Hello all! I'm very thankful for this community this year, so it seems like a good time to share the tips that have helped me stay on track as best as possible over the holidays. For those of you who are planning to stay 100% on your diet over Thanksgiving, congratulations! You're amazing, you're incredible, you're an inspiration and I love you. For those of us who are planning on enjoying the holiday in a traditional way, welcome! I've found that there are a few ways to manage what you eat, and how much, even through the temptation-filled season ahead. So, without further ado, here are my tips for getting through Thanksgiving as healthy as possible while still enjoying some of your favorite traditions!
MY THANKSGIVING SURVIVAL GUIDE
- Remember that one day of unhealthy eating won't make you fat just like one day of healthy eating won't make you skinny.
- That said, remember that less is always better- just because you're breaking your diet doesn't mean you need to go totally nuts. For example, if you're calorie counting and your normal daily allowance is 1500 calories, going over to 1501 doesn't mean your day is shot and it's time to binge. A 2000 calorie Thanksgiving is better than a 3000 calorie Thanksgiving. (Disclaimer: this is a little more complex with ketogenic diets because you're either in ketosis or you're not so there's an argument to be made that if you're going to break ketosis you might as well go ham, or in this case go turkey. Even for a ketogenic diet, less calories means faster weight loss, so just keep that in mind.)
- Get the smallest amount of whatever you want on your plate that you can realistically manage for your first serving. Remember you can always go back for more, but whatever you add to your plate that you don't eat goes to waste. As most of you probably know, cleaning your plate sometimes does more for feeling full than the actual amount of food, so a light plate can still be plenty filling.
- If your family is religious, a prayer before the meal is common. Use this time to really center yourself and remember that this is about being thankful for what you have. Ideally one of the things you should be thankful for is a consistent food source. The reason I say this is because it serves as a reminder that you can take your time when you eat! The food isn't going anywhere, it's not going to run off your plate. Eat slowly and contemplatively, savoring the meal and taking the time to really appreciate the bounty and what it symbolizes. Thanksgiving has a lot more to do with the people you're with than the food, so focus on that!
- If you're into fasting like I am, don't eat anything else that day aside from the big meal. A lot of people who aren't dieting do this on Thanksgiving so it's a popular method. However, this may not be the best for everyone since a feeling of strong hunger might cause you to binge. If eating something low-calorie/healthy but filling for breakfast would help you control yourself at the big meal, that's a great option as well! If you don't normally fast until dinner, Thanksgiving would not be the day to start because you will probably feel horrible by that point (at least if you're anything like me and need to "get used" to fasting before it feels natural). Alternatively, sometimes if you eat too much before your Thanksgiving meal, you'll find yourself eating past fullness just to get a bite of everything and you end up way overeating. Fasting takes practice so whatever works for you is what you should do!
- Pick a few favorite dishes and focus on those. I personally will not be wasting any calories on my least favorite dishes or grabbing something your aunt made that no one likes out of sympathy. Slight exception here for the healthier dishes (I want to fill up on the steamed broccoli even though it's not the best, for example), but this applies doubly for desserts. I hate apple pie, so I'm not going to get a slice because if I did, I would be eating a whole slice of pie and yet I would probably still feel unsatisfied because what I really wanted was pecan pie. By just going for the pecan I can take apple out of the equation entirely.
- Take SMALL BITES, CHEW SLOWLY, and DRINK BETWEEN SIPS. These apply year round to every meal and they are life-savers, hence the all caps. If you pay attention to yourself while eating, you might notice that you are preparing bite 2 while you're still chewing bite 1! SAVOR THE MEAL. Appreciate what's in your mouth, swallow it, take a breath, take a sip of your drink, and then start preparing your next bite. Don't zone out and go into autopilot, stay really aware of your eating speed. If your family starts talking politics that's the perfect time to really block that out and focus on the food! I like to chew a bite so thoroughly before taking the next that I'll even get all the extra food bits out of my teeth with my tongue before starting on the rest of my plate. The stuff you do at the end of the meal to clean your mouth (aside from flossing or brushing your teeth, lol) you could do between each bite to really take your time. So let's review... take a small bite, chew it thoughtfully and thoroughly, swallow it, clean your mouth with your tongue and make sure there's no food bits in your teeth, take a sip of your drink, take a semi-deep breath, relax a bit, THEN look back to your plate and fork and start over. I know I'm going way into detail here but this has been one of the most important things I ever did on my weight loss journey.
- Also, that aforementioned drink? Unless you really really really want your glass of wine or can of soda.... just get water. Water is delicious, it's good for you, it'll help you stay full and it's 0 calories y'all! If you crave some drink flavor, there are some great 0 calorie drinks like carbonated flavored water, diet sodas, etc. Water is still the best option in my mind, but just prioritize what matters to you and decide what's worth it. Similar to the tip before last about knowing what dishes you care about, if a nice drink matters to you that's fine but really be sure that it matters, because if not you've spared yourself a lot of calories by just drinking water.
- Go for an after-meal walk or jog! Of course take time to digest first, but if it's not too dark out when you're done with your meal, I think a nice walk can be really relaxing and centering, plus some extra calorie burning. Pick your favorite family members and go on a walk together, it's a good way to get away from the bustle of a crazy family reunion if that's the setting of your Thanksgiving meal!
- And the most important tip, whatever you're choosing to do for your holiday, whatever your traditions are, wherever you are on your weight loss journey, or even if you don't celebrate Thanksgiving at all... be thankful!
I hope this is helpful for any of you and I hope you have a great weekend. A lot of this stuff applies to any holiday or big meal, so this should work even for people who don't do Thanksgiving but partake in any food-based holiday. Whether you're planning to stay totally on track, manage yourself but let loose a little, or throw out the calorie tracker and just be totally free, you can still have the healthiest holiday for you and do what's best for your body and mind this holiday!
Thanks again for everything this sub has done for me, and happy holidays to everyone!
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