Thanksgiving

queenbee917 · November 2011

For all of you celebrating Thanksgiving, can you share some of your plans? I don't want it to be a cheat day because I will totally get carried away. I have to go to two houses to eat, my mom's and my BF's mom. I don't want to be rude at either but I don't want to see a 5 pound gain the next day. I also don't want to deprive myself and not eat the Thanksgiving staples that I only get once a year....so I guess my questions are:
1. Ideas for Thanksgiving eating
2. To track or not to track, if yes....how?
Thanks for listening

rose_mortem · November 2011

I've decided that his year I will do a 24 hour fast before Thanksgiving. Will cut calories and let me eat everything without feeling like I'll explode. Try eating a plate of veggies before anything else, and be sure to drink lots of water

good luck!

TrishaLeighNelson · November 2011

I am going to do portion control, stay away from eggnog and sweets. If I do decide to have a piece of pie, it will be a tiny sliver. I'm going to stay away from rolls and gravy. I will be doing an extra workout that night

amaznmom · November 2011

I am going with the motto "I can eat anything I want, just not everything I want". Meaning I can have a little of everything!! Also remember it doesn't only have to be a once a year meal. You can always get a turkey dinner at a restaurant. That way you don't feel like you have to stuff yourself because you will have to wait a whole year to eat all of those yummy foods again.

1dragonfly · November 2011

Definitely portion control, sampling a little of everything; a pre-meal workout--thank you trainer for offering!
I'll save the "second helping" for another meal!

Asharp22 · November 2011

I am planning on tracking, but we have talked to our families, mine and my BF's as well, and we are preparing some of the dishes. We are making a small amount of mashed seet potatoes (1.5 pounds sweet potatoes and microwave for 6 minutes or until soft, then add 1/2 cup coconut milk and enjoy!) I swear they tast just like the white counter parts but they're so much better for you.

We will be eating turkey as well, but just 3 ounces (which we plan on weighing, or ay least eyeballing lol)

We also are preparing the sweet-sweet potato dish. Instead of marshmallows cover the sweet potatoes we will be doing this recipe:
Slice 1-2 apples into 1/2 inch pieces
Pan fry the apples until foft
Cut seet potatoes into 1 inch cubes
Microwave 1.5 pounds of sweet potatoes for 6 minutes.
Add sweet potatoes to apples

Serve and enjoy. This dish is really sweet like the marshmallow counter part and we really like it.

Finally there is a recipe for broccoli salad that my BF's mom makes and it's good for you, you can probably find it via google.

ok I found one
http://whattocookwhen.com/salads/broccoli-salad-with-bacon-and-sunflower-seeds/

There are a few things we haven't found out how to switch out, like the dinner rolls, but if that is the only bad thing, we'll just use moderation and try to enjoy every bite!!

If you find that you do not have a heaping plate like some relatives have in front of them, just eat slower than they do and they won't take notice!!

Hope that helps

Hwardle · November 2011

Try not to snack on empty calories. Try making your plate as much as you think you'll eat if you weren't on a diet and only eat half. I don't know if any of it will help much, but that 's what I plan on doing.

Hope it helps

Sidesteal · November 2011

I will absolutely utilize portion control.

I'm going to try and eat at least a full pound of turkey. If I'm given a smaller portion than this, I will control it by adding more to the plate. I will also eat rather impressive amounts of anything else tasty looking.

I'm going to try and control the pumpkin pie as it moves from the pie tin to the plate, and then again from the plate to the mouth. If I drop some on the plate I might even use my hands and just start shoveling.

That's my plan anyways.

EDIT: Regarding your numbered questions:
1) My answer obviously will differ from yours. Since you are specifically concerned about going overboard and getting out of control, my method probably won't work for you.

2) I ain't trackin' sheeet. It's Thanksgiving. Don't get me wrong, I'm very driven, dedicated, and motivated as heck -- but it's a holiday. I'm going to enjoy myself to my fullest.

But that being said, if you aren't capable of doing this and then getting back on track, perhaps you need a different strategy.

Anyone that CAN take "a day off" and get back on track the next day, should, in my opinion.

CMmrsfloyd · November 2011

I'm not worried about gaining 5 lbs, you'd have to consume 17,500 calories over maintenance to gain 5 pounds of fat and IDK about you but I can't stuff that much in my face even on Turkey Day. LOL. I fully expect to see the scale go up a bit the next day due to sodium b/c I know other people cook differently than me. I'm going to just try to enjoy reasonable portions of the things I like, limit the desserts (probably just one, b/c otherwise it's easy for me to get carried away LOL), and then log it when I'm done to the best of my ability. It's going to be tough to log accurately since I'm not cooking and I'm not going to measure my portions at a family gathering. But I'll do my best and then worry about the rest later. :-). I'm also setting my goal to 'maintenance' that day which gives me an extra 500 calories. Just to make my diary look a little better that day. LOL

Silverkittycat · November 2011

I will absolutely utilize portion control.

I'm going to try and eat at least a full pound of turkey. If I'm given a smaller portion than this, I will control it by adding more to the plate. I will also eat rather impressive amounts of anything else tasty looking.

I'm going to try and control the pumpkin pie as it moves from the pie tin to the plate, and then again from the plate to the mouth. If I drop some on the plate I might even use my hands and just start shoveling.

That's my plan anyways.

EDIT: Regarding your numbered questions:
1) My answer obviously will differ from yours. Since you are specifically concerned about going overboard and getting out of control, my method probably won't work for you.

2) I ain't trackin' sheeet. It's Thanksgiving. Don't get me wrong, I'm very driven, dedicated, and motivated as heck -- but it's a holiday. I'm going to enjoy myself to my fullest.

But that being said, if you aren't capable of doing this and then getting back on track, perhaps you need a different strategy.

Anyone that CAN take "a day off" and get back on track the next day, should, in my opinion.

queenbee917 · November 2011

I will absolutely utilize portion control.

I'm going to try and eat at least a full pound of turkey. If I'm given a smaller portion than this, I will control it by adding more to the plate. I will also eat rather impressive amounts of anything else tasty looking.

I'm going to try and control the pumpkin pie as it moves from the pie tin to the plate, and then again from the plate to the mouth. If I drop some on the plate I might even use my hands and just start shoveling.

That's my plan anyways.

EDIT: Regarding your numbered questions:
1) My answer obviously will differ from yours. Since you are specifically concerned about going overboard and getting out of control, my method probably won't work for you.

2) I ain't trackin' sheeet. It's Thanksgiving. Don't get me wrong, I'm very driven, dedicated, and motivated as heck -- but it's a holiday. I'm going to enjoy myself to my fullest.

But that being said, if you aren't capable of doing this and then getting back on track, perhaps you need a different strategy.

Anyone that CAN take "a day off" and get back on track the next day, should, in my opinion.

ROTFL....I LOVE THIS RESPONSE~ My normal Thanksgiving feast

queenbee917 · November 2011

I'm not worried about gaining 5 lbs, you'd have to consume 17,500 calories over maintenance to gain 5 pounds of fat and IDK about you but I can't stuff that much in my face even on Turkey Day. LOL. I fully expect to see the scale go up a bit the next day due to sodium b/c I know other people cook differently than me. I'm going to just try to enjoy reasonable portions of the things I like, limit the desserts (probably just one, b/c otherwise it's easy for me to get carried away LOL), and then log it when I'm done to the best of my ability. It's going to be tough to log accurately since I'm not cooking and I'm not going to measure my portions at a family gathering. But I'll do my best and then worry about the rest later. :-). I'm also setting my goal to 'maintenance' that day which gives me an extra 500 calories. Just to make my diary look a little better that day. LOL

I never eat that many calories but I have seen days where the scale goes up 3 pounds in one day, even after staying under calories...I think its the sodium, couldn't possibly be fat! That is why I try my hardest to stay away from Chinese food now, my body doesn't absorb it well

CMmrsfloyd · November 2011

I'm not worried about gaining 5 lbs, you'd have to consume 17,500 calories over maintenance to gain 5 pounds of fat and IDK about you but I can't stuff that much in my face even on Turkey Day. LOL. I fully expect to see the scale go up a bit the next day due to sodium b/c I know other people cook differently than me. I'm going to just try to enjoy reasonable portions of the things I like, limit the desserts (probably just one, b/c otherwise it's easy for me to get carried away LOL), and then log it when I'm done to the best of my ability. It's going to be tough to log accurately since I'm not cooking and I'm not going to measure my portions at a family gathering. But I'll do my best and then worry about the rest later. :-). I'm also setting my goal to 'maintenance' that day which gives me an extra 500 calories. Just to make my diary look a little better that day. LOL

I never eat that many calories but I have seen days where the scale goes up 3 pounds in one day, even after staying under calories...I think its the sodium, couldn't possibly be fat! That is why I try my hardest to stay away from Chinese food now, my body doesn't absorb it well

Well the good thing about weight gain from sodium is that the water retention DOES go away. :-). If that's the main thing that's worrying you, I would just be mindful of portions for things that you figure have extra sodium and drink LOTS of water before, during, and after to help your body flush out excess. I think I've read something on here about getting enough potassium to help regulate sodium too? Not completely sure if I'm remembering that correctly, but if it interests you I'm sure someone will pop in here with more info or you could do a search for suggestions. :-)

Thanksgiving

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