Thanksgiving, how are you going to get through?

So, what are people's plans for Thanksgiving - how are you going to stay on track?

 I've gone from feeling guilty about eating on Thanksgiving (VLCD madness) to trying to figure out how to pace myself over the holiday.  Not just the day, but the entire weekend I am with my family surrounded by good Southern cooking.

I'll do the same as I did last year.  I ate a bowl of soup an hour before dinner.  That killed my appetite so I could pass up the appetizers.  I ate the fruit cup (we always have it), passed up the pasta course and kept busy serving and clearing the table.  I had reasonable servings of turkey, salad and vegetables, a very small spoon of stuffing and one of mashed potatoes, skipped the candied sweets, rolls, and dessert.  I was fine - not hungry.  The biggest problem was people offering me food.  I kept my answers to "no thank you" and if they insisted, I suddenly saw something that just had to be done, and I'd walk away.

The holiday is about more than food, after all.

Thank god that was last month!

Since I'm hosting and the main cook I plan on making the main dishes with all the fat and trimmings and then setting aside a plate for me without the fat and trimmings.   Eating a bowl of soup before hand is a great idea and maybe an sliced apple too.

Of course I am also offering more fresh veggies and fruits this year for everyone!
And if I do decide to eat some of the sweets it will be counted and in moderation;)

Yes the advice of soup before the meal is a good one, but I would also suggest water.  It's something I have done the last two years (went through two Turkey Day's without gaining a pound...Christmas...another story).  Anyhow I drank a full glass of water 30 minutes before our meal and tried to take a few drinks of it every two or three bites.  It might sound obsessive, but it helped me.  I didn't skip my pumpkin pie, but waited an hour or so after my dinner to have a small slice, but again I drank a full glass of water before.

Hosting it does give you an advantage. 

I would suggest having or taking a huge salad.  Easy to fill up and great for calories.

Veggie and fruit trays are wonderful too - especially for appetizers.

Two different cooked vegetables provides lots of variety.

I am looking forward to Thanksgiving and spending the day with my husband and kids.  :)

The soup is a GREAT idea.  I was thinking of having a couple of boiled eggs and some string cheese to get some protein before I go.  Now, I'll add some soup to it too.  I don't like turkey, so i usually end up with a plate of sides.  

Oh that's easy, we don't celebrate Thanksgiving where I live. :D

I'm going to eat like a rabbit the other 6 days, squeeze in an extra workout or two. Thanksgiving Day I am going to eat whatever I damn well please and then I'm going to stretch out on the couch and fall asleep.

I'm not a big Thanksgiving person so I don't usually eat much besides green beans. haha

I am cooking, everything that the family likes, but am going to try and save myself for the meal...in the afternoon, then  a light supper...shouldn't be too bad...

I am going to keep my eating schedule through out the day with healthy foods, that way I won't be starved by dinner, but I am not going to deprive myself, I'll have a little of everything I want.

I'm going to pick one item to indulge in. For me, that's my father in law's homemade stuffing. Other than that, I'm sticking to a small piece of turkey and lots of veggies. I'm lucky - my sister in law is a vegetarian so we always have at least 4 or 5 veggie dishes - usually a leafy green salad, roasted brussel sprouts (which I love), some kind of lentil/bean salad and another dish. I'll avoid the sweet stuff, the mashed potatoes (which are loaded with cream and butter) and yams (which have maple syrup and marshmallows). Allowing myself one treat will be enough to keep me happy!!! Then, I'll burn it off in one whoop-ass game of football in the backyard afterwards!!!

Thanksgiving is already over and done with here, but thanks for asking.

Simple is best.

I stick to basics... roast turkey, mashed potatoes (screw making them healthy, it's Thanksgiving, I'll make 'em with butter and cream..no gravy, thanks), corn, Chatham village stuffing made with some extra celery and onion, some cranberry sauce (might make my own this year with stevia). And my hubby always has mashed rutabaga (ewww). Everything organic.  The basics are pretty healthy.  Sure, a little butter, a splash of cream, but it just doesn't add up to that many extra cals.

Before the big meal we'll snack on fruit and some cheese - this year it'll be robusto, an aged gouda, yum.  If you get a highly flavored cheese you don't need that much of it. Maybe an apple tart for dessert, haven't decided, but it'll be something simple and fruit based.

A bottle of nice red Zinfandel (or two, hey, it's Thanksgiving! my favorite holiday!) and we'll be set.

Since my husband and I are playing the newlywed game of "Where the heck do we go for the holidays?", we're eating Thanksgiving lunch with (one set of) my parents and Thanksgiving dinner with his.  Sometime in there we also have to squeeze in some time with my mom and her new husband, and try to spend time with my sisters, and maybe get a second or two to go home to sleep?

Fortunately, this makes dieting easy.  For every family member that nags me to eat more, I can say, "Oh, but we just ate with mom/dad/grandma/etc." or "Oh, but we're about to go eat with mother-in-law/cousin/baby daddy/whatever."

So, calorie-wise, I guess my Thanksgiving will be easy.  As for socially, well...

i'm going to big bend, thats in west texas where the rio grande makes a big, er...bend. :)

Thanksgiving, how are you going to get through?

Boy I guess by making two cheese cakes (One chocolate, one a chipotle experiment), 4 to 6 dozen dinner rolls, sweet potatoes and then with what ever else pealing and prepping needs to be done.

As for food intake, well it only comes once a year. I'll eat what I like with light breakfasts and maybe skipping the turkey sandwich after...maybe.

I'm with ohjanet. I will watch myself before and after the meal. I am not cooking so there will be no leftovers to pick at for days. I will eat light the days before and after and workout.  But at Thanksgiving I will eat small portions of whatever I want and pick a desert to indulge in (but only 1 portion).  That's my plan and I'm sticking to it.

I will eat some turkey and lots of veggies and some of the other stuff.  I'm cooking, so I can make healthy mashed potatoes and gravy, that will help.  I can probably keep the fat down in the stuffing as well.

I'm just not hungry any more. I'll eat the turkey and that's about it!