4500 calories on Thanksgiving? Really? I disagree.

Le_Joy

I wish this article http://www.caloriecontrol.org/articles-and-video/feature-articles/stuff-the-bird-not-yourself had some food examples to back up their estimate. I found another that posts foods and their calories and came up with 2486, http://projects.nytimes.com/qa/events/thanksgiving-help-line/question/8134 which is still an insane amount for a meal and the original claim of 4500 includes snacks and alcohol, but for me personally even before calorie counting I couldn't eat everything the article lists and have room for snacks. Also as the second article points out many people don't eat the types of foods listed. I won't eat turkey if it's dark meat and hate the skin (always have ever since I was little), have no use for green bean casserole, and will pass on pie unless it's pumkpin or apple (which are both have much lower calories than pecan, buttermilk, and other "holiday" pies).

I agree that many people overindulge but I think you can have a great dinner and eat the foods you love without consuming a million calories. At my first thanksgiving this year I had just over 1000 calories in my 2 meals during the 4 hours I was at the in-laws. Which is half my calories for the day.

BenjaminMFP88

I have 3 thanksgivings this year. The first one being earlier this week. After adding up all my calories for the thanksgiving meal, I was around 5300 calories for the day. Keep in mind, 4500 of those calories can be attributed solely to the thanksgiving meal alone.

And it was totally worth it

Le_Joy

After adding up all my calories for the thanksgiving meal, I was around 5300 calories for the day. Keep in mind, 4500 of those calories can be attributed solely to the thanksgiving meal alone.

Can you post what you ate? I'm curious to see what foods add up to that many calories.

Confuzzled4ever

umm.. you can eat 10,000 calories at Thanksgiving.. esp if you drink and eat snacks.. 1 slice of pie can be 500+ all on it's own! I already logged a bunch of thanksgiving food, just to see.. and i'm well over 2,000 just for dinner and it's just a guess, since I am not cooking I am not sure exactly what will be on the table. So i just used pretty traditional foods..and went with a cup (which is probably more then I will actually eat of each item) but this way it accounts for whatever is on the table and since i don't know whats in the hosts recipes, I'm assuming more calories rather then less.

But seriously.. 2 pieces of pie is happening.. in my world.. 1,000 calories blown right there.. I'm loving it.

seltzermint555

Yeah, that sounds crazy high. A little over 2000 or even 3000, I'd believe.

Awhile ago I decided to log a "typical day" for myself 5 years ago (my heaviest and worst eating habits to date) and it was still around 2,800. I know I couldn't hold 3,000+ cal now.

I_Will_End_You

Consuming 4500 calories on Thanksgiving does not sound like a difficult task. At all.

SailorKnightWing

My mom put in all our recipes for tomorrow and assuming we eat one full serving of each dish and have two alcoholic drinks, it comes to 1,743 calories. Not bad considering we usually only eat breakfast and dinner on Thanksgiving, not to mention we probably won't eat a full serving of everything just because it's way too much food.

latenitelucy

I'm in the south where everything is in casserole form and contains some combination of cream of something soup, butter, mayo, cheese and crunchy topping. 4500 might be conservative for the average eater if they are drinking and having dessert too. :laugh:

ssmaling

Pshaw, that would be easy peasy on a day like Thanksgiving! Mashed Taters with all that butter and cream, Pies, Tortes, Meats, Breads! And if you drink special drinks that just hikes it up even more. I was somewhat stressed about Thanksgiving but I'm not now. I am going to eat what I'd like and enjoy the day with my family. Friday is a new day and I can get back on track. I think often times people obsess way too much about calories and staying within your budget on a Holiday or special event. Thanksgiving is but once a year. And honestly, there is no way that I can enjoy the things I want to enjoy on Thanksgiving and stay in my budget of 1300 - 1500. I've also noticed that if you over obsess about calories and freak out about going over, that attitude can really hinder others and put a major dampener on the day. So I say, enjoy yourself! You don't have to be a massive pig, but have what you'd like and enjoy yourself.

1PatientBear

Consuming 4500 calories on Thanksgiving does not sound like a difficult task. At all.

This. Turkey, stuffing, pie, beer, bourbon, turkey, stuffing, pie, bacon, bourbon, beer, turkey, pie, turkey, stuffing, beer, bourbon, pie. And then some turkey. 4716 calories.

MinnesotaManimal

I would feel like a failure if I only consumed 4500 on Thanksgiving............

Faye_Anderson

I imagine it's very easy to get above that, especially if you add alcohol

wdwmindy

Here's an interesting Thanksgiving feast calculator http://walking.about.com/library/cal/blthanksgivingcalories.htm , I have no idea how accurate it is.

And here's one where there are pics of Thanksgiving plates full of food and you can guess the amount of calories.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/25/thanksgiving-calories_n_4298802.html

elyelyse

Consuming 4500 calories on Thanksgiving does not sound like a difficult task. At all.

I agree! Especially if we are counting drinks and dessert.

BrainyBurro

i could easily eat 5000 calories.

it's not even a bet i'd hesitate about taking.

bread rolls... pumpkin pie... mashed potatoes... snacks during the football games (all 3 of them!)... it can all add up quickly.

ldrosophila

I can see it happening very easily people in general underestimate or forget about what they have eaten

DorisInTheDena

Thanksgiving is ONE day. Enjoy being thankful. Enjoy your friends and family. Eat in moderation. Workout. If you falter then move on and forgive yourself. I personally can't imagine trying to calculate the calories unless I am cooking everything. If you've been seriously watching your intake then you'll probably be surprised how little you can consume compared to what you used to. Enjoy your day. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

ldrosophila

My mom put in all our recipes for tomorrow and assuming we eat one full serving of each dish and have two alcoholic drinks, it comes to 1,743 calories. Not bad considering we usually only eat breakfast and dinner on Thanksgiving, not to mention we probably won't eat a full serving of everything just because it's way too much food.

how much is a full serving like 3oz of turkey breast, 1/3c mashed potatoes, 1/2c green bean casserole?

Francl27

Yeah I can see 4500 calories. Mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, pies and stuffing, that's probably 2000 calories alone (and I had 3 pieces of pie the last few years). The worst for me is all the cheese and bread/crackers before dinner though. Last year we went to a buffet and I probably ate 6000 calories or something...

For tomorrow I'm leaving myself 1165 calories, but I won't have potatoes or stuffing, and only one piece of pumpkin pie.

Hornsby

I'm pretty much counting on eating at least 5K tomorrow, and I can't wait to do it.

Achrya

Here's an interesting Thanksgiving feast calculator http://walking.about.com/library/cal/blthanksgivingcalories.htm , I have no idea how accurate it is.

And here's one where there are pics of Thanksgiving plates full of food and you can guess the amount of calories.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/25/thanksgiving-calories_n_4298802.html

According to that calculator just turkey, stuffing. potatoes and gravy, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, 1 slice of pie with ice cream and a dinner roll with butter would put me at nearly 2000 calories. So throw in that mac and cheese, some greens, at least two more rolls and then seconds? 4500 is easy.