Ok How is everyone going to handle Thanksgiving holiday next week?
Any suggestions on how to handle this day? I know i will be out of control around all the good food!
Clarice
Reason: 11/22/08: Stickied for Thanksgiving holiday week; 11/28/08: Unstickied
It's just me and my mom (coming in from out of state to keep me company, love her), so I'm cooking only two servings of everything: rolls, mashed potatoes and yams, turkey, stuffing, and mini pumpkin cheesecakes in a gingersnap crust for dessert. That way, I'm not tempted to overeat and I don't have leftovers. I'm leaving some bad-for-you ingredients in (e.g., sugar and butter in the rolls), and subbing some (e.g., splenda in my cheesecake because I can't tell the difference but my mom can). We're going to do a 2-hour hike that morning that's an hour away, so we won't have a ton of time for eating until dinner. I calculated the cals for my whole dinner, and it's about 1300, so I figure I won't be too much over if all goes according to plan.
Just try to eat a regular portion. I have a docotr check up tomorrow and am glad that its not after Thanksgiving!
Im 13 and weigh 160-165 lbs, i dont need that extra Thanksgiving wieght!
I'm eating to my heart's content.. I'd love to say and try that I'm going to take small portions and portion this and eyeball that.. but in reality, I only get homecooked food THIS good once a year... I really will try to take small portions but if I overindulge a little, I'm not going to feel bad :)
who knows.. this may be the kick in the pants my metabolism needs ;)
Not counting on that day. Eating as much of all the good food as I want!
Just put 6 mini-pumpkin pies in the oven. Made them with Splenda Brown Sugar and Egg Beaters-egg substitue. Along with a pre-made crust, that I used for 3 pies per crust, I got by with 378 calories per little pie and 19 grams of fat. I figure each pie is two servings, so that comes out to 189 calories and 9.5 grams of fat. Pretty cool, huh? I have my Fat Free Cool Whip in the 'frig, and I'm set! I'll probably freeze the majorityof them, as I didn't plan on serving my low-cal, low-fat pumpkin pies to my guests. They're more than welcome to try one, but I have a regular pumpkin pie all ready for them.
Earlier, I made home-made cranberry sauce with regular Splenda and Knox Gelatin. It made more than I expected, 4 cups, but at 7 calories per 1/4 cup, that ain't bad. I like to eat "Lean Cuisine" roast turkey dinners, and now I can have cranberry sauce on the side and not blow my calorie budget all to hell.
I'm helping to cook this year, and that way I can help make delicious and healthy dishes.
One thing I plan on doing is this Harvest Bake with butternut squash, apples, cranberries, and other stuff. It averages less than 150 calories per serving and looks really delicious.
http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/006160b utternut_squash_apple_cranberry_bake.php
Another thing I'm making are these pumpkin parfaits. Made with real cream, pumpkin, brown sugar, and other ingrediants. So it's just as satisfying, all the traditional flavors, and you get to eat more than a slice of pie - but it's less than 200 calories.
http://www.gourmet.com/recipes/2000s/2008/10/ pumpkin-parfaits
You know, the cranberry sauce my family loves (no one likes it to be too sweet, they like it a bit tart to bring out the flavor of the turkey better) is so simple to make. Just cover a container of fresh cranberries (or however many you buy) with water in a saucepan, adding Splenda to taste. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 10 minutes. Turn off the burner. The natural sugar in the cranberries will mean that it thickens as it cools. Serve when cool or cold.
That's it - all natural, tart with as big a hint of sweet as you prefer. And you can keep it in the fridge for ages too!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Siona
You know, the cranberry sauce my family loves (no one likes it to be too sweet, they like it a bit tart to bring out the flavor of the turkey better) is so simple to make. Just cover a container of fresh cranberries (or however many you buy) with water in a saucepan, adding Splenda to taste. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 10 minutes. Turn off the burner. The natural sugar in the cranberries will mean that it thickens as it cools. Serve when cool or cold.
That's it - all natural, tart with as big a hint of sweet as you prefer. And you can keep it in the fridge for ages too!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Siona
Hi,
I am a fitness professional and am going to give you some advice. This advice is based on my assumption that you want to continue losing weight.
Sidenote- I do not weigh 95 lbs. I used to have a 24.9 BMI. So this is real life advice coming from someone who understands the struggles. I dont want you to think that I am someone who has been miniature all my life who just happens to love asparagus and hate chicken fingers and can easily preach. : )
1. Eat breakfast (& lunch depending on when your meal is)...I can not stress this enough! Most people try to fast the week/day before or the day of but it was actually cause you to pile on more calories bc your body goes into starvation mode and clings to anything we put in it during that phase.
Example: low calorie english muffin with 1-2 egg whites and 2 tbs fat free cottage cheese and sliced tomato. Plus 2 glasses of water.
2. When you get there, only take what fits on 1 plate but let yourself take some of the good stuff. When you sit down actually look at how much food is on there and take a mental snapshot I guarantee you wont want to go back for seconds. While I agree with the people on here who will only eat white meat turkey and sugar free cranberry sauce, you need to know your limitations. When you are consuming only healthy foods you can be tempted to eat twice as much -because you tell yourself 'hey its healthy!'. I advise people to go for the mashed potatoes but only a scoop. Just remember calories are calories at the end of the day IF your main goal is weight loss. If you are beyond this phase and can honestly say that you will be satisfied with 1 plate of the healthy stuff then clearly go for that...Again, be honest with yourself so you handle this day most effectively.
3. Dessert is honestly where you can do the most damage in the shortest amount of time. If you can't avoid it (I admit that I will be having some) go for the 3 bite rule...I'm sure you all know it since you are all diet savy here but I think this is the place where you should show restraint.
4. Lastly, DONT look at this as a day where you have to follow a plan and deprive yourself of the goodies! If you really want to embrace a healthy LIFESTYLE you need to have a positive attitude-it's the number 1 thing I push! Thats why so many people fail at diets and going to the gym-because they feel like they HAVE to do it and dread it. Life is short, we need enjoy the good things in life!! Just make sure you exercise that day or on friday (yes, I do count black friday shopping!) and resume back to your normal healthy choices. I promise you one day will not ruin you; the only thing it can ruin is your attitude if you are torturing yourself all day.
Be happy! You're doing great and it really shows since you are considering this!
I will deal with the day by going to my usual Thursday morning spin class (which burns mega calories!) and maybe throwing in an extra 20 minutes on the eliptical. I tend to steer towards veggies anyway, and don't really eat much desserts, but it's the deep fried appetizers my family makes and the Turkey skin (I know, gross, but I like) that will kill me. But the way I see it, with an early morning work-out and it being only 1 day of the year, I should be good!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
I am going to workout in the am for 60 minutes, drink about five 8 oz. glasses of water prior to the Thanksgiving festivities, and then enjoy small portions of the meatless menu items... This shouldn't come as a surprise to my family/friends since I'm vegan. And savor the flavor of my one glass of wine...
Since I've reallly been trying to eat more healthfully and get in shape, I want to be careful about Thanksgiving. In general I think I won't be too concerned with what I eat on Thanksgiving itself but the danger for me is that it ushers in a whole season on bad eating. I love cheese, pepperoni, crackers, dips, cookies etc. and if I'm not careful this weekend I will set a bad precedent for the rest of the season. I'm going to try to be the most careful about desserts this year (that's my goal).
Since it's just my mom and sister that I'm eating with, and they are both trying to lose weight, it shouldn't be too bad...
I've been working out more this week to prepare, however.
I always have one meal a week where I do not count calories, call it a reward day. This week I was careful so that I could make Thanksgiving meal that day for me. No counting on that day, just good food and family. I plan to enjoy the day.
Original Post by agentstarling:
Any suggestions on how to handle this day? I know i will be out of control around all the good food!
Clarice
Just have set my mind to eat my normal breakfast....have turkey, potatos and other stuff in small helpings. Limit the alcohol.
I have already made up my mind to do atleast 1 hour of cardio extra through this weekend and as Christmas approaches. I do plan to eat peacan pie which I would rather have then the food itself. @ 500 cal per slice an extra hour of cardio is a must. Hang in there...it's only one day. You can do it!!
I'm going to have my usual breakfast of muesli with skim milk, fresh blueberries and toast with low sugar orange marmalade and grapefruit juice. Same deal with lunch, what I usually have. That's only 635 calories for the two. Dinner's gonna be around 800 plus, but keeping the grams of fat for the whole day to under 20! Yeah, good luck with that!
I'm gonna do my monster workout, as usual, in the morning. And be right back at it on Friday.
Well, I have a plan set only for the dinner part. I'm usually okay during the day. I have to work anyway, so I have the same breakfast every day I'm at work. I have 2 packets of instant fruit/cream oatmeal prepared in hot water that I microwave for 1 min in the mike. At 9 am, I eat a large banana. I might just have a very light lunch of maybe just fruit and vegetables, though I'm really not sure what I'm going to do, maybe 2 clementines and a Power Bar just to hold me over until dinner. Dinner is going to be 5 (maybe 6) oz of turkey with 1 cup cooked butternut squash, a Stove Top Stuffing Quick Prepare that comes in a little container like the Easy Macs come in, all you have to do is add water, 1 cup of canned mixed greens that are preseasoned, and 1/4 cup (1 slice, I think) of cranberry sauce. Dessert is going to be a homemade pumpkin fluff whip made with canned pumpkin, vanilla pudding mix, light Cool Whip, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon all whipped up. It's going to be a semi high calorie day, I think, not quite sure, but, we'll see what happens. I'm hoping to stick to this plan.
Original Post by agentstarling:
Any suggestions on how to handle this day? I know i will be out of control around all the good food!
Clarice
Well, seems like I'm gonna be in the minority with a few others, but I'm just gonna have a good day, and eat everything in sight. Having lost over 4 stone(56lb) since March this year, I'm soooooo over the moon that I think I deserve 1 day off. If I can do it this year, I can do the same next year, so the final 3 stone should be easily achievable.
We should all treat ourselves to 1 day off, so enjoy Thanks giving / Christmas. Its only 1 day. Have a great day.
IMHO
joe
Normal breakfast (4 egg whites, espresso, fiber one)
8am Spin, then see how I feel and if I can handle it I'll go for the 9am spin too...
no more than 1900 cals intake so I can stay within my 500 cal deficit; 2600 if I can hang with 2 classes.
Normal snack: protein bar, nuts, salad, etc.
No more than 2 large coffees (total caffiene freak here!)
Try to break up my meals into smaller portions so I can stick to my eating regime of every 2 hours eating 200-250cals and not feel burnt out midday
Eat normal food, just smaller portions (already pre-logged everything, and I know portion sizes so I'll be fine guesstimating.)
Bring my little reciept with me (I wrote down the size of each thing I can eat: 4oz turkey, 1/6 gb casserole dish, 1/4c sweeto potato, 1 large marshmallow, 1/4c stuffing, 1 dinner roll, 1/10 the pie, 1 tbs mushroom gravy)
And I think I will play "coy and eat the inside of the pie (my fav part anyhow) and when someone asks about why I didn't eat the crust I'll simply say "meh, Idk it wasn't all that good, I liek graham cracker crust better" lol... specially since it's store bought and I bought it! lol!! I get to complain ;D.
Two things I don't have to worry about is alcohol or pot... thank god my granny is too old for that crap or I'd be in trouble! lol!!
So you can keep track of what you eat - which enables you to analyze your foods and receive the following:
- Health Score of your overall diet
- Warning when you approach your daily calorie limit
- Overview of the good and bad nutrients