Thanksgiving is a little more than a month away. Are you going off plan? - 3 Fat Chicks on a Diet Weight Loss Community

hellokitty81668 · 10-19-2007, 02:13 PM

Hi , I was just wondering for the people in the USA, what are your plans for Turkey day? Is anyone using lowfat recipes? Are you worried you will go way off plan?
I am going to try and stay on plan, don't know what to do about desert though, I usually make sweet potato pie and apple pie. I am going to have to do some searching for a healthy fall desert.
cheryl

modkittn · 10-19-2007, 02:20 PM

No way

I've always been able to stay on plan during holidays. How about a low fat apple crisp instead of the pie? I have a WW recipe, if you are interested! I plan on making a low fat praline-pumpkin cake (another WW recipe

).

PeggyP · 10-19-2007, 02:24 PM

Hi!
I've already decided that I'm not going to worry too much about Thanksgiving...or Christmas. I'm going to use good portion control and have only one plate. Desserts usually do me in, but I think if I time it right, and not eat dessert with the dinner (have it a few hrs later)and have a taste of a couple of things, I should be doing alright. I'm just going to make sure we have NO desserts left here at the house. It will absolutely do me in, if we do. Everyone usually comes to our house, so I'm sending them home with stuff....
As for the day after, I'm going right back on plan. In the past, usually I would be bad the whole weekend, but know that I could ruin everything if I did that again. I've worked too hard to mess it all up for gluttony.....

WinterStarzz · 10-19-2007, 02:24 PM

Thanksgiving is always a big challenge for me. It's not only a holiday based around food, but it's my birthday. This is my first official year dieting during the holiday season...I have tried and failed countless times, but this is the longest I have stayed on plan and made real changes. It is my goal to enjoy Thanksgiving / my birthday wisely. Sample good foods, but don't overindulge. Spend more time making the food and enjoying the company of my family than sitting at the table shoveling food in.

rockinrobin · 10-19-2007, 02:28 PM

How about home made applesauce. It's sooo easy and waaay better, all right, just as good as apple pie.

I plan on eating turkey breast. Acorn or butternut squash. Roasted veggies. Some kind of salad. We go to my mom's house and we always split the cooking. She makes the turkey and a couple of sides, I make the veggies, salad and dessert here at home and bring it along. I'll be making applesauce (and eating it) and like I've always done in the past - a pecan pie. Last year, the year I was losing, I didn't touch it. This year I may. It is extremely caloric. It usually depends on what kind of mode I'm in. If I'm in a high control mode, then I'll probably pass, because I'll want to. If I'm going through a struggling phase, hmmm, then we'll see.

Portion control is also a big factor. It's one thing to splurge a little, another thing to be gluttonous.

Whatever happens that meal, it's right back to plan immediately. This way there is very little harm, if any done. No big deal.

OptimistK · 10-19-2007, 02:34 PM

Subway all the way...if they're open. I'm not going home for Turkey Day. I'm having vistors, yay! I"m happy too because I know there will be lots of tempting food!!!

Trazey34 · 10-19-2007, 02:36 PM

We enjoyed our Canadian thanksgiving feast a few weeks ago - I've said it before, this is a "lifestyle" change for me, not a diet per se, and there is no way on God's green earth this girl is doing without her mom's thanksgiving/christmas dinner LOL. I planned on it and was extra careful for the entire week, and ate as much as satisfied me for the dinner - it was absolutely amazing! LOL I"m never NOT going to love gravy

And as it turned out, I was down 3 lbs. for that week, and 2 for the week after?! Planning helped, and not seeing as a week-long free for all helped too.

I usually would have had a lot of leftovers, all the potatoes gravy etc., but I just brought home the sliced turkey for sammiches and salads, etc.

All in all, a great success!

wifey bullseye · 10-19-2007, 02:44 PM

This is my first Thanksgiving as a married woman! We're spending this year with my parents. Mom makes my great grandmother's Thankgiving feast, which is AMAZING, but at the same time, very Southern. I have asked if my hubby and I could be in charge of some of the side dishes.

I know she won't be too happy that we 'changed Nana's Thanksgiving', but we're going to make the recipes work for us, and only bring home the good stuff.

GirlyGirlSebas · 10-19-2007, 02:44 PM

Hubby and I are already thinking about Thanksgiving and how we will stay on-plan. We plan on roasting a turkey breast, and having baked sweet potatoes, steamed broccoli, and a yummy salad. We're still looking into a nice dessert....something sugar free...maybe a pie. I will not go off-plan as I have goals to meet and going off-plan is no way to meet them.

Robin41 · 10-19-2007, 02:45 PM

Not a chance. Turkey breast and vegetables is pretty much going to be it. Not bringing home any leftovers. Luckily I'm not doing the cooking for anybody, I'll be a guest this year, and that makes it a lot easier.

One of my mini-goals is 199 by Thanksgiving and I am way more interested in that than in yams covered in marshmallows. I also want to be at 199 the day AFTER Thanksgiving too and nothing would depress me more than seeing onederland and then giving it right back cause of a stupid pie.

ChrissyBean · 10-19-2007, 02:46 PM

We had our Thanksgiving a couple of weeks ago. I didn't cook low-cal or worry about eating too much, but I didn't overdo it, either. I do believe CDN Thanksgiving is more low-key than the US version (we only get one day off, a Monday) and there's probably less food/celebrating. My menu was: turkey & stuffing (potatoes, stuffing bread, summer savoury, poultry seasoning, salt, pepper, onion, and bulk sausage meat), squash, turnip, mashed potatoes (mashed with LF sour cream rather than butter and milk), cranberry sauce (yuk), gravy, and I did some broccoli and cauliflower. One apple pie between 4 adults and 2 children. If it's not there, you can't eat it, right??

Good luck!

P.s. My Christmas menu is identical LOL

mandalinn82 · 10-19-2007, 02:50 PM

I limit myself to one plate, and if I still want more because everyone else is eating, I have fruit salad (they always have fruit salad).

I also offer to bring the one thing that is my ABSOLUTE weakness, rolls, so I can make a whole wheat/oil free italian roll in addition to the buttery/cheesy cracked pepper and cheddar crescents. Making them, I see how much fat and cheese go into the crescents, and I don't want them anymore (the first year I made them, I wasn't losing weight, and everyone fell in love with them...now I feel sort of bad providing people in my family with that crazy-caloric bread, but I get requests every year). At the very least we have 3 options - one healthy option, one very unhealthy option, and one middle-of-the-road basic white roll. I knead, shape, rise, and bake them all by hand, and honestly, by the time Thanksgiving rolls around, I'm pretty done with rolls.

My uncle deep fries his turkeys. Not much I can do about that. I don't eat the skin and get only breast meat.

Other than that, though, it is a holiday. I will be drinking wine, I will be eating things I normally wouldn't eat, and I will be relaxing a bit. And the next day, I will be right back on plan.

nelie · 10-19-2007, 03:01 PM

Thanksgiving isn't a real challenge for me, it is the sweets and such around thanksgiving and christmas that is a challenge. I won't be going home so I'll be cooking, probably for my in laws. As I will have total control of the meal, it'll be a lot easier than if I didn't.

I plan to cook a turkey (if cooking for in-laws) but unsure if I will be having any myself. I cook lots of veggies and such as well. Year before last, I made cranberry sauce from fresh cranberries and that was fun. Last year, DH and I went to Medieval times. This year, I can basically cook whatever I want as if it was any other day so I'm not worried

MugCanDoIt · 10-19-2007, 03:14 PM

I will be going off plan that day. But I desperately want it to be ONE DAY ONLY. I will need to give away lots of the leftovers and just get it the heck out of the house, and then the next day maybe I can just act like it is another normal day. But there is no way I am depriving myself on TG for two reasons:

#1 Part of my transitioning into Veganism is a timeline I made for myself. I have told myself for 4 months now that after Christmas, I will no longer eat turkey or chicken. I have already given up beef and pork. This will mean the only thing left that I will eat is fish and seafood. That too will be given up in time.

#2 There is no way I am depriving myself of all that wonderful food.

kfs151 · 10-19-2007, 03:19 PM

JMHO, but why does it have to be off-plan? The greatest blessing from my lap-band is that I'm satisfied after small portions but I've never believed in forbidden foods.

Take a smaller plate, put a little of everything on it and enjoy - same strategy for dessert time. I also really liked someone's earlier suggestion to offer to bring whichever food is your weakness and make a healthy version of it. Also, I've had great luck with either setting the menu myself if I'm hosting or chatting about it with whoever is hosting and substituting out some of the high-fat/high-calorie foods with something healthier under the guise of trying a new recipe.