To Log or Not to Log Thanksgiving

Erica_theRedhead

No logging for me. It's a family event and I don't want to be calculating in my head. I've changed my habits so much, that I don't feel the need to over stuff my face with food. I will eat, drink, and watch football, not limiting myself too much. But I'm also doing an 8k run in the morning, and am also making a few healthy side dishes and a dessert to pass as well. Just work it off over the course of the week and no biggie! Enjoy everyone!

mslh84

I'll be logging, but I'm going to make sure I hit the gym hard the day before so I have the extra calories, because it's my fave holiday of the year!!!

Maryjaneshoes

I'll be logging...want to keep myself on track. But I MAY forget to log the wine. :-)

havalinaaa

Originally I was going to not log as we were supposed to go to see my family, something I only do once a year, and I didn't want to have to worry about it. Plus trying to log all the various dishes my family eats (we do it pot luck style) would be a pain in the tookus. But now our travel plans have changed and we're doing Thanksgiving alone, maybe a few friends, so I'll probably log but not worry too much about going over.

wolfchild59

I log every single thing I eat. If I eat 1200 calories or 7000 (which I did once at Disneyland), I log every single bite that I put in my mouth. My food diary is meant to not only track my daily eating but to be able to track things over time to see how different thing affect me and my body. If I'm not 100% faithful to my diary in regards to what I eat, I'm just lying to myself.

So I plan on eating anything I want, in any amounts that I want. But I'm going to enter every last thing.

CoraGregoryCPA

Don't log!!! It's tooo crazy! How do you know what the cook has put in that food!!??!!??!! It's a free day-week

I have a race that day 5 mile run

kaetra

Nothing like being prepared! I just logged what I usually eat on Thanksgiving for the 24th, and it turns out it's really not that horrible! It's going to be a maintenance calorie day for sure, but it's not gonna be nearly as crazy as I thought it would be!

The worst bit is the sodium of course, but oh man is it gonna be a delicious day!

SDkitty

I'm going to log as much as I can but am afraid there will be some that I just have to estimate since I'll have no way of knowing all the ingredients....I'm not too concerned about it though, as long as I keep to my plan the rest of the month!


LLAP :flowerforyou:

malloriewebb

A bunch of friends and I are running a 5k Thanksgiving Day. Im sure there is one near you even you have to walk it. Helps the homeless and mught motivate you to NOT go back for seconds or load up.

kmbrooks15

I already know I'll be over, but I have some strategies planned to minimize the damage. I'm not going to log that day; it's a holiday and I want my focus to be on my family, my kids, and the things I am thankful for, not my calorie count. It's good practice for the day that will eventually come when I stop logging (after I meet goal weight and maintain for a year, I will probably stop logging every day and just log a week here and there periodically to make sure I stay on track). I have to know that I can eat sensibly without having to write down every bite. Now, Friday morning...right back to logging every bite!

We're not eating until after 7:00 that night (my sister is an ER nurse and has to work that day, so we'll be eating after she gets off shift). The good thing about this is that I can eat healthy foods for breakfast and lunch and my two normal snacks. By the time dinner rolls around, I won't be as hungry as I would've been eating earlier in the day. It helps that my three favorite things that we have are the turkey (I prefer white meat), sweet potatoes (with a pecan topping-has some sugar, but shouldn't be too bad), and our Christmas beans (green beans, tomatoes, onions, and bacon-higher calories than plain green beans, but not as bad as green bean casserole). The rest is stuff I can take or leave. So I'll eat a reasonable amount of food. For dessert, I'll probably have a small slice of birthday cake (my son's birthday is that weekend, so we'll celebrate while we are all together) and that's it. The kids and I will take our bikes to my parents' house, too, so we can go out and ride that day. I may try to hit the gym early that morning, too, if I can.

Right now, I'm logging every bite I put in my mouth. I'm finding that it can border on obsession if I'm not careful. I don't want my holiday and my kids' holiday ruined because I have to keep stopping and putting my calories in on my phone. I want my focus to be on them that day.

I think it's amazing, though, that everyone is already thinking ahead. I think that, more than anything, is going to help all of us not to overindulge that day. No matter what your plan is, the fact that you HAVE a plan is 90% of the battle. So everyone enjoy the day, whether you log or not! :happy:

BrewerGeorge

I'm going to manually add 2500 Cal, which is my maintenance level, and call it a day.

_gwen

I plan to use portion control and log everything I eat.

WifeNMama

I did pretty well with Canadian thanksgiving. Ate a protein rich breakfast, a light lunch, and saved up calories for stuffing and dessert. Still went a bit over I think, but made up for it the next day.

Gonzoxx

i think in this site there is an invisible (but logical) rule...

YOU EAT IT YOU LOG IT

Yakisoba

I'm logging because I rarely eat on Thanksgiving.

poisongirl6485

I don't know if I will. Eating over somewhere else makes it difficult to know the amounts of what you're eating, and I'm not that great at eyeballing it yet.

kmbrooks15

i think in this site there is an invisible (but logical) rule...

YOU EAT IT YOU LOG IT

It's not a RULE. Each person has to use this site in the way that works best for them. If you want to lose weight, then, yes, you need to log regularly. But I don't think it's going to hurt anyone if they day a take off, as long as they jump right back in the next day. I also don't plan to log my food every day for the rest of my life, so this will be a good practice day. If I can eat reasonably on a holiday like Thanksgiving without logging, then that bodes well for the rest of my life.

I've been religiously logging for over a month now, so I plan to take that day off and spend it focusing on my kids and my family. Then on Friday, back to logging every bite. I don't think anyone should feel guilty for taking a day off on the holiday. I plan to take Christmas Day off, too, though probably not New Year's Day.

CMmrsfloyd

I don't know if I will. Eating over somewhere else makes it difficult to know the amounts of what you're eating, and I'm not that great at eyeballing it yet.

I figure even if my estimates are off, it will still be a better estimate than not estimating at all. :-)

Puddykat1026

I plan to log, but have a little bit of everything. So I won't have full portion sizes, so it should balance out. My gym is only open for a portion on Thursday, so I plan to do a little working out at home to avoid that "stuffed turkey" feeling Good luck!

LorinaLynn

I think of this site as a Swiss Army Knife.

There's lots of different tools we can use - logging calories, logging exercise, tracking our weight, giving and getting support on the forums - and it's not wrong to not use all of the tools all of the time.

I initially logged all my food because I needed to be aware of what I was eating and it's impact on my body. After about eleven months of doing so, I have a pretty good handle on what my body wants and needs. What it wants and what it needs aren't always the same thing, so I'm still logging my food most of the time, but my goal is to eventually not log at all.

I think we all need a break from it every now and then. One planned day off for a holiday isn't going to wreck all the work you've done any more than one day of fasting would make you lose weight if you ate crappy the other 29 days of the month.

BrewerGeorge

...
One planned day off for a holiday isn't going to wreck all the work you've done any more than one day of fasting would make you lose weight if you ate crappy the other 29 days of the month.

Excellent point. I'm going to steal that from you if you don't mind.

Red5446

More room for alcohol indeed! I'll be cooking all day, which will mostly distract me from food. I'm hoping that I'll get caught in one of my "why eat when you can drink?" moods. Better an alcohol than a food hangover.

jill___

I will be logging AND watching what I eat. I plan to stick mainly to veggies, a little turkey, a little stuffing -- and I'll see about dessert after everything else is logged.

I lost my first 20 lbs between Halloween and Thanksgiving last year, I was very careful and obsessive with everything I ate. I had planned on losing much more than I have by this Thanksgiving -- but I starting slacking off when I hit under 200lbs. Now I'm back on track and I'm not letting a stupid holiday ruin it for me!

getfine2015

Im logging....EVERYTHING!!!!! NOT LOGGING DOSENT MEAN YOU DIDNT EAT IT!!!!!....remember....(D-nile is a river in Jordan).

LaSutopia

Im logging....EVERYTHING!!!!! NOT LOGGING DOSENT MEAN YOU DIDNT EAT IT!!!!!....remember....(D-nile is a river in Jordan).

I like this! I can not feel like the others when they say they are gonna eat what they want, not worry about it and not feel bad about it. I believe this is a life style change not something where we just force ourselves to do something on the days we don't have excuses for. Yes it's one day, but Im sure that excuse come around for Christmas and Bdays and Valentines day and basically any other day that people usually eat a lot for. So in reality it is not just one day. I honestly can not eat as much as I used to and I can not just eat things that I know are a huge amount of calories anymore. I have days where I crave something and I sometimes eat it but I know I should not for any reason, no matter if its just a craving or some bad holiday tradition that I can pass it off on. I feel bad about it period. That's how I know I have changed and I will not go back to making excuses. Maybe I am just not as strong as others but I can't give myself an inch. Addicts can't do that, at least not me. I can't overeat a lot just ONE day cause then I can always find another excuse to do it again. Thanksgiving is not about stuffing our faces with tons of calories, It's about giving thanks for our blessings. I plan on eating what we have but only in small portions that stay in my limit and If I have any dessert it will just be a bite or two of a piece I share with my husband or something like that. I plan to log and stay in my limit...just like any other day I have committed to do this. Now i may have to get some exercise in so I have a few extra!

WalkingGirl1985

Nope. I'm going to enjoy myself regardless of what you guys say. *says it in a respective way*:
You gotta live once in a while. :bigsmile:

kmbrooks15

Im logging....EVERYTHING!!!!! NOT LOGGING DOSENT MEAN YOU DIDNT EAT IT!!!!!....remember....(D-nile is a river in Jordan).

Choosing not to log for one day does not necessarily mean someone is in denial. I'm not logging that day, but I plan to eat in a sensible manner and will get out and ride bikes with my kids that day. It will be a healthy day, but a day to take a mental break from the constant counting and logging. I want to focus that day on my kids and my family as well as the many things I have to be thankful for, including the progress I've made so far. Keeping that progress in mind, as well as how thankful I am for it, will help me to be mindful of what I eat.

I just finished reading the book "Mindless Eating", and I plan to employ some of his tips as well (using a smaller plate is probably the biggest one). I will not go back for seconds, and I will eat slowly so that my brain has time to register that I'm full. I will also stop eating when I'm full, whether anyone else is still eating or not. I learned some fascinating things from that book about the external cues that affect how much we eat. I plan to use some of those things to help me not overeat that day. That is also my son's birthday, and I plan to have a small piece of his birthday cake. If you think I'm in denial because of that, that's fine, but I know where my head is right now and I'm going in with a plan so that I don't just mindlessly stuff myself.

neenaj33

I log the good, the bad and the ugly, so you should definitely log it

hazelnutflav

I'll be logging also...but like most people I'm very aware that I will be going over my calories. Must enjoy the day and I will not feel bad about it! :happy:


SAME HERE.

aiyana1228

You can make cranberry sauce with splenda instead of sugar. Every little bit helps. I also prefer to eat deserts done with splenda. Just don't feel as guilty after. That way I can eat the gravy and at least feel like I have done some things to keep it from being overkill. Sill haven't decided if I will log it or not. Probably will. I logged my birthday dinner and my nieces wedding so why not. (note-Those two meals were a week apart and I gained 3 lbs-So sucks!)