Surviving Thanksgiving Without Weight Gain

How can I survive Thanksgiving without putting on weight?

I’m so glad that you asked this question. Every year we all wonder the same thing, and Thanksgiving is just one of many holidays that sabotage our best laid plans to get into our skinny jeans isn’t it?? So listen up: First of all, try to reflect on the real purpose of Thanksgiving. Yes, it is a day we all eat! But more importantly, it’s a day when we gather those we love and give thanks. That’s why it’s called ThanksGIVING. Its not called ThanksEATING! So, rather then see this as a day when all rules about eating are mysteriously suspended or sent to some parallel universe, remember it’s a day we celebrate and give thanks for all the people AT our dinner table, not all the calories ON it.

And at the risk of pointing out the obvious, the same thousands of empty, sugary calories that are in that pecan pie on Thanksgiving are also there Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and every other day of the week. So don’t fool yourself into believing that Thanksgiving is a free pass to eat whatever you want without it having an impact on your body or on your health!

So now that we have that out of the way, let’s look at how you can resist the temptation to over-eat on this day. There are two parts to this answer. The first part is strategic since it relates to your emotions and the second part is tactical. So lets tackle the more thorny, emotional issue first. Almost all of our over-eating (even mine!) occurs, not because we are actually hungry but because one of our old habits or buried emotions are triggered.

Here’s a real life example. Years ago I dated a terrific guy, but whenever we went out for a nice dinner, he would put his head down over his plate and literally shovel his meal into his mouth. He’d finish in about 1 minute! Definitely a romance killer!! Finally one day I asked him why he ate in such a frenzied and rapid way. Turns out he was raised in a large Irish working class family with 10 kids, and at dinnertime the kids had to eat quickly if they wanted to get seconds of anything! So 35 years later, here he was, wealthy, successful, sophisticated and educated but was STILL eating like a starving 6 year old — all because food triggered an emotional response that was so ingrained in him that he couldn’t stop himself. Crazy, but true.

ALL of us have emotional triggers that cause us to eat or behave in ways that put us on autopilot. Thanksgiving is a biggy because in most cases, it’s a day that emotionally sends us back in time and triggers behaviours that are linked to a happy or unhappy past. Either way, we seem to forget that Thanksgiving dinner is just ONE of the 365 dinners we’ll eat this year. And just like all meals, it has the potential to tempt us with empty calories, sugar and lots of other things that marketing companies try to convince us that we need to eat but which are really unhealthy for us. So try to eat intelligently, not emotionally.

That’s the emotional, strategic part of my answer!  The tactical part is a lot simpler! To keep your calorie count to a reasonable number on Thanksgiving, all you need to do is load your plate with vegetables and salads, stay away from calorie-heavy salad dressings, pastries and high calorie hors d’oeuvres.  Enjoy a satisfying portion of turkey or protein (no larger than the size of your fist), avoid seconds, and if need be, allow yourself just a small taste of the high calorie goodies like stuffing, cranberry or gravy. If you can truly only have one tiny serving of dessert it’s ok — but it can be a landmine of calories and often one bite will lead to more. So try not to fall down this rabbit hole of temptation! Just keep remembering how great you will feel when that plate of chocolate chip cookies heads your way and you avoid loading up on them!

In summary, the most important thing to stay focused on is the real purpose of Thanksgiving. Its your chance to share a special day with the special people in your life you love. And good news! Since love has NO calories, be sure to give yourself and everyone you care about, second and even third helpings of LOVE this Thanksgiving!!! But be forewarned…you’ll be back for more! 

Happy Thanksgiving!! 

Affectionately yours and with much love,
The Naughty Nutritionist