How to keep track of food eaten on Thanksgiving?

Posts: 15
11/27/12 12:40 P

Well everyone.. I did NOT track what I was eating as I ended up going to 2 different dinners!! YIKES! I however, made sure to eat slowly and eye balled the portions. I knew that I should probably eat half of what everyone else was lol!! So I did! I think it worked out well, as I haven't gained anything since Thanksgiving!! :-D Thanks to everyone for your tips!!

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11/22/12 11:14 P

I'm relatively new to the tracking, but I had measured something with a 1/3 measuring cup a while before the meal, and I found that an easy amount to visualize. So I estimated how many 1/3 cups of each item I ate, and when I searched for the foods, I picked the ones that gave cups as measurements. (Luckily, so many members have entered foods that there are usually several options for the same food.) I can't picture what an ounce is, but measuring cups are pretty easy. Plus, you can later on go back to the kitchen and check your estimate.

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Posts: 223
11/22/12 10:09 P

Didn't track anything today. Started the day out to breakfast with my mom and daughter, did some laundry and roasted veggies for dinner later. Had a lovely dinner with my brother and his family, my son and daughter, and my mom. Passed on dessert, really didn't eat much, but enough to feel slightly full. Washed dishes and cleaned up, came home and just relaxed.

I totally enjoyed my day - didnt' think about tracking or even exercise.

Back to the gym tomorrow, as the weather turned cold and windy!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

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Posts: 617
11/22/12 8:19 P

This is the first year I tracked this holiday meal.Did OK. Was pretty aware of what I put on my plate. No seconds on anything. Talked a lot. That helped!!

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Posts: 11
11/22/12 8:44 A

I'm going over to my son's godparents house and they love to fix your plate & pack it up. My plans is to eat small portions and listen to my body.

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Posts: 130
11/22/12 7:45 A

Follow the rules of the plate and listen to your body. When you are starting to feel stuffed, STOP. If you are having two meals today, just eat smaller portions at each and you will be just fine.

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11/22/12 6:30 A

this won't really help you today, but in the future, when you weigh out things that you frequently eat out, start comparing what you measure out to your hand. because you always have your hand with you and you can make a fist and compare that to what you put on your plate. there won't be a universal conversion for everyone, but you could learn that your fist is half a cup. or a cup. or 2/3 cup. or whatever it happens to be. having a visual reference point right there can be really helpful for teaching yourself how to eyeball.

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11/22/12 5:58 A

Tips/Ideas:

Use a small plate
Always start with a green salad.
Fill at least half of plate with your fave veggie (bring with you if not being served)
Fill at least 1/4 plate with protein.
Focus on the joy of the day.
Avoid anything that I wouldn't even feed to a dog (flour and sugar).
Engage in a fun post-dinner walk with the family or the dog.

Edited by: MICHELLEXXXX at: 11/22/2012 (05:58)

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11/22/12 4:23 A

a very helpful hint that Rachel Ray gave on her show one day was "eat only the filling of the pumpkin pie, saves a ton of calories. It's about 3 tablespoons of filling per piece of pie (cut in 8ths). I plan on doing this because it really doesn't hurt but helps you not feel deprived.Hey everybody, Happy Thanksgiving!

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Posts: 829
11/21/12 4:58 P

When I'm tracking, I don't track Thanksgiving. I eat well-balanced 95% of the time, so these are my fun, cheat days so-to-speak. That being said, I'm still mindful about what I'm putting on my plate and still somewhat watching what I'm eating. I usually try to eat all of my favorite foods that I don't get as often, like stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, and maybe a dessert that is rare. I leave the other stuff alone...the stuff that's around more often.

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11/20/12 4:07 P

I found this Spark article very helpful for Thanksgiving portions and calorie approximations:

http://www.dailyspark.com/blog.asp?post=a_lesson_in_holiday_portion_distortion

http://www.dailyspark.com/blog.asp?post=a_lesson_in_holiday_portion_distortion

Edited by: CHESAPEAKE60 at: 11/20/2012 (16:10)

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11/20/12 12:32 P

What I would do is get my plate, put reasonable quantities of the foods I want to eat on the plate, and then that's it. No nibbles before dinner either!! And don't start eating the food on your plate until you've served yourself everything that you want. That way, you won't be eating more than a single plate of food, and you can see it filling up as you go and that will help you keep your portions reasonable. Don't put things next to your plate either - the roll goes on the plate too! Then take a good look at your plate and mentally photograph it for tracking purposes later - or just write Thanksgiving off as "untrackable" and get right back to tracking starting with breakfast on Friday.

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11/20/12 12:00 P

Yup, you'll have to estimate, and there's nothing wrong with that. I find that just the act of wanting to estimate the calories helps me to be mindful of portion sizes as I serve myself up. The suggestion of a mobile app is a great one. I, personally, am not that tech savvy, so I just keep a pen and an index card in my purse. A few quick notes and I'm off to enjoy the meal.

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11/20/12 11:28 A

I'd visually estimate. Perhaps if you're very concerned, you can weigh foods you might eat at home to have an idea of a portion size before you go. Just guess the best you can. The mobile apps are really handy for keeping track when you're away from your computer as well.

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Posts: 15
11/20/12 10:54 A

Hello Everyone! I have quite a question in my mind. You see, on Thanksgiving I have not one, but two meals to go to. One we are eating at Noon hour, and the other around 5 or so. I'm wondering, while your eating @ your families houses for Thanksgiving how can you keep track of what you eat, and portion sizes? I obviously can't take my food scale, and measuring cups along.. So I'm wondering, does anyone have any advice or solutions to this problem?

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