What do skinny people do on Thanksgiving?

deagn5

i have to agree with the person who wrote "it's only one day", you will not ruin what you have worked for.
eat a little of everything, but only of what you want. for instance, i love stuffing, but i never eat stuffing
except for thanksgiving so i will have some, but i skip the mashed potatoes, one because i really don't
like them, but also, that is something that you can have any day of the week, so eat the stuff that you
usually don''t eat or things that "remind" you of thanksgiving. i'm sure many people don't eat pumpkin pie
on a regular basis, so if that is something you enjoy on this day, eat it! and don't feel guilty

CDresp

I have found a couple of tricks that really help on the portion control part. First drink a very large glass of water about 20 minutes before meal time. (Drinking a warm cup of tea or a small bowl of broth type soup before meal time works too.) Then put a 1/2 serving of your choices on the plate and eat that slowly knowing you can go back for more IF you want. Then BEFORE you go back for more wait about 5-10 minutes. Take up the time talking with others at the table and drink more liquid while talking. Then IF you still want more after that time then go back and get the other 1/2 portion of whatever you want more of. Remember.....you don't have to eat as much as possible as quickly as possible. NOBODY is going to take it away from you. Slow down and enjoy. JMHO. :flowerforyou:

CDresp

SallyLunn, you're a girl after my own heart. :drinker:

Phoenix_Rising

OH, and P.S don't let yourself be guilted into taking leftovers home unless it's turkey or veggies. BTW, see if you can snag the turkey caracass to make your own turkey stock!

If you are FORCED to take home the leftovers, give them to a friend, neighbor or coworker. Last resort, throw them away. I hate throwing away food but....

Phoenix_Rising

We actually discussed this in my last Weight Watchers meeting. I won't lie... I'm nervous. It's really hard not to want to fill my plate full of everything on the table. But I've just decided I'm going to pick those foods that mean "Thanksgiving" the most to me (not the ones I can have any old day), and I'll eat slowly, and just do the best I can. In the end, all you can do is be smart about my choices, enjoy my family and friends, and not nibble and taste all day like I always do.

And if I don't do as well as I would have liked, it's just one day, and I'll get back on the wagon the next.

Great plan!
Be a little eccentric if you need and take your own plate! Make it a smaller plate, like a salad plate, instead of a full sized dinner plate. You can do this!!!

Meag83

One single day of bad eating can turn into 10 single days of bad eating for me. I've heard people say that you should only eat the things you really like. Why waste your calories on food that isn't your favorites? I don't care for mashed potatoes or stuffing so this year I'm not eating either of those dishes. I'd rather have a peices of cheese, some olives, a dinner roll and a small peice of pie.
The salad idea and veggie tray idea are wonderful, I'm going to do that also. I'm also going to make some healthy sauted green beans instead of my normal fat filled green bean casserole.

Good luck to everyone and I can't wait to see what everyone ate on Thanksgiving.

doris_day

Glad you started this thread. I'm already thinking of Thanksgiving as well.
I know what my mom is going to serve the family so I am going to put it down in the food journal here and see what the calorie count it. I'm also going to bring my food scale. I don't want this one day to ruin what I've been working so hard for.
I also like to go for a run. I live in the midwest where it's pretty cold this time of year, but I feel much better with a little exercise.

I also love the tip of getting a smaller plate. I cannot eat unhealthy otherwise I sugar binge and that one day turns into several bad days for me. I personally don't plan on splurging, but incorporating the meal in my 1200 calories a day. I have a goal for Christmas and I don't want Thanksgiving to hinder me from that goal.

CricketKate

One single day of bad eating can turn into 10 single days of bad eating for me. I've heard people say that you should only eat the things you really like. Why waste your calories on food that isn't your favorites? I don't care for mashed potatoes or stuffing so this year I'm not eating either of those dishes. I'd rather have a peices of cheese, some olives, a dinner roll and a small peice of pie.
The salad idea and veggie tray idea are wonderful, I'm going to do that also. I'm also going to make some healthy sauted green beans instead of my normal fat filled green bean casserole.

Good luck to everyone and I can't wait to see what everyone ate on Thanksgiving.

That is so true for me as well. I tend to have trouble stopping at one bad day. I think "I've blown this eating plan so I had just as well keep blowing it!" An analogy that my Mom brought home from a WW meeting was "If you fall down half a flight of stairs, you don't pick yourself up and throw yourself down the other half" So if we slip up on THanksgiving (or any other day), we need to pick ourselves up and climb back up the stairs, not throw ourselves down the other half.

sgeorgia

I'm just planning to eat and not stress about it. I am however going to work out in the morning and then probably a long walk after dinner. I'm hoping to stay within my maintain calories plus my workout and enjoy my splurge.
Don't worry about one day - you can balance it out and get right back to it after thanksgiving.

Alioth

I'm nervous too. We always cook a gigantic meal, eat all day long, and gnosh on the leftovers for days afterward. Pie and ice cream for breakfast? Yes! But this year my mother and I've made a pact to cook a healthy Thanksgiving meal. We're going to try completely new recipes that aren't drowning in butter or brown sugar. We may modify some old favorites to make them less dangerous to our waistlines. There will be a feast, but hopefully it will be a healthy one.

Now, how do we keep our dinner guests from bringing all kinds of fattening crap over like heavy casseroles and chocolate eclair cake? :sad:

LuckyLeprechaun

bump!

jteammom

You people are geniuses! I am going to bring my laptop with me when we leave on Saturday and re-read these posts once a day while we are gone.

One thing I didn't mention in my initial post is my fear that I will start this week away from home with the best of intentions. I know I will be good Saturday and Sunday, but by the time Thursday rolls around, I am afraid I will have slid down that slippery slope and landed in a pile of "What the hell - I'm on vacation."

If I keep reading these suggestions, I think I can conquer that fear. Thanks for all the advice!

daryls

I do extra exercise so that I can eat a little more food....like the pumpkin pie, etc. Also, you can be a little more in control if you cook some of the food. You can control how much butter goes into a dish or you can make a low-cal pie.

Also try drinking a lot of water that day, so that it's not just thirst that's calling you to the food table.

Let yourself indulge once in a while, and Thanksgiving is a great day to do this!

Best of luck!

dldmar01

Take a walk before and after dinner. Eat turkey breast with no skin and very little stuffing, lots of veggies, and have a smaller piece of pie, like half a normal serving. Also, since you are going to have a really big dinner, don't snack earlier and only have lighter meals. I find that kind of planning works best, since I know I'm not going to be able to avoid the calorie splurge later!

I think this was great advice. If you could wake up early to get your full workout in or take a walk prior and after, you'll feel a bit better about eating all that thanksgiving goodness. Just remember you can try all of it, just keep in mind portion control....Take bite sized portions of things you want because it's the holiday but don't love, this saves room for bigger portions of the things you absolutely must eat. That's going to be my strategy......I know it's easier said than done..... I'm hoping for the strength to not practically lick my plate clean. Happy Holidays and good luck!

utamore

My strategy is going to be to put small bits of the bad stuff on my plate and then fill the plate with veggies and meat. Like everyone, I'll be going somewhere where I'm expected to eat a mountain of everything, have seconds, etc. And I know that it's not bad to splurge for just one day, but for me at least, it helps me a lot to try and treat every day discretely. In other words, no big deal if I go a bit over for a given day, but I do need to try every day to get close to my calorie goal. I am fine with exercise to compensate but I don't think this'll happen on T-Day. More likely I'll try to save ~900 cals for the big meal and hope that that is enough.

nsueflorence

Aww, my dear ladies!!!

First -- (((HUGS)))

There is NO NEED TO WORRY.

Remember - ONE SINGLE DAY OF BAD EATING WILL NOT MAKE YOU GAIN BACK EVERY POUND YOU'VE LOST!

Let me tell you what I do. (And I don't consider myself 'skinny' by any means, but I have lost almost 50 lbs in the last 2 or 3 years.... slowly... but I've kept it off!)

Load up on the healthier foods. The turkey. The green beans (if they are more plainly cooked), corn, peas, veggies. That stuff.

Have one roll. Have one reasonable sized scoop of mashed potatoes. Have a scoop of stuffing.

Make that plate a spoonful of everything offered. Don't deny yourself what you like! Portion control it.

Drink water before the meal. Drink water with the meal. Sit and chat DURING the meal. Eat it slowly.

When dessert comes, have it all. I have a piece of everything I like. A SMALL taste. Try to get 3 or 4 bites worth of all the tasty stuff.

Why deny?? You can CONTROL yourself not to pig out on the good stuff. YOU CAN DO IT. You are strong enough!!!!

If you think you are still hungry and you have eaten slowly, go back for seconds. Again, larger servings of healthier foods, small portions of the tasty high calorie foods.

YOU CAN DO THIS.
You are strong.
Food does NOT control you.
Don't deny yourself a wonderful meal cooked for a thankful occasion full of family and friends.
Calmly and rationally make your plate.
Enjoy it.
Thanksgiving only comes once a year.

After the meal, try to take a walk.
If you can't, don't sweat it.

It's one meal.
One. Single. Meal.

No worries, dears!!!

And I am thankful for this post!

lukasmac

Skinny people pig out on Thanksgiving, but their stomach and brain has been wired to where 'pigging out' is going to be less than a 350lbs man's 'pigging out'. My suggestion is get a big plate fill it up to all four corners and don't go back for seconds. If you really want seconds though, allow yourself to have seconds of what seems healthier (i.e. vegetables). As for dessert. Pick one dessert and indulge.

The reason why someone is overweight is not becos they pig out on holidays, it's becos they treat each meal as a holiday. Enjoy!