How do you log a huge Thanksgiving dinner?

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katsushii
katsushii Posts: 31 Member
in Getting Started
Hi all,
How do you log a gigantic Thanksgiving dinner that was probably a ton of calories? Is there a "catch all" meal, and if I think I ate e.g. 900 calories for dinner, then I simply enter that and adjust my diet & exercise accordingly?

Let me know if this needs further explanation.

On the same note, what do you do (as an individual) to record food that isn't in MyFitnessPal's database?

Cheers!
-Gigi

Replies

  • JaxxieKat
    JaxxieKat Posts: 427 Member
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    I do one of two things. I will either be very, very mindful about my caloric intake the entire rest of the week and simply enjoy one splurge meal on a holiday without worrying about it (I also tend to hit the gym on Thanksgiving day to burn any extra calories), or I will try and track what I eat as best I can. I'm very fortunate that we host Thanksgiving dinner, so I have the luxury of using my measuring tools like my digital food scale. Some things, because they are made by someone else and aren't in my recipe file on MFP, I just have to pick an existing entry in the database and go with that.

    If there is a food item that isn't in the database, I use the Quick Add function, assuming I have the nutritional data available to me. For example, I know that a tall soy Flat White from Starbucks is 140 calories, but that specific latte isn't in the database that I've ever found, so I just manually quick add the calories.
  • zalmann919
    zalmann919 Posts: 24 Member
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    Weighing and logging has become a way of life for me, but since I've achieved a normal weight, I've decided to declare a "free" meal for Thanksgiving, in which I will neither log or attempt to assess the calorie/nutrient content. Since we're eating out, that works out conveniently.

    The following weekend I'm cooking a feast for guests, so I'll be weighing and calculating as always. I'll just plan smaller meals around the 1000+ calorie feast to keep within my usual goals.

    So I'm combining a "free meal" strategy with a "balloon meal" strategy. Thankfully I'm not worried about a few pounds which I know very well how to deal with. Same meal plan, different day.

    To be sure, those "free" meals won't come very often. We'll see how it goes this year, my first "normal weight" year in about 30 years.
  • NEOHgirl
    NEOHgirl Posts: 237 Member
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    I don't skip tracking, even on holidays. What I do when I don't want to spend 15 minutes loading all of my components onto my phone when I'm at the holiday or restaurant table is I will take a photo of my fully loaded plate with my phone, then use it later to track the different items on the plate as best I can. If the exact item isn't in there, I find a similar listing & use that. If multiple listings come up, I tend to pick the one with a calorie count somewhere in the middle, I don't use the highest or the lowest, just to keep things fairly even, since we know there is a bit of over/under estimation in many of the database options. Enjoy in moderation, don't stress too much about it, and do your best. Good luck!
  • katsushii
    katsushii Posts: 31 Member
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    Thank you, JennGardner and amyrebeccah! Fantastic tips. I like to be mindful of each food item I've eaten.

    I'll consider it, veda44!

    zalmann919, that's awesome. I'm happy for you.

    I greatly appreciate it, everyone. :)
  • OhMsDiva
    OhMsDiva Posts: 1,074 Member
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    vada44 wrote: »
    You don't!! You eat and enjoy the day and pick it back up on Friday!!

    That part
  • Popsicle_Feet
    Popsicle_Feet Posts: 47 Member
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    Thursday is my cheat day. Also, I am not going to pig out. Just eat until I am satisfied and not log the calories.
  • PaulaCribben
    PaulaCribben Posts: 12 Member
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    I enjoyed reading what everyone else is going to be doing on Thanksgiving day.... I am still on the fence.... logging is so ingrained in me that it is hard to imagine just "skipping" - however, the thought of a free day with NO cheating whatsoever since Labor Day is really appealing... hmmmmm...:)
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    I have never logged a single holiday meal. It's one day...it's a special occasion...enjoy yourself and move onto the next day.
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
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    i do my best to log individual components - it might not be exact since i'm not weighing everything - but its a ballpark - we had a thanksgiving pot luck at work yesterday and i did that (my diary is open if you want to take a peek)
  • bkbirge
    bkbirge Posts: 107 Member
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    My plan is to bring the food scale to the table and force my relatives to weigh everything while I make a 20 minute toast about my new found nutritional knowledge. I expect they'll all be very receptive, eh?
  • Lasmartchika
    Lasmartchika Posts: 3,440 Member
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    vada44 wrote: »
    You don't!! You eat and enjoy the day and pick it back up on Friday!!

    BUT!!! If you feel like something needs to be posted, there's this entry... :)

  • Fitgirllife72
    Fitgirllife72 Posts: 500 Member
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    vada44 wrote: »
    You don't!! You eat and enjoy the day and pick it back up on Friday!!

    This. It's one day. I don't want to spend my day staring at my phone estimating everything I eat.

  • plumwd
    plumwd Posts: 161 Member
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    I will likely still workout on Thanksgiving and maybe do some extra cardio, but other than that I'll just pretend that MFP and food logging doesn't exist that day :wink:
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
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    Lasmartchika wrote: »
    vada44 wrote: »
    You don't!! You eat and enjoy the day and pick it back up on Friday!!

    BUT!!! If you feel like something needs to be posted, there's this entry... :)

    Nope. Needs WAY more sodium in the entry.....
  • ThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken
    ThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken Posts: 1,530 Member
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    After seeing so much discussion about holiday meals and logging my thoughts have morphed quite a bit. I don't see any reason to maintain a strict intake on a holiday. There is nothing wrong with taking a holiday from the logging, weighing and tracking. A break is nice. I was originally worrying about the holidays and how to track and worrying about going over. But you know, it really puts a damper on the holidays. So I am not logging or tracking anything on the actual day of the holiday be it Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Day or Easter.
  • Nikion901
    Nikion901 Posts: 2,467 Member
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    My 'stats' would be totally messed up if I skipped logging a meal ... so I estimate by the plate method how much food I took and make a note of it. I do this surrepticiously because my family gets bugged out when I'm too obvious about it.

    That doesn't mean I skip eating what I want ... I just need to have as accurate a measure and log as I can manage.
    Like, did I have 1 slice or 2 slices of Turkey breast, a half cup or a full cup of stuffing, etc., etc. Then, I also count the appetizers and the desserts. My goal is to have that meal satisfy me but not leave me feeling like I need to undo my waist bend or be sick to my stomach so it stops feeling over stuffed!

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