potential over eating is something I would be concerned about too.
Bank some calories. Plan a long hike the day of the event. Set boundaries for eating. If you want to make it a break from counting calories then make the decision and enjoy it and make a plan to get back on track.
many traditional thanksgiving dishes aren't really all that good. I try to really evaluate what I am putting in my mouth. I find that for the most part, unless the baker is a complete genius with pie....it isn't all that appealing. I think of it as low quality high fat food.
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Lots of good advice here. I didn't get fat in a couple days or weeks of bad eating. I am not loosing weight in a couple days or weeks of healthy eating.
If you have a long-term commitment to eating well, relaxing and enjoying a few days' celebration with good people is good for your head and heart, and will not sabotage your body.
I would actually advocate against logging the meals, or at least put it out of your mind until after each meal, to minimize any anxiety you may feel as you approach the food. If you log it and find out that you're over goal, or even over maintenance, keep in mind that these isolated events are NOT going to have the impact that previous habits had on your health.
Once the celebrations are over, get back on track.0 -
I've been at this for a long time. Five years ago it began with me wanting to lose 15-20 pounds. Now, as a surprise, I have slowly bulked my weight back up to the starting weight but totally recomped my body. I'm currently 3 pounds away from where I started five years ago, and I am in the best shape of my life. With that aside, I have always eaten what I wanted with no guilt on holidays or special occasions, and alas, not once has it hurt my progress, regardless of which direction I was moving with my goals at the time. I wouldn't say go full on binge, as that is just unhealthy to begin with. However, enjoy the food, and live guilt free. We only live once. We all have more things to stress about in life than whether or not to eat or splurge on a holiday.0
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This year is my first actually going to all my partners family holiday events as well, and then to top off doubles of big meals at Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve/Day our two year anniversary is the day before Christmas and we have made a tradition of an extravagant dinner and wine, and then his Birthday is that weekend, and mine two weeks later. Its a doozy of a time for sure.
My plan is to talk to all the hosts and get an idea of what's going to be offered and make a plan for myself. Indulge in my favorites and skip what I dont need. I wont have desserts at all our events, I'm going to pick my favorites. Like I know my family only makes a pumpkin pie and I dont care for it so I'll make sure to enjoy whatever HIS mom has available
Think each event through and make your best plan! I'm even planning to bring my food scale to these events. Anyone who cares about me isnt going to be a jerk about it!0
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