Thanksgiving Survival Strategies

fenshae
fenshae Posts: 27 Member
edited November 8 in Health and Weight Loss
So it's coming....the biggest eating day of the year. *queue epic music*

What's your strategy for staying on-target this Thanksgiving? Are you cooking or eating someone else's meal? Counting calories or taking it as a cheat day? Are you eating multiple dinners (god help you)? Weigh in (ha) about what you're looking forward to/dreading and give us some pointers on surviving with minimal damage :D

Myself, I'll be cooking a lunch with my parents on Wednesday and am trying to keep it on the healthy-ish side -- I'm putting together a menu right now. It's still undecided if we'll drive down to visit the in-laws on Thursday, but if so, there'll be a smorgasbord of delectables waiting for me when I get there. God grant me the serenity not to eat the entire dish of sweet potato casserole om nom nom.

Anyway. Sharing time! you go!
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Replies

  • luluinca
    luluinca Posts: 2,899 Member
    The way I see it, it's basically one day a year and I might as well eat what I enjoy. Having said that, I try to stay away from the leftovers..................well, okay, I may have a sandwich and leftover stuffing w/gravy on Friday but after that, I'll be done.

    I'm cooking and it's weird but by the time I'm done and get everything on the table I'm just not that hungry..............until dessert rolls around and suddenly I'm famished.

    Just do the best you can, it's only one or two days. I usually try to hit the gym on Wed, Thurs, and Friday just for extra measure!

    Like any other party meal, it's what you do afterwards that really counts!
  • LAWoman72
    LAWoman72 Posts: 2,846 Member
    I'm doing Thanksgiving at my house. :) I plan on eating what I want, but controlling my portions. I'll be going heaver on the turkey (I like white meat more than dark meat) and veggies (this is why I love doing T'giving at my house...b/c I love veggies but everyone else in the family seems to think of this, and ANY "special" day as a calorie-and-fat-fest) and maybe a slice of pumpkin pie for dessert.

    I'm pretty excited, I love the smell of turkey cooking in my house.
  • LolBroScience
    LolBroScience Posts: 4,537 Member
    Eat a lot, not too much
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    This content has been removed.
  • legowrangler
    legowrangler Posts: 229 Member
    I am planning on eating smaller portions... more meat and veggies and less carbs plus i'm probably going to cook less so I won't have so many leftovers but not planning on counting and i'm going to basically eat that meal and MAYBE a light breakfast
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    1 - Big picture thinking...it's only one day, there are 365 of them in a year...no biggie. Nobody got fat because of a holiday or special occasion.

    2 - Realize you don't have to eat until your pants explode...it's ok to just take a plate of good food and call it a day...save some room for a nice slice of pie.

    3 - I'll be at my in-laws, so I'll be drunk by noon...
  • healthygreek
    healthygreek Posts: 2,137 Member
    The good news-our entire family is going to a big resort in the mountains for 4 days! Lots of hiking, ice-skating, swimming (indoor pool) and dancing!
    3 large buffet meals a day but plenty of things to choose from.
    The bad news-no bad news cause there'll be lots of physical activity between meals!
  • mitch16
    mitch16 Posts: 2,113 Member
    Running a 5 miler in the morning and then coming home for baked pumpkin french toast. Our families live far away, so Thanksgiving dinner will just be my husband, my son, and I. We are having crab legs, brussels sprouts, and red skin potatoes. And of course pumpkin pie with whipped cream for dessert. Nothing too crazy.
  • MissJay75
    MissJay75 Posts: 768 Member
    Guess I'm just lucky. I like turkey, gravy and mashed potatoes. Stuffing, rolls, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes - not so much. And I can't stand pumpkin pie. So I'm not really all that tempted to overeat.
  • dieter1200
    dieter1200 Posts: 56 Member
    My plan is hopefully workout that day. Eat low calorie for rest of day probably oatmeal for breakfast depending when we eat lunch or dinner will probably be soup. I will have only one big plate of food, no seconds, and a slice of pie. I hope to eat at maintenance but a little gain would be o.k.
  • Jennloella
    Jennloella Posts: 2,286 Member
    I am going to enjoy the hell out of it. Doing nothing different, it's Thanksgiving and I'm getting down on all the goodies.
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
    edited November 2014
    My husband makes jambalaya for Thanksgiving. This year, he will probably make it next weekend so that we can go sailing all weekend long for Thanksgiving.

    When we used to have Thanksgiving at my parents' we used to all go to the park for a walk after dinner.
  • FitOldMomma
    FitOldMomma Posts: 790 Member
    I'm adjusting a few of my traditional dishes. The stuffing will have just one stick of butter rather than 2, mashed potatoes I will use 1% milk rather than half and half. I'm roasting the Brussels sprouts with a bit of olive oil and parmesan rather than the normal butter and cream. So, I'm making a few changes, but will still enjoy the meal. I really don't think my family will notice the changes since they smother everything with turkey gravy anyway, lol.
    I sure as heck will indulge with pumpkin pie, but just a bit smaller slice.
  • obscuremusicreference
    obscuremusicreference Posts: 1,320 Member
    Eating at my parents' house. I'm responsible for two pies and two sides. One of those sides will be healthy and the other is stuffing from a family recipe. I can avoid my own desserts because my aunt is making cheesecake.

    I'm working out 5-6 days a week now, getting good burns (okay, for me they're amazing burns), and I don't eat back most of those calories. I only cheat on the rare occasions I go out to eat. So yeah I'm eating what I want! I don't think I'm going to want to go whole hog though--I can pass up things that really aren't worth the calories--but I'm not going to beat myself up over a slice of cheesecake.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    MrM27 wrote: »
    Eat and enjoy the day. It's one day. Surviving to me means not dying. One day of enjoying myself won't kill me.

    ^This
  • snowflake930
    snowflake930 Posts: 2,188 Member
    At least a taste of everything. This will be my third Thanksgiving on MFP. The most important thing for me is not to let one day of indulging become a habit of overindulging as I did for years. The 28th, I will be right back on track, eating as I have been for my almost 3 years on MFP. Also a new annual tradition for me, the 5K "Turkey Trot", the morning of Thanksgiving. Also my 3rd Turkey Trot. MFP has been very good for me!
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    I'm planning to cook a turkey, a country ham, biscuits, maple glazed bacon, roast pork belly, roast squash, pumpkin meringue pie, chocolate cream pie, green beans, brussels sprouts.

    Oh and gravies. Lots of gravies.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    dbmata wrote: »
    I'm planning to cook a turkey, a country ham, biscuits, maple glazed bacon, roast pork belly, roast squash, pumpkin meringue pie, chocolate cream pie, green beans, brussels sprouts.

    Oh and gravies. Lots of gravies.

    Maybe I'll just skip my in-laws this year...provided you have a good bourbon on hand that is...

  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    dbmata wrote: »
    I'm planning to cook a turkey, a country ham, biscuits, maple glazed bacon, roast pork belly, roast squash, pumpkin meringue pie, chocolate cream pie, green beans, brussels sprouts.

    Oh and gravies. Lots of gravies.

    Maybe I'll just skip my in-laws this year...provided you have a good bourbon on hand that is...

    Currently in stock, Noah's Mill and Rowan's Creek, and bulleit in both bourbon and rye varietals. Then I have some cachaca brought up from Brasil for me.
  • Ash_danielle
    Ash_danielle Posts: 62 Member
    I plan to eat small portions of whatever I wish...I need to keep in mind that when I eat like crap I feel like crap...I hate the feelings of being overly full (glutinous) but I don't always think about that as I'm stuffing my face. So this year I will be more aware of being satisfied vs full and stuffed. Also I plan to have a workout session the morning of.
  • IIGuardian
    IIGuardian Posts: 24 Member
    I'm going to seriously gorge myself. I expect to still hit my weekly goal though.
  • melsal9902
    melsal9902 Posts: 11 Member
    luluinca wrote: »
    The way I see it, it's basically one day a year and I might as well eat what I enjoy. Having said that, I try to stay away from the leftovers..................well, okay, I may have a sandwich and leftover stuffing w/gravy on Friday but after that, I'll be done.

    I'm cooking and it's weird but by the time I'm done and get everything on the table I'm just not that hungry..............until dessert rolls around and suddenly I'm famished.

    Just do the best you can, it's only one or two days. I usually try to hit the gym on Wed, Thurs, and Friday just for extra measure!

    Like any other party meal, it's what you do afterwards that really counts!

    I totally agree with this....it is only one day. I just make sure I exercise and get in a workout at least 2 days prior and 2 days after. I try for no "Skip" days. around this time of year

  • Witchykaite
    Witchykaite Posts: 60 Member
    I plan on making sure to hit the gym everyday for my normal workout(including Turkey day before driving to my aunts) and cutting back on some of my cals throughout the week. On Turkey Day itself, I'm just logging in my Starbucks latte I have on my drive(kinda a tradition) and then putting in 5000 calories and calling it a day. My goal for the week is to just not gain anything, not necessarily lose any weight. Its once a year, so I'm not worrying that much.
  • radiosilents
    radiosilents Posts: 223 Member
    I'm planning to eat pretty much whatever, though I do think I will naturally eat a little less than what I have in the past at this meal just because my appetite is not as big! I do all the cooking but I prefer to stick to the usual recipes rather than try to make things "healthier" – I want to enjoy the real deal.

    I do plan to walk/run my own single-person Turkey Trot later in the day! It will be nice to get some fresh air after being in the kitchen all morning, not to mention just get my body moving and shaking things up. This will be a new tradition for me.

    Leftovers will likely be the biggest challenge, but even there I just plan to portion things out as best I can and get back on my usual track the following days. I don't think it's a big deal, to be honest.

    I hope that everyone is able to enjoy the holiday, no matter how they choose to deal with it!

    xo
  • fenshae
    fenshae Posts: 27 Member
    I just finished doing all of the estimates for the dinner I'm putting together for my parents (and which we'll be eating a different day). My dad has some special dietary considerations due to his medical issues, and I wanted to make a somewhat "lighter" spread for the holiday. Dad also requested something "different" instead of the usual turkey, stuffing etc. So here's what I came up with:
    - Crown lamb roast
    - Mashed cauliflower
    - Baked sweet potatoes
    - Cloverleaf rolls
    - Roast brussels sprouts with blue cheese, cranberries and pecans in a balsamic dressing

    For dessert we'll have baked apples and pumpkin-chocolate chip cookies.

    I added up the calories and it comes out to roughly 1,000 calories (assuming you eat a full serving of each thing...but you probably wouldn't if you're putting it all on one plate, idk) which is about a third of the "average" Thanksgiving meal, I think.

    Anyway. I'm pretty excited for it. The jury's still out on whether or not we'll go to the in-laws for their Thanksgiving, which will be much more traditional. Gotta see what the weather's going to do.
  • dw7711
    dw7711 Posts: 7
    My family might go out to a buffet for Thanksgiving, so...that sucks. If that's what we wind up doing, I'll just have to take smaller portions of things than I normally would, eat slower, and go for the healthier desserts like fruit rather than all of the cakes and pies. I'm going to eat the non-dessert foods I want more or less, but I'm not giving myself a free pass to eat as much as I can manage either.
  • DrWhoIsYerDad
    DrWhoIsYerDad Posts: 263 Member
    I'm gonna hit the gym in the morning. I'm not going to worry about the calorie count for Thanksgiving dinner, I didn't last year when I still had 30 lbs to lose, I call it a pressure relief. Now, on Friday I'm back to the program strictly.
  • trisH_7183
    trisH_7183 Posts: 1,486 Member
    There will only be 5 of us at dinner.Not sure of the calorie count untill I total up food eaten.A holiday meal.....to me.....is no different than eating out anywhere.Knowing the calories will be a bit high,don't stuff myself,pick & choose from lots of good food.
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    This will be my third Thanksgiving while maintaining. My strategy in general is to eat, enjoy the day (and the amazing food), and not worry too much about calories. I do try to be reasonable-- I only eat the things I really want (none of my grandma's canned asparagus casserole :sick:) and I only eat until I'm full. I usually log but not with much precision. I also don't generally bring home leftovers. Since we don't have dinner here it usually works out that way anyway.

    Despite going well over my normal calories on days like Thanksgiving and Christmas I always end up right back in my normal maintenance range a few days later, so I don't stress about it.
  • blktngldhrt
    blktngldhrt Posts: 1,053 Member
    I have two dinners to attend..so I'll probably swap my big breakfast for a big dinner. I'm also going to make a sugar free dessert to take with me for my diabetic aunt and my hypoglycemic self. I can't have stuffing, cranberry sauce, or mashed potatoes anyway so I should be fine. I won't be weighing my food. Thursday isn't a rest day so I'll have exercise calories to eat as a buffer. :)
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