It is ironic, I’m more worried than my clients are about overeating at Thanksgiving this year. They all seem pretty relaxed about it, which is great news. I’ve been a little fuller than is comfortable the last couple of years, so I know I really need to pay attention.
Here is my plan for the day. I offer it in hopes that it could offer ideas for strategies you might like to try. We are all different – so don’t expect to be the same, this is just for ideas.
The first consideration is how much to eat ahead of time. We usually plan for an early meal, around 3 or 4 pm, although it can end up running later. So that makes it tempting to skip lunch, although we usually have something light for lunch. I can take an apple just in case. I think it would be good to have the apple about two hours before the planned meal.
I know I don’t do well with two glasses of wine, a big meal and dessert – so I need to keep it to just one glass. I enjoy it more before the meal, and can just switch to water with the meal.
We usually don’t have appetizers these days, so that makes that part easy. And I already know that my meal will consist of turkey with cranberries, stuffing with a little gravy and all vegetables that don’t contain cream or fried onions.
I never have the roll, or mashed potatoes (which can be made anytime), and I eat yams most weeks anyway. Stuffing is the most important food to me since it is a once-a-year treat.
Okay. I give myself permission to fill my plate – one time – especially since at least half of it will be vegetables and salads. My main resolution needs to be to avoid the temptation to go back for more. Even vegetables.
Thinking this through – I think I usually take smallish portions of turkey and stuffing, and even though I eat a lot of vegetables, I still feel a little hungry. So I go back for more. Those portions are small too – but it adds up then I am full and don’t have room for dessert. Which I eat anyway. Then I’m too full.
So my plan for this year is to take a little more the first time and resist going back. My tools to help me do that will be to really savor the food from the beginning, focus on the conversations and the enjoyment of being with my family, and staying ‘in my body’. When I get excited, I have a tendency to hang out in my head. I can stay grounded with breath and feeling my weight in the chair.
Cool. I feel ready. How about you? I’ve given an example of how to work this through, using my own situation. Your situation and preferences will be different – but I hope this gives you an idea of how to think it through.
If you have a plan ahead of time of what works for you and what doesn’t, you can come up with a workable solution. I plan to splurge and eat more than I usually would, but I don’t want to overdo it. What do you want for your day?
Have a fun Thanksgiving. I hope you really enjoy the food and feel good about your choices.
PS: I notice that writing this down really helped me think it through.
Find more nutrition information and my monthly newsletter on my website: http://healthyhabitscoach.com . Eat Sustainably!
Kathy Nichols 