Do you have a strategy for Thanksgiving yet?

Those all sound very good! I am going to eat 100 cals less each day up til Thanksgiving the week of, go to the gym M-TH (yes, on thanksgiving!) and since I am going to a restaurant for thanksgiving I will have alot of choices I am sure. So my goal is to load up on salad and any other veggies, eat the items I totally want and I could say at any amount I want but I will be moderate , not eat the things I am just so-so on (like Mashed Potatoes..I know that horrifies most ppl)..anyhow...create a bigger deficit throughout the week with diet and exercise and pretty much eat what I want..have a great turkey day!

Doing an extra workout, eating a light breakfast and eating dessert first.

I will be snacking on healthy snacks through the day. Veggies include celery, carrots, and broccoli.Meat and cheese dish with thinly slices cheese and wheat crackers. I will make homemade salsa and chips for the game or course, and have some homemade cookies and fruit. I will keep my portions right and moderate. Dinner will be turkey, stuffing, mashed potato's, green bean casserole, and a roll. I have to also have homemade apple pie and vanilla ice cream as that is a family tradition I am not willing to part with. :drinker:

We're just gonna do a reasonable turkey dinner but go a little nuts on dessert. Damage control is where it's at!

-I will get a great workout in that morning followed by a big healthy breakfast so I am not starving for the meal at 1pm.
- I am Paleo and will be making some paleo side dishes to go along with the traditional dishes that everyone else likes (i.e. paleo sweet potato casserole, cauliflower mashed potatoes, brussel sprouts with bacon, paleo cranberries). I am hosting, so I have the advantage of making lots of good sides I figure as long as I have food I love to eat, I won't miss the high calorie stuff!
- I will eat lots of meat!
- I will allow myself 2 bites each of my favorite thanksgiving dishes: pumpkin cheesecake, 3 meat stuffing, apple and raisin stuffing.
- I will not waste stomach room or calories on things I don't care about like gravy, dinner rolls, or green bean casserole.
- I will have my cocktails and not worry about it. I can't wait to sip on a glass of red wine!
- I will remind myself of how far I've come, and that stuffing myself beyond full will only make me feel crappy for the afternoon, where as making healthy choices will leave me feeling better.
- I will remember that ONE meal won't make or break anything!
- I will be thankful that I am lucky enough to actually get to pick what foods I choose to eat or not eat, and that my family has an abundance of food to choose from.

My strategy for Thanksgiving is to eat whatever I want, wash it down with plenty of wine, go for a good long walk with my son and my friends, and go back for a fresh turkey sandwich and extra stuffing before bed. I don't plan to be a massive pig -- no need for three slices of pie when one will be fine; no plans to eat past the point of satiety -- but neither do I plan to worry about calories or anything else other than having a good time and getting some movement in.

It's one day...i didn't get fat because of a holiday, birthday, or other special OCCASION...I got fat because I treated everyday like a holiday and didn't move.

I will be enjoying the day. I'm not going to eat to the point of being sick, but I'm not going to worry about how many calories I'm eating and I'm not doing some random unplanned exercise either. I have a planned lifting session the day before and I have a planned long ride the Saturday after. Basically I'm going about business as usual.

+1

Honestly thanksgiving isn't my killer. I "like" most of the foods so I can say no relatively easy and just keep it to a small plate of everything I like.

So good breakfast, long walk before "lunch/dinner"

It is the rest of the weekend which is my renewal and my friends and family are coming in for that will be the killer.

Doing an extra workout, eating a light breakfast and eating dessert first.

Pretty much this.

They hold "Turkey Trots" for exactly this reason.

I'm going to enjoy it. I don't need rolls or gravy, but I live for stuffing, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie and that stuff comes but once a year. Just for comfort's sake, I hope to not go for seconds of anything (I eat crazy fast, and if I do seconds I almost always regret it 20 minutes later). I will probably take the kids on a long walk before and after to get their crazies out. I'll hit the gym the day before and day after.

Really, I think the only thing I'm changing this year is I am not hosting Thanksgiving, which means I don't have to eat leftovers for the next five days. I don't think the actual holidays (in my case, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and Christmas) are what made me gain weight last year. It was much more likely that it was the week after each holiday when I kept consuming holiday-level calories that did it.

It is the day after Wednesday. The plan applies, the calerie count applies, the nutritional balance applies. This is one way to understand what "Lifestyle change" really means.

I'm sticking to my traditional family recipes, which means high fat and high caloric dishes, however my step daughter I are planning a 2.5 mile run that moring after we put the food in the oven and a "Just Dance" - dance-off with the family that evening. . . that is if we don't fall asleep after that triptophan overdose :laugh:

I'm planning on resting on Friday, but Sat & Sunday, it's all hands on deck for decorating for the holday, so that will burn off some turkey running a round. It's the holidays. I enjoy them.

I plan to enjoy the heck out of Thanksgiving, and that means lots and lots of real butter. It goes in everything, and this is not the time to try the "light" gravy. It will be within reason, my portions will be smaller, and I will stop when I'm full

However, in an attempt to not un-do the last 9 months of hard work, I am being very strict on what I am consuming up to that yummy, delicious, fat-calorie-sodium filled day. I like to "treat" myself a few times a week. A cookie here, some ice cream there. I'm a sucker for cheddar popcorn. I am on snack and treat restriction until Thanksgiving. Just today I was craving a slice of pizza from a working lunch. Instead I munched on baby carrots, an apple and a turkey wrap. No it was not as satisfyingly decadant as the pizza. But if I want the mashed potatoes and gravy and stuffing and pie and rolls on Thanksgiving, I have to be good now. Who knows, I may be drop some unexected weight.

Doing an extra workout, eating a light breakfast and eating dessert first.

Newbie here Why are you eating dessert first?

Why not?

I plan on eating a little bit of everything, just not stuffing myself beyond stuffed. I don't do the cooking so I can't modify recipes or menu or anything.