I think I've come up with a good plan for the big day and wanted to run it by y'all and also see if you had good strategies I could steal. :)
So,
Morning of Thanksgiving I'm going to eat my normal breakfast, do my normal 45 minutes of cardio and eat a normal lunch. I've been asked to bring the veggie platter for my families get-together. (Usually, my mother puts apps out at noon and the grazing begins and lasts until the big dinner is served. So much eating.) So I'm going to look for some really cool and healthy recipes, like hummus and salsa, and keep it really low-cal. I'm trying to be a positive influence on my family.
I've made arrangements with my brother, who is a high school PE teacher, to organize some kind of activity, like touch football, ultimate frisbee and relay races, mostly for the kids (20 nephews and nieces) and any adults that want join in (me and my hubby).
For dinner, I'm going to eat 3 oz. of white meat turkey, a small helping of any veggie that doesn't have butter on it (Probably none, my mom puts butter on everything, but I'll have MY veggie tray to choose from) and 1/2 cup mashed potatoes w/ 1/4 cup gravy. (My indulgence for the day)
Now here's the weird thing. After some serious reflection, I've realized that I don't really like pie. I KNOW! I didn't know that! I've eaten so many pieces of pie in my life and this whole time I never really enjoyed it. I think I'm going to skip the pie this year. I will, however, indulge in a cup of hot chocolate with a scoop of vanilla ice cream in it, a family tradition that I honestly enjoy.
And lastly, I'm going to stop eating at 8:30 PM and I mean it!
I know this must sound crazy to you, planning my Thanksgiving meal a week in advance, but this is just the sort of social trap the derails me, year after year. All that food, all that butter! My mom makes 10-12 pies. The food is out and available from noon to midnight and my family literally eats for 12 hours.
Some people tell me that I couldn't possibly eat enough calories in one day to make any difference in my weight loss, go ahead and eat with reckless abandon! But this isn't about the calories, not occasions like this. This is about the excuse of a social function centered on food to binge. This is about the hard work I've done to create new processes in food-choice-making. This about creating new traditions for the 20 nephews and nieces, centered on activity instead of food.
For me and my little family, Thanksgiving is going to be about time spent with loved ones, showing gratitude for the healthy food that is abundantly available to us year-round. It's going to be about laughing, crafts and getting tired and hungry before dinner playing games. And that's something I can be proud of the next morning.
So, you gotta plan?