Tracking calories on Thanksgiving day?

ellioc2

I want to enjoy my Thanksgiving this year and at least have some pie and mashed potatoes. I’ve been keeping my caloric intake quite minimal (1200) and really been avoiding carb-heavy foods. I know I should enjoy myself on Thanksgiving and I don’t have to restrict per se as long as I get back on track the next day. I don’t intend to gorge myself but I don’t want to not eat certain foods since I’m dieting. I don’t think it’ll be too hard, especially if I’m having my normal breakfast which is super filling (eggs) and then that one big meal. As far as weekly calories go I don’t think having a big meal will make that much of a difference. My question is, should I still try to track my calories though and set a limit for myself (say 2000)? Or would it be okay to just give myself the day off, enjoy the company, and eat all the Thanksgiving-y foods without tracking them?

Blythmag

Have a day off and enjoy yaselsef .be a devil

bemyyfriend0918

I don’t think I’ll end up tracking on Thanksgiving. I have been thinking about cutting my calories by about 200 or so during the days leading up to it. I was leaning towards Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday....

CarvedTones

I might loosely track just to keep from getting too ridiculous. I need to do some lower calorie days between now and then. I am right up at te top of my maintenance range. I would have preferred to go into the holidays closer to or at the bottom. Oh well...

thezenarya

I won't be tracking on Thanksgiving. I have purposely eaten under my calories so far this week and will do so next week to give myself some buffer, but realistically, going off track that ONE day is not going to send you up 5 pounds or anything. Give yourself a break!

cwolfman13

It's one day...it's pretty meaningless in the grand scheme of things. I haven't logged in years, but when I did I never bothered with holidays or other special occasions. What you're doing most of the time is what matters, not occasions here and there.

pinggolfer96

If I did track it would only be to see how high I could or did get my calories....not to restrict myself. Gonna go crazy per usual

apullum

Depends on your definition of "okay." You should expect the scale to go up the next day, and you should also know that the increase will likely be mostly water fluctuation and undigested food. It's probably not fat gain and it will come off after returning to your normal routine, but it might take a few days. As long as you're aware that this will happen, and you don't let one day of overeating turn into many days of overeating, then you're fine.

If you're a walker or runner, then you could do what we do and sign up for a turkey trot Thanksgiving morning. I'll get my run in, hopefully get a PR, have my post-race pie, and then go home and stuff my face.

jean133mjg

I plan on cutting a couple hundred calories each day preceding and enjoy food, family and fun on Thanksgiving Day and returning to my calorie plan the next morning. I'm also not going to weigh myself when I get up as I usually do because there will probably be water retention from more sodium in the foods I'll be eating and don't want to bum myself out for the increase. Since I won't be eating 3500 extra calories that day, I know I won't gain a pound through that one meal, but perhaps only through water weight. I'll wait about 4 days to weigh again. That should give my body a chance to level the fluid I may carry out of it. It took me years to gain all my weight, so one day isn't going to scare me. Enjoy yourself and remember that this is a marathon, not a sprint. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.

Cahgetsfit

just eat. you're not going to magically gain 10 kilos because you ate food on thanskgiving. you will bloat yes but that will go away in a few days.

COGypsy

Thanksgiving is just one day, so I’m not too worried about it. We also don’t cook for the holiday, so there isn’t the temptation to keep indulging in all the leftovers. I figure that alone gives me quite a bit of caloric leeway!

swirlybee

I'm going to track just so I have data point. I'll indulge but it'll probably be just a tad above maintenance. The challenge is going to be whether or not I over-indulge in liquid calories (i.e., alcohol).

I wasn't going to lower my intake in the days leading up to thanksgiving, but that may not be such a bad idea.

collectingblues

I do track, and I prelog. I am a fairly consistent holiday eater, and I know precisely what my mother is making -- she is aware of my anxiety about eating outside my home, so she's told me the full menu -- so I can go back in my logs from previous years and get a fairly good idea. I'll probably end up eating around maintenance for the day, and possibly at a slight deficit. I've got a race that morning, so while that doesn't offset the entire meal by any stretch, at least it bumps my TDEE up a bit.

Noreenmarie1234

Take off if you want, it's one day! Enjoy I don't meticulously log but estimate because I have a calculator in my head and can't just not automatically tally up my cals, lol.

I am not a fan of thanksgiving food anyways so it's not much different than a normal day. I only really like the turkey, veggies and homemade pie. Not a huge fan of any of the other traditional thanksgiving foods.

sbrooks0387

I plan on eating very lightly earlier in the day, then eating whatever I want for dinner. Just having reasonable portions and not eating past full.

DiscusTank5

I'm gonna eat more but also track it. I need the parameters tracking gives me: knowing that I'll log whatever I eat will help me handle the holiday in a healthy (ie, non-binging) way.

MalkinMagic71

Not tracking anything. It's one day. Gonna enjoy myself.

pinggolfer96

Calories don’t count on thanksgiving, Christmas, birthdays, and super bowl Sunday. It’s a proven fact from pubmed....

jamesjeffsmith

track it and limit somewhat by not eating pie crust only one bread small amount of stuffing. Enjoy and realize this will be a break even week. Don't fret or try to make it up by eating less than your 1200 plan and you'll be fine. As others have said it is not much in the scheme of things.

WinoGelato

Here are two holiday themed threads I wrote a few years ago that may help you...

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10482342/thanksgiving-dont-sweat-it-eat-it-log-it-be-proud-of-it/p1

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10303793/who-gained-weight-during-the-holidays-i-have-a-solution/p1

melissafeagins

I don't log on Thanksgiving, Christmas or Easter. Or my birthday. Or my wedding anniversary. Not tracking for 5 out 365 days is not going to be the end of the world as I know it.

Gisel2015

I don't log during the holidays either. Even if I prepare the food, which I will partially" do this year. I don't weigh anything and I don't bother to calculate know how many servings are in each meal either.

My meals are very simple and they don't involve a lot of high calories ingredients. Some family members eat low carb, and others are trying to lose some weight and that makes things easier. I don't binge or overeat and I have been under my daily allowances for a couple of week, so I hope that things balance out.

I am in maintenance so I don't worry.

texasleahgirl

I log, but just to have the data. I learn something just by quantifying the ridiculous amount of calories in a four-course meal.

smantha32

I track every day. I probably will go over though.

aokoye

I might track the entire day I might not. My Thanksgiving dinner, however, is very likely just going to be roasted duck, maybe brussels sprouts (probably becauses those with duck fat....), maybe yams (big maybe), homemade cranberry sauce, and probably chinese steamed buns. Dessert will probably be strudel instead of pie. Basically I'm just making a nicer meal than usual that has next to nothing to do with Thanksgiving.

If I go over I go over. I might be a little grumpy about it, but at the end of the day it's just another day.

mgookin

I been cutting 100-200 calories of my daily goal this week will continue till Thanksgiving.
I dont plan on logging, dont want to try and estimate all the recipes and dont want to bother my time with the food scale. It's one day, wont hurt me. Just going to drink plenty of water and enjoy the time with the family.

lynn_glenmont

I'll track for the data (it's not difficult, as we tend to have most of the same things from year to year, and most of the things we have are family traditions that I have made myself, even if someone else made some of them this year, so I just pull them out of my saved recipes or copy them from last year).

But I don't worry about trying to stay within some calorie limit. Last year I was about 300 calories above maintenance for the day, and the before I was close to 400 calories above maintenance. I tend to go higher on Christmas, as I like cookies better than pie. Plus, there's eggnog.

snowflake954

I'd let it go for 1 day. Enjoy your family and friends. Try to get in a long walk if you can and maybe invite the others. The next day get back on track and drink lots of water.

JBanx256

I actually have to work a 12-hour shift on Thanksgiving Day, so I will be eating totally normally that day. However, the following Saturday is when my fam is going to get together & I will absolutely splurge and eat whatever the F I wanna for one day.

confidenceinrain

I will probably track but enjoy myself and not worry if I go over calories for the day. Eating at maintenance or similar for one day is not going to kill anyone! Although I might not eat back my exercise calories earlier in the week so I can bank them. (We are doing Thanksgiving on the Saturday because we live abroad and don't have the long weekend.)

missysippy930

I will have at least a taste of everything that I like. I usually have a glass of wine on Thanksgiving & Christmas, but my husband quit drinking this year so we decided not to have any alcohol this year. I have never been a big drinker, so it’s not a problem. I will probably go over on calories, but it’s only one day as others noted. We traditionally do the nearby towns annual “Turkey Trot” 5k, so getting exercise in.
Right back at it on Friday, doable for me.

Enjoy family, friends and food! That’s what Thanksgiving is about!