4500 calories on Thanksgiving? Really? I disagree.

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  • doctorsookie
    doctorsookie Posts: 1,084 Member
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    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!

    Okay, now that I have permission I shall have another beer and pie...lol. Cheers!
  • ExtremePhobia
    ExtremePhobia Posts: 40
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    4500 calories isn't that crazy when you think about it. How much do you eat on Turkey Day? Considering that 2500 calories is what the average adult male is supposed to eat to maintain weight then that's not all that impressive. You could probably make 2500 just on dessert and snacks. If you spend ONLY ONE football game snacking (roughly 3 hours), how much do you think you've eaten?

    And remember that the Average American doesn't count calories and is at least a little over weight.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
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    I had 2100ish calories. Had to estimate some stuff. And I'm stuffed. I don't know how I used to eat 4000+ a day!
  • NetflixAndChocolate
    NetflixAndChocolate Posts: 57 Member
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    I'd believe it!
  • septembergrrl
    septembergrrl Posts: 168 Member
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    Yeah, I can't figure out where the 4,500 comes from either. I logged myself as honestly as I could and I came up at 1,805 for a fairly large meal. I didn't weigh things so I might have underestimated -- but not by almost 3,000 calories.

    I'm glad to see somebody else thinks it sounds wonky.
  • arc8706
    arc8706 Posts: 28
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    I managed 2300 including dessert, and a rum and coke I had while cooking. Probably should round it up to 2500 to account for underestimating.

    But yeah I'm stuffed. Still...hours later. However I'm short and female, I'm sure the men in the house ate much more than I did. They even had second helpings (I wish I could have managed that! lol) They all easily had 4500 calories. I believe it.
  • AlyssaAutopsy2
    AlyssaAutopsy2 Posts: 7
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    That's ridiculous, 4500 is wayyyyyy off. I am stuffed to bursting after a second helping and dessert and my WHOLE DAY'S CALORIES are 1154 calories. And i'm reading people saying 4500 for JUST the meal? Um, that must be some super-unhealthy food! Either that you're injecting lard into your veggies.
  • Schlackity
    Schlackity Posts: 268 Member
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    I just logged every bit of food I ate today and I came in at around 5100 for the day. I'm stuffed to the gills and I know I will see a gain on the scale, but all things considered, I eat like this maybe three times a year and it's totally worth it. For the OP who was wondering what kind of food would add up to that, here's my list.

    2 egg cheddar omelet with two pieces of buttered toast (that was breakfast at 7:30 this morning)
    roasted turkey with gravy made from drippings
    mashed potatoes (with sour cream, butter, and cream cheese)
    green beans with almonds
    carrots
    corn pudding
    Grands biscuit (just one, but I could seriously eat 3-4 if I wanted to)
    cranberry relish
    spinach salad with craisins, toasted almonds, and white wine vinaigrette
    slice of apple crumb pie with a healthy dose of Cool Whip
    pumpkin dip
    pumpkin cobbler
    3 slices of fresh mozzarella
    2 salami chips (genoa salami you bake in the oven until it's crispy)
    one glass of mulled wine
    spinach artichoke dip (maybe 1/2 cup)
    assorted crackers with the dip and cheese

    Also, I made all the dishes myself, so I know what went into each thing.

    Tomorrow morning, it's back to my Fiber One, Lean Cuisine with double veggies, and walking.
  • Ang108
    Ang108 Posts: 1,711 Member
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    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?

    I can't even imagine anyone eating 1/3 cup of mashed potatoes. I measured it out and it's almost nothing......
  • AlyssaAutopsy2
    AlyssaAutopsy2 Posts: 7
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    I just logged every bit of food I ate today and I came in at around 5100 for the day. I'm stuffed to the gills and I know I will see a gain on the scale, but all things considered, I eat like this maybe three times a year and it's totally worth it. For the OP who was wondering what kind of food would add up to that, here's my list.

    2 egg cheddar omelet with two pieces of buttered toast (that was breakfast at 7:30 this morning)
    roasted turkey with gravy made from drippings
    mashed potatoes (with sour cream, butter, and cream cheese)
    green beans with almonds
    carrots
    corn pudding
    Grands biscuit (just one, but I could seriously eat 3-4 if I wanted to)
    cranberry relish
    spinach salad with craisins, toasted almonds, and white wine vinaigrette
    slice of apple crumb pie with a healthy dose of Cool Whip
    pumpkin dip
    pumpkin cobbler
    3 slices of fresh mozzarella
    2 salami chips (genoa salami you bake in the oven until it's crispy)
    one glass of mulled wine
    spinach artichoke dip (maybe 1/2 cup)
    assorted crackers with the dip and cheese

    Also, I made all the dishes myself, so I know what went into each thing.

    Tomorrow morning, it's back to my Fiber One, Lean Cuisine with double veggies, and walking.
    lol i don't understand how you ate so much xD maybe my stomach is just super small or something but i'm STUFFED after eating nothing but the dinner, and it's taken me 2 hours to eat, and i'm still not done my slice of pie!!

    but the reason i quoted you was to ask about the corn pudding- what is that? i am a huge fan of creamed corn but haven't had it in years
  • Schlackity
    Schlackity Posts: 268 Member
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    AlyssaAutopsy - corn pudding (the recipe I use) is a baked dish that basically takes a can of creamed corn, a can of regular corn, and a box of Jiffy cornbread mix, mixed with some butter. You mix it all together, bake in the office, and voila....corn pudding! It's delicious! I am not usually a fan of canned veggies (or canned anything really) but I used the canned stuff for the sake of convenience this year.
  • AlyssaAutopsy2
    AlyssaAutopsy2 Posts: 7
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    Here's my FULL DAY'S intake for Thanksgiving~

    2 Mugs A.M. Coffee: 115
    Vitamins: 15
    Turkey approx. 1 cup's worth: 238
    1/2 cup Turkey Stuffing: 160
    Sweet Potatoes with Maple Syrup (this is probably an OVERsetimation as I ate about 2/3 of a potatoe's worth and it was only maple instead of maple AND brown sugar, but that's what was in the list): 200
    1 cup Oven-Roasted Brussel Sprouts in Olive Oil and Home-Made Whole-Grain Bread Crumbs: 120
    1/2 oz Cranberry Sauce (didn't like it, didn't finish it): 28
    1 Slice Pumpkin Pie: 278

    Total: 1154
  • AlyssaAutopsy2
    AlyssaAutopsy2 Posts: 7
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    ... definitely something I need to try!!! I LOVE corn and am constantly looking for new foods to try :D
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
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    AlyssaAutopsy - corn pudding (the recipe I use) is a baked dish that basically takes a can of creamed corn, a can of regular corn, and a box of Jiffy cornbread mix, mixed with some butter. You mix it all together, bake in the office, and voila....corn pudding! It's delicious! I am not usually a fan of canned veggies (or canned anything really) but I used the canned stuff for the sake of convenience this year.

    Oh man. I want to try it!!!
  • Schlackity
    Schlackity Posts: 268 Member
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    AlyssaAutopsy - corn pudding (the recipe I use) is a baked dish that basically takes a can of creamed corn, a can of regular corn, and a box of Jiffy cornbread mix, mixed with some butter. You mix it all together, bake in the office, and voila....corn pudding! It's delicious! I am not usually a fan of canned veggies (or canned anything really) but I used the canned stuff for the sake of convenience this year.

    Oh man. I want to try it!!!

    the recipe is on allrecipes.com under "easy corn pudding" it turned out really well!
  • anaconda469
    anaconda469 Posts: 3,461 Member
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    I went to my friend's house. She only cooks with natural ingredients, like sweet potatoes with no added sugar, pumpkin pie made with real cut up and cooked pumpkin etc. I was proud of myself, I watched my portions, and took in 1250 calories. I don't drink alcohol and that amount of calories in one meal I am totally stuffed. My macros are shot to hell, but its one day of the year.
  • fitandskinnygal
    fitandskinnygal Posts: 487
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    Desserts have about 200-500 calories if they're a good size , 2 white rolls are around 250 calories, 1 cup of sweet potato casserole is nearly 500 calories, 1/2 cup of stuffing is 100 calories, 1/2 cup of white turkey is around 180 calories, 1/2 cup of mashed potatoes are 118 calories……. do the math.

    Also, if you're like me you'll have some soda and chocolate….. oh…… and another slice of homemade cheesecake.
  • twixlepennie
    twixlepennie Posts: 1,074 Member
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    I'm a little over 2,500 (give or take a couple hundred calories in either direction), and I've just opened a package of my favorite cookies. It's going to be a late night with painting the living room, and I don't foresee any cookies making it through that :laugh:
  • myprana
    myprana Posts: 66
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    I totally believe people eat 4,500 calories on Thanksgiving. Anyone familiar with that Aussie Cheese Fries appetizer at Outback Steakhouse? 2,900 calories. I used to order that instead of ordering from the dinner menu, thinking it was saving me some calories. Boy was I wrong!!!
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 9,979 Member
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    4500 cals is nothing. Most people eat more than that everyday. It's easy. You eat more than you think you do. that's why you're here.

    That's just silly. If "most people" ate more than 4500 calories every day, "most people" would be gaining 100-200 pounds a year, every year.


    35% of the US is obese. So, yeah most people do consume about 4500 a day.

    Think a little harder. As I pointed out, 4500 calories every day works out to an extra 100 to 200 pounds EVERY YEAR (OK, that will start to taper off as your weight hits 500 or 600 pounds, but you would almost certainly be dead while still in your 20s at 700 or 800 pounds before your maintenance level hit 4500 a day. Do you really think that "most people" (or even 35% of the people in the U.S.) are hitting 700 or 800 pounds at any age? You can become "obese" by just eating an extra 100 calories a day for 10 years.

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