The 3,000-calorie Thanksgiving dinner -- myth or reality?
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I forgot I could go back and look! Last year, I ate 3800 calories that day (not just dinner).0
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Went back and checked how much I ate during Thanksgiving last year: 3,483.0
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I fully plan to meet or exceed that calorie number! One day a year isn't going to ruin me. And it's oh so yummy!0
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So I was curious, went back to look at what I logged last year at Thanksgiving. We celebrate twice, once on Thursday with my husband's family and once on Saturday with my family. The food varies a little bit, but the staples for me are the same: some appetizers, turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, rolls, some vegetable, pecan pie, and wine.
Last year Thanksgiving Day my meal was 2,076 cals and on Saturday 1,975 cals.
I'm pretty good about not going back for seconds, I don't like gravy, whipped cream, or pumpkin pie. So I can see how it would be pretty easy to hit 3,000 cals if you were into any of those things...
I lost 0.5 lbs the week of Thanksgiving.
My, my - interesting idea! I went back and looked, too, and I logged 2910 kcals -- but that was at a time when I was very, very serious about trying to maintain a deficit, and a decent one on a weekly basis. I looked at my food log and realized that was a paltry Thanksgiving by my imagined (with some justification) "normal" Thanksgiving.
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This is how I'd calculate a 3,000 calorie Thankgiving dinner (USDA calories):
360: 8 oz turkey no skin roasted
200: 1 cup Pepperidge Farm bread stuffing
414: 1 cup mashed potatoes made with 1 tbsp butter and 1/4 cup sour cream
131: 1 cup green beans with 1 tbsp butter
233: 1 cup corn with 1 tbsp butter
100: 1 cup gravy
140: 2 dinner rolls
646: 2 slices pumpkin pie
100: sweet tea
100: coffee with creamer and sugar
2424 calories. That's pretty close. Even if I only had second on the stuffing and mashed potatoes I'd be at 3000.
The good news is, damn! I can eat a massive amount and only eat 2224 calories. My daily is 1450 and my maintenance is around 2000.
Thanks for posting this! I was dreading Thanksgiving but now I see that it will fit in just fine!
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willrun4bagels wrote: »Is it bad that now I'm hungry for Thanksgiving food just from reading all of these comments?
Nope, I am totally now craving pecan pie and sweet potato casserole.
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I could see eating 3,000 calories, easily. The dinner itself -- turkey and sides -- might not be that bad, but the appetizers (bread, cookies, cheese, crackers, potato chips...) and desserts (pie, cake, ice cream, rum balls, cookies...) and the beverages (eggnog, beer, wine, shots...) add up quickly. I dunno, Thanksgiving in my family is a huge potluck wonderland.
It's easy to stress out about, but like others have said, I try to give myself a break and enjoy life. Even if you want to count calories, just look at your weekly caloric intake. Don't consume nearly as many calories the next day, and work out more/eat well the rest of the week to make up for it.0 -
willrun4bagels wrote: »Is it bad that now I'm hungry for Thanksgiving food just from reading all of these comments?
Nope, I am totally now craving pecan pie and sweet potato casserole.
I want green bean casserole and crescent rolls and warm, mulled wine.
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That's why tis the season for bulking
. As long as I go lift (and seriously getting some time away from the family can be a great thing), the calories are all to the good. 0 -
I would love it if I ate only 3000 calories on Thanksgiving.
Because both my parents and in-laws are crazy, we eat two full Thanksgiving dinners every year, and that includes dessert at both. And because they crazy, I usually finish the night off with a bottle of wine when we finally get home. So there is another 600 (or so) calories right there.0 -
brcossette wrote: »I consider that a low bar mark on thanksgiving for me. Thats why my family does the Turkey Trot every thanksgiving morning.
That is an awesome tradition!0 -
I just logged my Thanksgiving dinner to see what it came out to be. It came out to1,483 calories and that's including a slice of pie. Oh my what do you guys eat? lol0
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Sounds legit. I'll have no regrets.0
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You left out the drinks. If you add in eggnog, wine, etc. it's so easy to go over 3000.0
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That's just the first helping, right?
Each year I typically eat:
2+ helpings of turkey, stuffing, and wine
1+ helpings of mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, macaroni and cheese and whatever vegetable is served
2+ helpings of dessert which can include cheesecake, pie, cupcakes, etc.
whipped cream and ice cream with dessert
1+ helpings of coffee with cream
gravy
cranberry sauce
and bread if it's available.
And when I say helpings it's way more than a suggested serving.0 -
I don't really drink any of that, I guess that's why.Still, I cant wait!0
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Every year about this time a diet industry group puts out a dire warning that we're all going to eat 3,000 calories (average, anyway) on Thanksgiving dinner alone (not counting snacks and other meals) and the media laps it up unquestioningly. Nowhere have I ever found how they tallied this.
For funsies, I put together what a 3,000-calorie dinner (2,965 per USDA Supertracker) might look like:
half pound turkey, dark and light meat, skin eaten
6 ounces ham
A full cup each mashed potatoes (made w/butter & cream cheese), dressing (with meat), corn, and green beans cooked with mushroom sauce
1/2 cup giblet gravy
A dinner roll with a full tablespoon of butter
Two cups of garden salad with avocado, topped with 3 tablespoons blue cheese dressing
A slice of cranberry sauce
A slice of pecan pie with 2 tablespoons heavy whipped cream
Granted, it IS easy to eat a lot more on Thanksgiving than intended, but I think saying the "average" holiday meal is 3,000 calories is exaggerating a bit. I'm a pretty healthy eater, and I'd be physically ill if I tried to eat that much in one sitting.
If anyone knows how the 3,000-calorie dinner was originally calculated, I'm all ears.
1 slice of pie? LOL
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I bet I consume more calories than that on Thanksgiving. It's the only dinner out of 365 dinners a year that I do that. No - I do NOT feel guilty. LOL.0
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Every year about this time a diet industry group puts out a dire warning that we're all going to eat 3,000 calories (average, anyway) on Thanksgiving dinner alone (not counting snacks and other meals) and the media laps it up unquestioningly. Nowhere have I ever found how they tallied this.
For funsies, I put together what a 3,000-calorie dinner (2,965 per USDA Supertracker) might look like:
half pound turkey, dark and light meat, skin eaten
6 ounces ham
A full cup each mashed potatoes (made w/butter & cream cheese), dressing (with meat), corn, and green beans cooked with mushroom sauce
1/2 cup giblet gravy
A dinner roll with a full tablespoon of butter
Two cups of garden salad with avocado, topped with 3 tablespoons blue cheese dressing
A slice of cranberry sauce
A slice of pecan pie with 2 tablespoons heavy whipped cream
Granted, it IS easy to eat a lot more on Thanksgiving than intended, but I think saying the "average" holiday meal is 3,000 calories is exaggerating a bit. I'm a pretty healthy eater, and I'd be physically ill if I tried to eat that much in one sitting.
If anyone knows how the 3,000-calorie dinner was originally calculated, I'm all ears.
1 slice of pie? LOL
RIGHT?? I have pie, pumpkin cheesecake, cookies, and wash it down with wine on Thanksgiving...
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