Just wondering how everyone fared over Thanksgiving? And is everyone remembering that Thanksgiving is over?

We traveled 9 hours to my parents the night before Thanksgiving, so I had no control over what was being cooked, etc. Gratefully, word was out that I had lost weight so there was a real effort to make some healthy dishes. I had decided ahead of time that since I'm under goal, I would take a spoonful of anything that I wanted, but leave anything I didn't really love, and have 1 piece of pie (for the meal only, back OP the minute after). It worked beautifully. I got to taste my sister's unbelievable home made mac n cheese and home made bread, my other sister's home made cranberry jalapeno relish, and my mom's delish pumpkin pie. I was totally satisfied, ate with no guilt, and went right back to my plan the next meal! This is such huge progress for me. Holidays, especially around my family, have always been free-for-alls for me. I really was able to concentrate on the love, friendship and fun that family provided without worrying about dieting, calories or guilt.

How about you? Did you follow your plan? Are you in need of encouragement for a fresh start today?

xoxo

Great job Hatethesweatpants! It's amazing how much we can grow and learn that our lives do not depend on food...I'm still learning but have made much progress, thank goodness

My Thanksgiving went pretty well...I gave myself Tgiving dinner "off" and ate small portions of everything that I "HAD TO HAVE". I even ate a slice of my sil's red velvet cake - it was delicious. I was having a hard time later that night not indulging more but then it happened...I got sick as a dog! I have a wheat/gluten sensitivity and eating cake and yeast bread did not bode well in my stomach. There was a battle of epic proportions and needless to say, I was back on plan and happily so the next day. Still having some residual aftermath but it was encouraging to know that if I don't stray, I'll be fine and can tolerate a piece of 35 calorie bread a day and not have terrible cramping and sickness.

I'm glad it's over, now onto Christmas and Birthday parties. More than anything, I am grateful for my new-found education in food (and bingeing) as well my "new" clothes that I am wearing from college (7 years ago). Some are outdated, but it's fun anyway

Hope everyone else had a successful day/week and are back op and loving it!!

I prepared two dishes for Thanksgiving, and my mom cooked the rest. I made the traditional green bean casserole, but I used fresh green beans, simmered for nearly an hour in plain water. I used 98% fat free cream of mushroom condensed soup and skim milk. I did use the French's onions, but with all the other food present I didn't think it would be a big minus. I also made a traditional baked summer squash casserole with breadcrumbs, corn kernels and a whole stick of butter. It tasted fabulous, but I gave myself only about a 1/3 cup serving and skipped the gravy on the turkey altogether. I also had a similar sized serving of stuffing, a slice of canned jellied cranberry sauce, and a slice of turkey breast. For dessert we had a slice of lemon-frosted angel food cake.

Yes, this was "off" the program, but all I ate in the morning was a meal replacement bar and an HNS. At the end of the Thanksgiving meal, I was pleasantly full but not overstuffed at all, a very big departure from previous holidays. I weighed in this morning and had lost 1 1/2 pounds for the week. So the center gave me 2 free extra weeks of program for losing over the holiday. I am going to walk with MRC in the city holiday parade this coming Thursday wearing a green MRC "I lost it" tee shirt and carrying a 50 pound sign. Woo hoo!

I signed the 30lb board yesterday morning!

I was super-careful all week, and only had a MRC bar & HNS for breakfast. I, too, decided to indulge on Thursday--but with limits. I thoroughly enjoyed my dollop of mashed potatoes, bite of pumpkin bread, and dollop of stuffing. I passed on the dinner rolls, mashed sweet potatoes, pumpkin & apple pies, and cranberry relish, then got my butt out of the kitchen when I started picking at more food while helping to clean up. We also only took home enough leftovers for hubby to have ONE meal, so I wouldn't be tempted to eat all weekend long.

I hope everyone else's Thanksgiving Day was as free of stress and disasters as possible. Even little victories (like not totally overeating on TDay) are still victories!

Well I didn't fare as well, we weren't planning on a thanksgiving dinner at home since we had it last weekend, but my son wanted to know what we were having for thanksgiving and a meal with leftovers was born. I did fine cooking, but when it came to eating I had a small portion of mash/gravy, ham, corn, fresh veggies with dip, and small piece of apple and pumpkin pie. Now if I would of stop there everything would of been ok, but I decided to snack on ham all day, along with another piece of pie. The next day was left overs again, that literally was calling my name! Of course, now rational thinking has taken over and I decided since I went of plan, drastically!!!!!, I would end my day with something I was really craving for a long time, PIZZA! Then I would start fresh tomorrow, well, tomorrow is here, and I'm up 8 lbs, but there is a positive to this all, I feel miserable, almost like a hangover, I could care less if I look at food again, and had to force myself to eat today. I'm not usually a binge eater, but this is as close as I want to get! Back to the grind, I know Christmas will be a lot better! Downside, I probably won't hit onederland by Christmas, 22 lbs now to go! One day at a time, one lesson at a time, I will not play the guilty card, because these are all choices I decided to make, and now I just need to continue on coarse. Congrats, to those who held down the food demons!

Uh Oh! Wow, sometimes I wish I had a gluten sensitivity! j/k Good for you for jumping right back into plan.

AWESOME JOB ladystarrider and teacherlady! This is exactly what we're going for here - progress, not perfection! Sounds like you guys were living out your plans!

Aw those demons really sneak back in when we're least expecting them, don't they? I've found that anything off routine really throws a curve ball at me. But, those are the most important times to prove that you are not going to be thrown off by them. Good thing you have the rest of the holiday season to prove to yourself that you're bigger and better than food! I'll bet most of your 8lbs is water weight, so drink, drink, drink your water and throw in a couple of walks to get the sodium flushing out of your system. Most importantly, back OP, back on track. This is the rest of your life!

I did pretty well.

I had a few finger licks of batter as I was baking (I'm the family baker...there were many cakes and breads to be made)...but I ate good OP before Tday meal. We ate the meal for dinner Thursday...and for breakfast and lunch, I ate totally OP. My mom bought the things I needed to have at her house (chicken breast, frozen broccoli, apples. etc). For Thanksgiving, I ate from a regular plate while everyone in my family ate from those giant paper plate platters. I had turkey, a little mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes, and one serving of desserts. But no leftovers that night.

When we ate leftovers, I had about two bites of off program stuff, and then ate only OP food.

Yesterday while out and about, we ate lunch out, but I had salmon and veggies, so that was OP. And I didn't feel well last night and didn't have dinner.

I got 4 HNS in every day and drank a ton of water.

I should be ok at weigh in this week. I am proud I portioned controlled (choosing a smaller plate and only a few bites of "bad" food) and I didn't have 17 servings of desserts. It was rough, hubby loves sweets and was constantly going back all weekend long for more dessert. I think over the few days we were at my moms he ate 5 slices of cheesecake, 2 slices of pumpkin roll, and 3 slices of chocolate cake and a few cookies. I had one serving of dessert (just little bites of my favorite three things)...so I'm proud of myself for saying no.

I am counting calories. So I just kept plodding along.

I ate almost 2000 calories on Thanksgiving...and 1800 the following day.
This slows down my weight loss, but doesn't add any weight for the week.
I might lose less than half a pound this week.
That is OK.
I hope to lose 3-4 lbs by Christmas day.
I lose 4 pounds a month. 3 pounds lost in November and 3 in December is OK by me.

Oh, no! That sucks! But, like you say, today is a new day, and you've learned a lesson.

I agree with Debi--drink lots and lots of extra water to flush that sodium.

Also, get rid of any more leftovers you have--to your son, your neighbors, or--as a last resort--to the trash. One thing my center told me that rang true is this: yes, throwing away perfectly good food is wasteful--a waste of money, and a waste of food. But eating a bunch of leftovers that aren't on plan ends up being just as wasteful--because that means that you just threw away $$ you paid for program & HNS's for the day, as well as wasting the calories. Whether you eat it or throw it in the trash, it's a waste, so choose the one that helps you meet your weight goals.

I am so proud of how I did! I made the dressing (my biggest demon) and had someone else do the taste testing....lol. At one point I thoughtlessly put a chunk of cornbread in my mouth but before I chomped down on it I realized and spit it out!!! Can you believe? I made hummus w/ veggies, a few salads. Finger foods to occupy my need to taste while I cook....lol. During dinner I stuck to my 2 TBS of dressing! AWESOME!

If I can make it through Thanksgiving, I can do it on any occasion!

I paid my kids $15 per bag of Halloween candy and I threw it directly into the garbage. No need to pass along the toxins to someone else!

Hahaha! This is a great idea! I'll definitely have to remember it for when we have kids!

I lost 2 pounds this week!! I did eat pie and a small piece of cake but mainly stuck to turkey and plain green beans with lettus and balsamic for my main course. I had a small serving of stuffing, 5 stuffed mushrooms, and 2 dinner rolls. I didnt do great but somehow managed to lose weight anyways!!!