How to Survive Thanksgiving on a Diet

Guide Note: How to Survive Thanksgiving on a Diet offers tips, tricks and advice on how to get through Thanksgiving dinner without sacrificing your weight loss goals.

Table of Contents:

Further Thanksgiving Help

You can do it! Cook your own Thanksgiving turkey

More important than turkey? Know how to make homemade cranberry sauce

You'll benefit from reading our guide on easy ways to make mashed potatoes

Enjoy dessert even more with homemade pumpkin pie

See our guide to making sweet potato pie for a delicious, crowd-pleasing dessert

Learn tips and tricks for making pecan pie

Introduction

  • Thanksgiving has a way of tripping up even the most successful of dieters. As Dr. Edward Abramson explains, the holidays mark a time of year in which overeating is "socially-sanctioned" and even expected. Fortunately, it's not as hard as you think to have a guilt-free and pleasurable Thanksgiving meal. With a little pre-planning and a commitment to moderation, the holidays needn't sabotage your weight loss goals.

Before You Begin

  • Thanksgiving is one meal. One meal won't derail your weight loss goals. What will derail them is using a minor holiday indulgence as an excuse to binge until New Year's. Here are some tips on how to keep things in perspective:
Image by someecards.com
Image by someecards.com
  1. Be Realistic: Don't set yourself up to fail. Shift your goal from weight loss to weight maintenance during the holidays.
  2. Broaden Your Horizons: Thanksgiving is about more than just food. It's about family, community and gratitude. A well-stuffed turkey, while nice, isn't what's going to leave you feeling the most fulfilled.
  3. Manage Stress: Stress is one of the main reasons people overeat during the holidays. There is stress related to preparing the Thanksgiving meal. There is stress related to interacting with family members. Take the stress out of the former by planning the meal ahead of time, ordering take-out or sharing the labor by making dinner a potluck. For tips on dealing with Thanksgiving-induced family tensions, check out Mahalo's Guide to Surviving Thanksgiving Dinner with Your Family.

Step 1: Make a Game Plan

  • Dieting through Thanksgiving doesn't have to leave you feeling deprived. With a little pre-planning, you can have a healthy and happy holiday dinner.
Shift from weight loss to weight maintenance during the holidays. (Photo by Laura Nubuck)
Shift from weight loss to weight maintenance during the holidays. (Photo by Laura Nubuck)
  1. Visualize: Think about what you're going to eat before the big day arrives. If you can't resist a huge slice of pumpkin pie, what will you cut back on to compensate for it? What will your plate look like? What will leave you feeling satisfied?
  2. Bring a Dish: If you're not preparing the Thanksgiving meal yourself, ask your host if it would be all right to bring a dish that meets your dietary needs. Consider bringing a sugar-free or low-carb dessert.
  3. Buddy Up: Talk to a fellow dieter before Thanksgiving. Plan to give each other moral support throughout the meal.
  4. Ask for Help: Let your close family members, friends and the host know that you're dieting. Most people will be respectful of your needs and not pressure you into eating seconds.
  5. Have Doggy Bags Ready: Send your guests home with those tempting sweet potato pies that might otherwise live in your fridge. If you don't want to prepare doggy bags, freeze your leftovers immediately. You want to consume them in moderation over the course of a few weeks as opposed to gobbling them up in one ill-fated midnight kitchen raid.
  6. Wear Snug Clothing: Choose a snug pair of jeans over comfy sweatpants for your dinner attire. Once you start feeling the pinch of your waistline, you'll definitely stop eating.

Step 2: Control Your Portions

  • Now that you have a reasonable set of expectations in place and a buddy or two lined up, it's time for dinner. If all else fails, just remember - everything in moderation.
Water is a dieter's best friend. (Creative Commons photo by Taras Kalapun)
Water is a dieter's best friend. (Creative Commons photo by Taras Kalapun)
  1. Drink Plenty of Water: Water helps control your appetite by making you feel fuller faster.
  2. Eat Slowly: It takes 20 minutes for your brain to register that you're full. So, savor your food, drink lots of water and slow down. Give your mind a chance to catch up with your body.
  3. Eat Before the Party Starts: Don't go to dinner starving. Eat a healthy breakfast and a low calorie snack before hitting the Thanksgiving buffet. You're less likely to overeat if you've got your appetite under control.
  4. Eat the Special Stuff: Don't blow your precious calories on large portions of food you can eat everyday. Fill your plate with smaller portions of your holiday favorites.
  5. No Seconds: If you eat slowly and drink plenty of water with your meal, you shouldn't feel the need to go for seconds. If you're being pressured by your host to take seconds, politely say, "No."
  6. Avoid Finger Foods: Hor d'oeurves can be high in calories and fat. With the exception of crudité, don't eat anything that doesn't require a knife and fork.
  7. Survey the Buffet: Before diving head first into the buffet, give it a once-over. What items will make a satisfying and healthy dinner? What indulgences will you allow yourself? Dr. Brian Wansink advises limiting variety as it stimulates the appetite. Only take two items at a time. Don't put 20 different items on your plate at once.
Choose white instead of dark meat. (Creative Commons photo by Jarrod Lombardo)
Choose white instead of dark meat. (Creative Commons photo by Jarrod Lombardo)
  • 8. Stop When You're Full: It sounds obvious, but stopping when you're full is probably one of the harder things to do at the Thanksgiving table when everyone else is helping themselves to seconds. It will be easier to stop if you slow down, drink water, wear snug pants and push away from the table when you're done.
  • 9. Drink Alcohol in Moderation: Alcohol lowers your inhibitions, which makes it that much easier to justify a third helping of marshmallow-encrusted yams.
  • 10. Make Healthy Choices: Fortunately, many Thanksgiving mainstays fit into a healthy diet. Turkey is a great source of protein, and sweet potatoes are loaded with vitamin A. Just choose wisely. Eat white turkey meat rather than the dark stuff, which contains twice as much fat. If you're preparing the meal, cut back on salt and butter in the side dishes.
  • 11. Say No: Some people show their love through food. Others may feel threatened by your diet and pile food onto your plate because it makes them feel better about themselves. What you put in your body is your business. Rehearse politely saying "no" in your head. If you've let your hosts know that you're on a diet, they shouldn't take offense at your abstaining from another round of gravy-soaked mashed potatoes.

Visualize Your Portions

  • Turkey: One Deck of Playing Cards
  • Starches: Two Computer Mice
  • Pie: Two Slivers
  • The Association also advises visualizing your stomach as the size of two fists. If the food on your plate won't fit in your stomach, don't eat it.

Step 3: Get Active

  • There's no need to unbutton your pants and fall into a tryptophan-induced slumber after dinner. Staying active will keep you from veering off the weight loss track, and it can be great way to bond with your loved ones.
Do something active with your family. (Photo by Cheryl Empey)
Do something active with your family. (Photo by Cheryl Empey)
  1. Take a Walk: Instead of crashing in front of the TV after dinner, try going for a walk. Make it a quiet affair with just you and someone you love. In addition to burning calories, you'll be giving yourself a reprieve from holiday-related stress.
  2. Stay on Schedule: If you already maintain a fitness schedule, don't let Thanksgiving derail it. Thanksgiving is one day, not a week.
  3. Start a New Tradition: Get the whole family involved. Go on a hike, play tennis, learn a new dance or take a walk. Give the kids some disposable cameras and make it a photo outing.
  4. Don't Use Exercise as an Excuse to Indulge: Don't reward your good work-out habits with an extra helping of pie and a bottle of Chardonnay. Dr. Kelly Brownell cautions, "A 145-pound woman has to run a mile at 6 mph to burn 116 calories, but she can eat 116 calories in under a second."

Conclusion

  • Dieting through Thanksgiving doesn't have to be chore. Make good choices, eat in moderation and keep moving. And, don't forget that Thanksgiving is about more than mashed potatoes. It's about community, gratitude and all the other warm, fuzzy things that stay with us after the turkey leftovers have disappeared. Have a happy and healthy holiday!

Resources


Have any great tips on How to Survive Thanksgiving on a Diet? Post your thoughts to the discussion board or email them to Julia: julia at mahalo dot com.