Monday, November 21, 2011

Diet Plan - The Turkey Day Gameplan

Well for my readers not in the States, this Thursday is Thanksgiving.  In a nutshell, it is a day set aside for family, food, and giving thanks for all we have.  It stems from our history, of the colonist coming here and not being able to grow much in the way of food.  The colonist were starving and dying until the native American Indians taught the colonist the techniques of successful agriculture that led to a bountiful harvest and much to be thankful for.  So from the start the holiday seemed to have the sharing of abundant food as a cornerstone.  Of coarse this has evolved into having a reason for a feast that usually centers around a main coarse of turkey with stuffing and gravy.  Many families often add ham or roast beef along with any other delectable dish you can imagine.  In short Thanksgiving has become a great reason to splurge.

Many in the weight loss community have been formulating their strategy to get through the holiday without packing on many extra pounds.  I think it is wise to have a plan and I have given some thought to my plan as well.  First, I know what I don't want to do.  Since Thanksgiving is a social gathering, I do not want to play the martyr.  You know what I mean.  The one person with only one raw carrot and one stalk of celery on their plate.  The dieting martyr loves to have everyone take notice of how hard they must sacrifice.  If this is you, that's cool--it's just not me.  I plan to embrace moderation as my coarse of action.  I plan to have a LITTLE of everything.  Just one plate is my general rule.  I will keep my eye on my portions.  In other words, I am on my diet to live, but I do not live for my diet.  As always I would love your thoughts, whether you agree or disagree.  If you are outside the States, I would like to know if you have anything like our Thanksgiving (without the pilgrims and Indians of coarse).

13 comments:

  1. I agree. I have been the martyr before only to binge that evening when I was alone. I am going to enjoy Thanksgiving. I am not going to make it the excuse for a week long binge that becomes oh well now it's Christmas so why bother which becomes wait until after the New Year.

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  2. I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving. It's always something I've wanted to take part in so hopefully one day I'll be in the USA over Thanksgiving.

    At Christmas we have the whole Turkey dinner and it's very hard but I think as long as you are sensible with portions and do some exercise then I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time and not feel like you've gone over the top with food.

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  3. @downsizers Oh that is very interesting. The whole martyr then binge thing-the fact that you would admit to that shows truly how far you have come!!! You should feel very proud. You are so right. I am not going to give up my hard fought for losses by going in on the whole T-day to Christmas to New Years binge.

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  4. @Tim I really hope you can experience a Thanksgiving someday. It can truly be a wonderful time of sharing food with friends and family. It is the start of the whole holiday season here. Of coarse at midnight, the stores all open with their best sales and are absolutely flooded with shoppers. It is commonly called "Black Friday".

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  5. I'm with Downsizers. It always amazes me--and oddly catches me off-guard, even tho I know it happens EVERY time. After I've planned to have a 'careful' meal at a food event, w/out seconds or gobs of whatever and suceeded--evem tho I'd be sooo pleased that I reigned in the appetite, I'd still binge that night or the next day. :(

    THIS year, I have a new plan. :) I will have a moderate (rather than careful) meal at Thanksgiving dinner. Stuffing, dessert and everything. BUT, this year the dinner will be at our church, with our church members, instead of my home. :D

    I rarely embarrass myself by the amount I eat in public AND there will be no leftovers at home. None to clean up. None to eat. Wahoo.

    I can do that because of my family situation, not everyone can.

    Good luck to us both.

    Deb

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  6. I think you'll do fine. And the fact is that even if people add some pounds over Thanksgiving.. that's not the end of the world. Just keep going forward. :)

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  7. @Deb Willbefree Now that is a good plan, Deb. I like the idea of a moderate meal. I also like the no leftovers to tempt you. It's like taking the the idea of "out of sight out of mind" to the next level!!!

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  8. @Maren Thanks for the vote of confidence. I agree it's not the end of the world...too many people get easily discouraged because of a slip.

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  9. I'm glad you wrote Thursday is Tgiving - i've been thinking it was Friday this week!! (that's Black Friday...I should know that!)
    Sounds like a good plan for Tgiving. I'm so glad that ours is in October - so it's not tempting to have a month of feasting. I've broken my "no second portions" rule twice this week. NO MORE!
    Dawn

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  10. @❀❀ Dawn (Lay Down My Idols) ❀❀ Yes Thanksgiving in the States is always on a Thursday. Is Black Friday a big deal up there???

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  11. You will rock it and here I am ;) I have checked out your blog, I just learned how to join them, ha ha!

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  12. @beacher1967 Hi, I was just teasing you! Thanks so much for stopping by.

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  13. All the best with your thanksgiving strategy Paul :D

    http://weightlossthesearchfortheskinnierme.blogspot.com/

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