I could use some advice on getting through Thanksgiving. It's always been one of my favorite holidays... eat... relax... visit - very low key and just wonderful. This year I'm freaking out over it. I have done so well so far that I'd rather stay home then kill my momentum, but I have to learn to deal with these challenges if I'm going to make this a true WOE for life. I'm going to a friends house for dinner, and I've volunteered to bring some things, including a "legal" dessert. I don't have any control over the food prep or the menu, and I just dread it - among other things, her from scratch pies are drool-worthy.

I've been eating 20 carbs per day for three weeks, and I look and feel great! Should I go to 25 this week and then 30 the following week in preparation, or is it best to stay w/20-25, and plan a 30 carb day on Thanksgiving? I don't know if I'm making sense, I just want to plan for it so I'm prepared.

These are my survival ideas, please add yours to the list:
1. Eat before I go so I'm not starving when faced w/temptation
2. Take cauliflower and a legal dessert
3. Plan a higher carb day????

Thanks!
Stacy

Hi Stacy

Plan for a few extra carbs, but I think you can get thru it just fine. They are having turkey Im assuming? So your good to go there. Bring a veggie casserole (some awesome recipes in recipe section) and maybe a salad. These plus the turkey piled on your plate will get you thru the meal. Then your dessert....no sweat, if your having wine, make it dry because there are fewer carbs in dry wine, or go with a diet soda and liquor.

Just a thought...dont let anyone sabotage your eating plan. Eat what you want, not what is expected of you. You'll do fine!

Not sure what the weather will be like, but here in OK it's usually nice on Thanksgiving. I plan on grabbing a relative I haven't talked to in a while and taking a stroll after lunch instead of sitting around and grazing all day

And I know this probably sounds terrible but I'm probably also going to leave early and come home with the kids to put the tree up

This is a great thread, I'm interested to see what people who have been on this WOL for a long time do in these situations

last year....I had everyone over here, so I had complete control of all the food. Dessert was a sugarfree ultra low fat chocolate peanut butter pie. My dil (whom I tolerate) took 2 bites of her dessert, then pushed it away (in a flourish) and said omg,(insert drama queen) thats just too fattening, and way too sweet for me. So I asked her, did you like it? She repeated yes, but its just too fattening for her (she's a good 50lbs overweight) I then told her when I was finished mine, and starting clearing the plates (see...the show was for my benefit) I told her I was glad she liked it, and that she should have finished it, it was fat free and sugar free, and only 45 calories per serving.

So the moral of the story keep the control in your own hands....dont let others put you down for your way of eating.

Stacy,
I think your plan is a good one. Eating something before you go so you are not starving is excellent, taking a cauliflower and a legal dessert is good too. Expect a higher carb day and you will not be destraught over finding out it was more than you thought. Dont set yourself up for a dissapointment by expecting perfection or even staying within a 20 carb limit. Just do the best you can and get back on your personal track the next day. If you fret over it too much, you will not enjoy the food, the people ...the whole day. It is a day of celebration and for giving thanks for the bounty of our lives and not for stressing about an extra carb or ten, lol. Think of it as a challenge to meet and to overcome.

one ounce at a time

wannaBaloser

Robin,
Do you happen to have that recipe still? I'd love to make it!
Thanks
Lacey

I do Lacey, I'll dig it out tonight for you

I have to admit I stink at controlling what I eat. This is what got me into trouble in the first place (and gained back 1/2 of the weight I'd lost). But I'm also coming to terms with the fact that there are days I'm going to have "normal" food. I've allowed myself my anniversary and now plan on being "good" until Thanksgiving. Then I'm going to kick butt in losing weight until Christmas Eve and Christmas. Those are the only 2 days of next month I THINK I have to worry about (well, weekends, but I'm determined to get control of those). Wish I could offer advice!!

I was discussing this with a friend of mine that lost and has successfully kept it off for a few years. She said it's not a big deal if it's just on the actual day, the problem comes when you're pigging out from Halloween through New Year's. She advised me to hold to 20 carbs and up my walking by an extra 15 minutes or so every day between now and then. On Thanksgiving she said to load the plate with turkey and legal veggies, and have a very small amount (like a tablespoon or two) of whatever high carb food I felt I'd really be missing out on, even have two or three bites of pie with a good cup of coffee after dinner. Her idea is that I should enjoy the holiday and the food w/o going hog-wild, then let it go. Plan it, don't do the guilt thing, and be back at 20 carbs on Friday. It sounds pretty reasonable, but I'll have to give it some thought. If I ate potatoes, pecan pie, etc., would I have "induction flu" to deal with later?

I'm planning on doing a "induction boot camp" type thing again in January. TOTALLY re-do my strategy and look at myself in the mirror and see WHY I've lost my dedication to being thin and just accepting the way I am. Until then, I'm just trying to kind of maintain (maybe lose a little here and there) and cope through these holidays.