I've been debating what to do. I'm on Atkins so I know I could have turkey and I could make a Low Carb Pumpkin pie.
I have this dream every once and a while that if I give myself a cheat meal for that day, I'll wake up the next day fat or I regain all the weight I lost.

Are you going to do a thanksgiving cheat meal? Do you have these thoughts?

I've had quite a few thanksgivings since I've started losing weight. I try to make them fairly healthy meals though. This year, I'm not sure what I'm going to do as I usually cook for my inlaws. I'm not sure I want to do anything this year so it may just be a normal day.

If I do cook for my inlaws, it'll be a fairly healthy vegan meal with lots of veggies, whole grains and squash. I have done a dessert on the healthier side before but dessert is one of my least favorite things to make.

It's just one day. I'll eat some of all the dishes I like without making a pig of myself, and it will be fine. One mildly indulgent meal just doesn't make or break a long-term process.

I know there are different considerations with Atkins, that eating one meal off plan can upset the precariously controlled imbalances that are supposedly established on the Atkins plan. Even so, one meal can't make you put back all the weight you've lost. It's just not physically possible. At worst you'll show a small gain for a few days, maybe stall out your weight loss for a week or two - at the very worst. So what? You didn't get fat in a week and you won't lose it in a week either. This is a long-term process, isn't it?

Don't make yourself crazy about Thanksgiving. Just enjoy your holiday without eating heaping portions of everything in sight, and get back on plan the next day. That's all.

I try not to make myself crazy about big special occasion holiday meals. While I am moderate (one plate, half veggies, white turkey, etc), I'm going to have a roll. I'm going to have mashed potatoes. There will be wine. I'm probably even going to have a small slice of pie.

But if I exercise that morning and cut my calories back slightly for the rest of the week, it usually evens out OK. Even if I do get a temporary gain, it goes away pretty quickly, and it's never something I plan to worry about.

If you build these meals up as "all or nothing" (ie, I will stick STRICTLY to my plan vs I will BLOW my plan entirely and go off the rails), IMO it's more destructive than trying to take a moderate, reasonable approach. You won't gain all of your weight back overnight from a moderate meal (or even from an off-the-rails meal...though with the second, you probably will feel overfull and gross, which is what I try to avoid).

I'm not going to cheat, it's not worth it FOR ME. I am going to have alternatives that are like Thanksgiving, because I like those flavors. But something has changed in my palate, and I just don't crave all those nasty sweet desserts and those bloaty breads any more.

I'll look at the other dishes on that site. :-)

The year I was losing nothing mattered to me more then getting the weight off. NOTHING. So my desire to overindulge just wasn't there. And therefore I didn't.

Turkey breast. Butternut squash. Roasted beans. Brussel sprouts. Baked apples. It was all delicious. Great food. Football. Spending time with family I rarely see. It was a great day.

Same with South Beach. I'm going to stay OP. Next year I'll reevaluate.

Planning to also stay OP, just seems hard since I'm cooking this year. Since Hubby is also on a weight loss program, I'm sure he wants to avoid all the unhealthy stuff too.

If you are cooking, then you should definitely be able to cook choices that are on plan.

My rules for Thanksgiving:

* It is one meal, not a 4 day food extravaganza
* One plate, one roll, one small dessert. one glass of wine
* Get rid of any offplan leftovers as quickly as possible - ie, let your family keep all the pies, save turkey breast for sandwiches

One meal did not make me fat. One Thanksgiving dinner will not make me fat.

Agreed, Glory. HoliDAY, not holiweek or holimonth or holi2months.....

I really find Thanksgiving the easiest of the holidays to stay on plan with. I guess it's the turkey. It's also the fact that it IS one day as opposed to the whole holiday party season. It also helps that I do a lot of the cooking, though we go to my Mom.

That's what I'm stressing on, Its only my husband, me and our 4 kids (three are 5 and under). All extended family lives out of state. So any food I make stays here. We do have a friend coming to visit so I'm hoping he'll eat a good amount. LOL
I'm leaning more towards going out to eat at some buffet. At least I don't have to try the food. I just grab what I want and that's it.