Do you ever find yourself be approached with an idea and rebelling against it, only to find out you already partially planned to follow that idea or you aren't really as upset about it as you portrayed?
I did just that this past Monday at Weight Watchers when our leader handed this worksheet out and then told us she wanted us to actually fill it out right then.
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| (Pardon my pen that wasn't dry when I folded this paper later.) |
Um, my plan for Thanksgiving was to eat anything I wanted in moderation, not count any points and enjoy it like I would a vacation. Same was the plan for my friend sitting next to me, so we joked and uttered comments under our breath about how we weren't going to care that day.
And then as our group began discussing the caloric cost of our meals I found myself realizing I was already planning to be careful this holiday. I told my friend as much, adding, "I need to be quiet, because I already think I might pare down the mashed potatoes this year so I can enjoy my once-a-year treat of sweet potato casserole." (Which you will notice is the highest point value on my menu, before the desserts. Thank you, sugar. )
She laughed and said she still didn't care, which is totally fine.
Will I sit and measure my foods and stay within my points budget during Thanksgiving? I really don't know. In the past, eating smaller portions of exactly what I want has worked well for me and that really is my goal this year as well.
I may make it my goal to track it all, for the sake of being accountable, but I need a few more days to think on that. I'm not committing to something I won't do.
My daughter has already agreed to go on a morning 5K walk (possibly a run if I can) that morning, so I'm looking forward to getting movement in prior to the cooking/eating.
How about you? Do you cook healthier versions of Thanksgiving traditional favorites or purposefully scale back your portions?
Whatever you do I hope you are not stressing the holiday and food. And I will try not to stress, or rebel, either. :)
I can't say I've ever meticulously tracked a holiday meal but like you I make a plan ahead of time. One plate only, no seconds. Reasonable portions of high calorie/sugar stuff like cranberry sauce and sweet or mashed potato with butter. I am very, very lucky to have family (both my own & my husband's) that is thoughtful about my vegetarianism - nobody pushes turkey on me and they are happy to mention anything like green bean casserole that might have some bacon fat in it. I don't ever want to be that person who makes a fuss and I am grateful for the blessing of understanding family.
ReplyDeleteAnd that's awesome that you and your daughter have a 5K plan for Thanksgiving morning! My husband and I have already agreed to get in a workout that morning too.
Hope you are feeling better!
Suz from Northern Virginia
It truly is a blessing to have understanding family. Mine has also been understanding on both sides.
DeleteA lady in our meeting said she has a sister who will be highly offended if she doesn't eat her food. We discussed how to handle that as well that day.
I'm glad to hear your husband will join you for some activity that morning. 😊
I also meant to say to Suz, my husband is a vegetarian as well and my family is great about not bothering him about it. We bring an entree dish that he can eat instead of turkey and everyone else eats it as well. Works out fine. This year he is making a quiche.
DeleteLori - isn't it wonderful when nobody makes an issue of it on either side? :) I almost burst into tears when my mother-in-law, without prompting, made me one of those "Tofurkies" for Thanksgiving back when I was just dating her son- such a sweet gesture to make me feel welcome.
DeleteSuz
I've done both meticulous counting and free for all since losing weight. I don't know as one is better than the other. The important thing is the state of your mind when you go into these days. If you are punishing yourself and trying to restrict, that won't work. If you are not caring and have a free for all, not good either. So which ever way you go, come from a good place.
ReplyDeleteI agree on the exercise that day as well. John and I do morning exercise and then we can pull about half the family out later after dinner to walk a bit.
I am not a huge Thanksgiving person, but I don't try to alter my items too much for the holiday - mashed potatoes have tons of butter and whole milk, gravy is fattening, we get our pies at the kids' school fundraiser and we serve them with real ice cream, I have a nibble of skin off the bird, I have a glass of full fat egg nog. OUr stuffing is made with whole wheat bread and turkey sausage, so it may be one of the healthier items. We don't do green bean casserole, but we do fresh green beans sauteed with butter. But it is just 1 meal. I may have enough leftover for 1 additional meal. Thanksgiving is not a season.
ReplyDeleteChristmas is my hard one - Our actual Christmas dinner is not healthy at all. But moderation through out the whole season is needed.
I'm a food addict in recovery. I stay to my food template 365/24/7. I stayed morbidly obese by putting everything on my plate, getting overwhelming binge urges and point/calorie counting.
ReplyDeleteFood sober- 6th Thanksgiving. I'm thankful for not fooling myself any more. Can't out walk, run, exercise all the junky, hyperplatable food. I can't fool my hormone metabolism. So I stay on my food template. Wearing the same sized clothing from 6 years ago, I'm thankful after 40 years of eating everything in front of me on holidays.
Onward.