Thanksgiving

sarahlucindac

I’m curious what those of you trying to lose weight are planning to do on Thanksgiving. I’m meticulous about logging my calories (I use a food scale for everything I eat, even prepackaged food). I’m considering being a little more lax on Thursday. I might even...*gasp* eyeball my servings. I’ve been losing weight for 8 months (down 54 lbs with only 6 more to go). I’m not too terribly stressed about Thanksgiving because I’m normally very disciplined about my calorie limits and I exercise a ton. I know there will be a spike on the scale from the feast for a few days that follow, I’m mentally preparing myself for that.
For those of you that have been through this before, what do you do about eating during the holidays? Do you let loose for one day? Do you bank calories for that day?

jdog022

3 non tracking days a year. Bday, thanksgiving and Xmas. I’ll log 5k just to keep my streak. 3 days is a blip on the radar but people tend to go crazy for several days even weeks during holidays and that’s the mistake.

JeromeBarry1

I am so accustomed to weighing and logging that I expect to simply weigh and log everything. I do the cooking so it's particularly easy to do it to suit myself.

lemurcat2

I don't really eat crazy numbers of calories on Thanksgiving (it's usually at my place and I do most of the cooking, and we tend to have a lot of side dishes that are vegetable focused and not that high cal and turkey isn't high cal, although I'll certainly have mashed potatoes with butter and my sister's take on my mom's broccoli and cauliflower with cheese, plus pie), but I usually don't log. I just started logging again this year and am doing a lot more estimating, so I might estimate.

Running2Fit

I don't plan on weighing or tracking anything on Thanksgiving. I'm going to have reasonable portion sizes, not go back for seconds, and just enjoy the day. I'm also going to bank all my exercise calories for the week for Thanksgiving to give myself a little bit more wiggle room with my calories. But I'm not too stressed about it. It's one day, it can't undo months of hard work and I'll get right back to weighing and logging on Friday.

mgookin

I bank calories the week before/the week of and dont bother tracking. I dont track for: Thanksgiving, christmas, Easter, sons birthday. So about 4 days out of the year.

Lounmoun

sarahlucindac wrote: »

For those of you that have been through this before, what do you do about eating during the holidays? Do you let loose for one day? Do you bank calories for that day?

I will eat a low calorie breakfast like an apple or vegetables while cooking everything. The rest of the day I will take reasonable portions, no seconds. I will drink water or unsweetened tea. I will stay active. I do log on holidays but don't worry if everything is exact. I will be eating close to maintenance calories or slightly above based on past Thanksgivings I have logged. I will eat pie for breakfast on Friday morning but otherwise eat and exercise pretty normally the rest of the week. I will weigh myself on Sunday morning following Thanksgiving as usual and not freak out. My experience the past 4 Thanksgivings of logging that doing this plan does not lead to any significant weight change for me.

sarahlucindac

Thanks for the input, everyone! I think I have the perfect storm of TOM and Thanksgiving coming all at once lol.

jemhh

I don't track on holidays like Thanksgiving. I usually look at what there is to eat and have what I generally don't get to have the rest of the year and only a bit of the stuff I can get any time. For example. Thanksgiving dinner is the one meal a year when I get fresh roasted turkey so I eat as much as I want (though I don't overstuff myself) whereas I can have dinner rolls and mashed potatoes any time so I tend not to eat them or eat only a little bit. And I don't eat stuff that I don't really care about (stuffing/dressing, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, etc.) Truthfully, I'd be happy with just turkey and sweet potatoes.

dulinh

I plan to eat and enjoy all the things. I'll login and log a number I think is close, maybe 4000 or so. I won't be hungry the next few days afterwards so I'll take advantage of that. I'm not banking calories beforehand but I'm making sure to intentionally stay active this month

CarvedTones

I did track and keep the count low last year while I was losing and I wish I hadn't. It really wouldn't have made much difference and it was stressful to track and avoid things. I will almost certainly go way over maintenance calories and have to lower goal a little for a while afterwards to get away from the top of the range before Christmas. It's the rest of the year that causes weight problems, not the holidays. You just have to be careful not to start back down the path of consistently over eating on "regular" days.

MalkinMagic71

I do a quick log of 5 or 6k just for fun in my diary. I don't track at all on Thanksgiving and eat whatever I want. It's one day.

Cbean08

Holidays are about spending time with people you love, not about food. But, you shouldn't compromise your relationships with others by avoiding sharing a meal, especially if it's just 1 out of the year.

I'll eat a few bites of all the things I enjoy and leave things I don't. I'll probably drink 1 too many beers because that's what my boyfriend and I like. And when we're done eating we'll lay around and watch football and probably fall asleep on the couch.

Point being, enjoy your holiday by connecting with others. It's just another meal but it's a special time to spend with people you love.

pinuplove

I won't weigh it measure anything. If history is any indication, I'll have eyes bigger than my stomach, anyway I'll eat however much of whatever I want without stuffing myself to the point of misery.

My husband and I always do the cooking, so I'll be on my feet most of the day anyway, between that and the pre-company cleaning. Breakfast and lunch will be light. Mostly, I just want to be sure I save room for pecan pie, lol.

The leftovers are where I can do some real damage

CarvedTones

pinuplove wrote: »

The leftovers are where I can do some real damage

Especially when one of the biggest differences in preferences in my family is desserts. I have quit asking for pecan pie; one will probably show up at a Christmas party and I can have a piece and never see the rest of it. I now sign on for the apple pie; it's not my favorite but I like it. Sine a couple of other people like it, it won't stick around as long and I won't feel obligated to eat more like I do if a pecan pie was made or bought almost entirely for me. Last year I made 3 or 4 baked apples with a pecan pie like filling.

But yeah, when the feast spreads across days it can be more of a problem.

Maxxitt

The week of thanksgiving is a week of eating at maintenance - if I were to be home I would still be at a deficit for the week but I'm road-tripping and that means 4 days of car-sitting. It's all good though - if I actually put on a lil fat I know exactly what to do, and if I maintain, the plan is exactly the same - return to a slight deficit and continue my activity.

emmamcgarity

I am planning it as a maintenance break. I will eyeball and track and be mindful of choices. I am reminding myself that the scale may temporarily bounce up so that I won’t use it as an excuse to myself to go “off the rails”

quiksylver296

I'm eating ALL THE THINGZ!!!

bigbandjohn

I plan to eat normal size meal. More sides, so smaller portions. I won't worry about going over though, but I'll still track.

sunfastrose

I don't think about it. My habits are built up enough that I take small portions and leave space between them on my plate. I know I eat more than I would on a normal day, but it's just one day, and I don't go overboard just because I could.

seltzermint555

If I liked any of the food served on Thanksgiving, I would eat it and skip logging for that one day.

Since I don't, my husband and I are making a huge sheet pan of crab & avocado nachos and will eat it all with a couple of craft beers and skip logging for the day anyway.