You Could Be Thankful For Doing The Hard Things This Thanksgiving…

Thanksgiving week feels like it begins the roller coaster ride that finishes right on New Year’s Day. It’s like one whoosh and BOOM… We’re in the new year! But it doesn’t have to be that way. And that’s what I started to say, as I moved through the Halloween blog and the cookie baking one. We can slow it down. We don’t have to let us take us full force.

So how do we do that?

We try to start practicing the pause. Maybe look at just trying to be present in each moment. Maybe start a gratitude practice or look for a devotional. I mean, why are we doing all of the things we’re doing in the first place? It’s for the people and the relationships we have with them.

It’s celebrating those moments of joy and thanksgiving together.

Now I know that none of that is truly covering anything from a weight management or weight loss journey side of things BUT it kind of is. The reason for the season is not the food. It’s the people. It’s the celebration. It’s the traditions.

You can do anything you want to do at any given time that you want to do it. It’s just a matter of choice.

And if you’re unsure of how to navigate the things that are a little bit harder to make certain decisions during, try to figure out how to make those choices easier on you.

Some great ways to do that…

Choose Wisely: Survey the food options and pick items you really enjoy. Remember, the first few bites are often the most satisfying, so sample a little of everything you like. You don’t need full portions. And you can get away with just having one plate that has a little bit of everything.
Try to slow down consumption: When we slow down, our brain has a chance to know when to signal that we are actually full. If this is something that you find hard to do, take breaks to chat with others. Put your fork down between bites. Try to be the last person to finish eating… Like a game that nobody else knows that they’re playing with you.
Taste the food: Savor it. When we savor our food, we can experience the joy from it but in moderation that aligns with how to best nourish our bodies. You know I had to hit you with a little bit of mindful eating. If we’re going to be there for the food, enjoy it. Take your time. Allow yourself to feel the texture… smell the aroma… see if you can pinpoint the spices that were used. Completely lose yourself in it.
Take a Break: Implement a “half-time” break. Eat half of your meal, then pause for 5-10 minutes to chat and check in with yourself. This can help prevent overeating. Ask yourself… do I feel satiated? Do I want another bite? Will I feel good if I take that next bite or will I feel overfull?
Embrace the Moments: there’s a chance that you will create a plan and you will not follow said plan. Don’t let negative thoughts or self-doubt take over when it happens. It’s okay. You can always get back on track. Remember, a few special occasions won’t derail your overall progress.
Have Polite Responses Ready: you do not have to consume anything you do not want to consume. If someone insists you try their dish, and you’re already full, have a polite response ready, such as, “I’m so full right now, but I’d love to take some home for later.” it’s your body. If by chance they get offended… guess what? They will get over it. You don’t have to feel miserable with being overfilled for the sake of people pleasing.

Some other thoughts…

Consider choosing something different. Just because you have been on a weight loss journey doesn’t mean that you necessarily have to stick on one for a certain amount of time. You get to choose your own timelines in life. This might be a great time to consider other options like…

Intentionally Maintaining for the Season: you are allowed to take a break from dieting. You can take this moment and work on what it would be like on the other side of it. How are you going to act to stay in that hard-fought place that you got to? Yes, you have more room in your caloric intake when you do this. But you do not have free reign. Maintenance is actually kind of hard. You should practice it throughout the dieting phase.
Enjoy the Day, Then Return to Your Plan: Continue your usual eating habits leading up to the holiday, then enjoy the celebration. Afterward, get back to your normal routine. It’s really that simple. It’s just one day. It’s just one meal really. But if you do this, you have to make sure it’s just one meal. Or just one day. Because that’s a promise that you’re making to yourself and you only have so much room for compensation and for failure. Don’t fall short when it comes to yourself. You show up for everybody else. Show up for yourself and get back into it afterward because that’s the plan you made.
Stick to Your Deficit: If you prefer, you can continue with your dietary plan throughout the holidays. It is doable. And it’s actually not that difficult. It just requires strategy. Maybe that means that you work the other other things throughout your week and do like a calorie banking. Maybe that means that you work the beginning of your day to have an egg white omelette or some protein shakes. Maybe that just means that you have a little bit of everything but in a smaller portion and you’re still satisfied. Anything is possible and if you were thinking about this… you can make it a little bit easier by making some food swaps like these.

Lighter calorie food swaps

Dark meat → Light meat (no skin)
Rich gravy → Gravy mix
Canned cranberry sauce → Fresh cranberry relish
Sweet potato casserole → Baked sweet potatoes
Green bean casserole → Green beans with sautéed onions
Mashed potatoes → Mashed potatoes with 2% milk and Greek yogurt
Pecan pie → Pumpkin pie

Skinnytaste Holiday Recipes

And here are some recipes that we have personally done in our home while I was in a calorie deficit. I never stopped during my very first one because I was determined to prove to myself that I could enjoy the holidays in a different way than I had previously. My thought process was that I could not create a new life by living in the ways that I always had.

You do not need to follow in my footsteps, but these are some really really great options. And they’re really flavorful too!

Stuffing

Green Bean Casserole

Sweet Potato

Dessert

https://www.skinnytaste.com/mini-pecan-phyllo-tarts

And when it’s all said and done…

It is a holiday. Holi-DAY! It is not a week. It is not a month. It is not a season. It is a DAY.

And therein lies the problem that a lot of different people go through.

You make it through the pregame. You make it through game day. And then you’ve got tons of leftovers everywhere. You don’t want to be wasteful. So don’t be. Use the leftovers in other meals. Give some of them away to other people who might not have leftovers. Think about what it means to your body when you don’t waste what’s there. Does it make you feel good? Or does it make you feel bad about yourself?

Just think about…

Sharing the Leftovers: Send leftovers home with guests. I’ve mentioned this in other posts before. Consider having some disposable Tupperware or other things available to your guest so that they can go ahead and make them self a plate for the next day as well. This helps get rid of some of the leftovers that you might have and it actually helps lovingly feed them for another day too. Also, feel free to ask them if they know somebody who might not have some place to go for Thanksgiving. They can always take them a plate.
Set Limits on Leftovers: we do much better when we decide what we have in store for ourselves and what we’re choosing not to do. In the case of leftovers, decide how long you’ll keep them. For example, the plan is to. enjoy pumpkin pie for two days, then discard any remaining. And yes, I said what I said. You can throw away the rest of the pie. If it is no longer serving you, it is taking some thing away from you. And you’re ready for this… I’m gonna say it. You can make a pumpkin pie at any given time of the year. It doesn’t have to be in the fall. It doesn’t have to be for Thanksgiving. There. I said it. What are you gonna do?
Refashion. Reuse. You can come up with a plan that includes using a bunch of the different possible leftovers in your dinners for the next week. It doesn’t have to be the same exact plate five times over. That gets boring and it also may not fit within your goals for the next five days. Try to think outside of the box with this. These are some recipes that we have used here to re-fashion and reuse some of the things from our Thanksgiving dinner.

Recipes for Leftovers

Takeaway

You can do anything and everything that you wanna do. It is just a matter of choice.

And that choice is how hard you make it to be.

if you’re looking for more in-depth strategy, check these out!