11 Tips to Survive Thanksgiving

Not the one cooking on Turkey Day? You can still control your gastronomic destiny. Here are some easy tips to stay on track:

1. Survey the spread before you fill your plate. Confronted by so many rich foods, you might want to start piling up the food, but stop and take a deep breath. Think before you serve yourself (and try to serve yourself, so you control the serving size).

2. Use a smaller plate, or commit to just one round of food. Don't pile your food so high that's it's falling off the plate.

3. Be choosy, and stick to proper serving sizes. Take only those foods you really like, and don't overload on them.

4. Divide your plate. Half of your plate should be vegetables (salad, cranberry relish, your slimmed-down green bean casserole), one quarter should be protein (turkey) and one quarter should be starches (potatoes and stuffing).

5. Use a knife and fork to cut one bite at a time. By using both utensils, you'll have to slow down between bites. Don't cut all your food at once. Not only is it technically in poor taste to do so, having precut food makes eating quickly much easier.


6. Pass on the bread. With all the other starches on the table, Thanksgiving is a day when bread isn't necessary.

7. Buddy up. If you're worried about eating too many sweets, share your dessert with someone else. You'll eat less and not do as much damage.

8. Have dessert, but don't go overboard. It's Thanksgiving, a day to indulge. You've earned the right to a few bites of pumpkin, pecan or cherry pie. If you want to try more than one dessert, cut the tiniest slivers possible.

9. Drink water. Bypass caloric beverages like soda, cider, and eggnog for water. If you want to indulge in a cocktail, wait until after dinner. Alcohol lowers your inhibitions, so you're more likely to overeat when you drink.

10. Don't graze. When you're done eating, move away from the table or at least clear your plate. By all means, don't hang out at the buffet table. All that food is just screaming to be eaten!

11. Relax. Thanksgiving is only one day of the year. If you overdo it (and many of us will), rest easy knowing you can start over tomorrow!

If you're doing the cooking this year, check out my SparkPeople article about how to cut fat and calories from your Thanksgiving meal.

How do you stay on track on Thanksgiving? Do you have any fears or anxiety about facing such copious amounts of food?




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