[Nataliejo]

Just checking to see how everyone did over Thanksgiving.

Did you stay ON Plan?

What did you eat.

Did you learn anything, have any tips to share?

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I had the family here and I did all the cooking. I made all the holiday favorites.

I stayed on plan and even lost one pound.

I had turkey, green beans w/olive oil and garlic salt and smashed cauliflower "mock mashed potatoes" for dessert I had a mint chocolate bar with coffee.

I was very busy cooking and serving and clean up so maybe that's why I lost a pound.

I found it very easy to stay on plan. No cravings and not hungry and I felt good after dinner not stuffed like the bird.

I will also make a plan for all my Christmas celebrations to come.
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So how did your Thanksgiving go?

[chickybird]

I'm not on medifast or jenny craig, but I did ok. Ate too much, but I'm not too shamed by it, lol! I'm back on track now and even went to the gym today.

[jaimie1980]

Glad you did so well, Natalie! You are a machine! My dedication was a bit "looser" but I did as best I could for eating at someone else's house...(bad idea!) But, excuses do not change the fact that I was only down .5 for the week. Thank goodness Thanksgiving is over! What a relief!

[Jehna]

My husband and I planned ahead to go off program for Thanksgiving and gave ourselves three days due to our schedule. I cooked a big dinner on Wednesday, then we were guests at a friend's on Thursday and we took Friday for leftovers. We gave away what was left after that on Freecycle. That way the food is gone and we make someone who needs it happy.

We were(and still are) comfortable with our decision. Partially because we know ourselves and know that if we feel deprived we are more likely to pig out then feel guilty and eat even more; but mostly because we have very clear memories of what it was like to carry the 35 pounds each that we've lost and being older(48 and 62) people we are conscious of what we want the quality of our life to be. And we want to be alive, healthy and active for our grandchildren, especially Keiren who was just born last month.

We felt weighed down and tired when we ate all that food and hated the weird sugar rush, then exhaustion afterward. It's kind of funny, because we felt so sluggish we couldn't wait to get back on program. It has really made a huge difference in our lives. We know we will be carrying a lot of the structure into our lifetime maintenance. No more refined sugar or high fructose corn syrup for us! We like being healthier and more active, go figure. If you'd told me that last year I wouldn't have believed you.

Also, I chose not to look at the scale for another few days. I don't want to take myself anywhere near a negative space; in the off chance my break made the numbers on the scale get bigger, I'm not going to give it the opportunity to derail me. That's one good thing about getting older. The wisdom to know your triggers, Ha! Onward and downward!