It's getting to be the most wonderful time of the year, unless you're on a diet. Dieting makes you spend some portion of your time stressing about what you're going to eat instead of fully enjoying the holidays. At least that's how it is for me, so I created a list of Thanksgiving Dos and Don'ts!
DO ask your parents in advance if they could possibly fit some diet friendly items onto your Thanksgiving menu if there normally aren't any.
DON'T act like a brat and throw a temper tantrum if they say no, especially if you didn't ask in advance. Just because you're trying to eat healthy doesn't mean you family should have to benefit from it (see what I did there). But seriously, it's one day out of the year and you can probably make it through the meal with your diet mostly intact.
DO work out before your big meal if you can fit it in to your day/won't offend your family. It'll make you less likely to stuff yourself like a pig later because you won't want to ruin your work out.
DON'T wait until after your big meal to work out. All signs point to you not doing it. Seriously, you'll be all warm and full and happy and working out will be the last thing you want to do.
DO eat regular meals the rest of the day if it's possible.
DON'T skip your meals if you can help it. I know in the past (those great days before your metabolism slowed down) you might have skipped other meals in order to save room for your Thanksgiving feast. Yeah, bad plan stan. You will get to the table starving and looking to shove your face full of whatever you can get your hands on and will have significantly less control... yikes.
DO offer to help your fam out with Thanksgiving! Volunteer to set the table or clean up around the house before any company gets there. Plus, random household chores burn calories.
DON'T volunteer to help out in the kitchen, unless it's necessary or you'll offend your family by not helping out. Helping in the kitchen leads to 1. being all up in your pantry and fridge and snacking and 2. having to taste random things that might not be so diet friendly... and tasting adds up.
DO try to eat a lot of vegetable dishes at dinner.
DON'T make the mistake of thinking that just because it's a vegetable dish then it's automatically good for you. I'm looking at you, green bean casserole. Seriously, if your vegetables are smothered in butter or cream based soups, you'll probably do more damage to your diet by loading up on them than you would if you had a little bit of that thing that you know is bad for you.
DO eat turkey! Or ham if your family does that. Or a little bit of both if you do both. You get the picture. Both are decently lean and yummy and good for you.
DON'T eat the skin on the turkey or take that so, so delicious top piece of ham that is smothered in sugary glaze.
DO drink water or have small amounts of more decadent drinks.
DON'T forget that the calories you drink count too! Think of all of those wine calories you could have spent on a bigger piece of pie..
DO eat a little of your favorite things.
DON'T not eat a little of your favorite things. I mean it. You will end up sad and hating your diet/life from watching everyone else eat what you've been waiting all year for. You'll also probably end up with your head in the refrigerator a few hours later stuffing your face with that thing you said no to at dinner. Deprivation leads to binging.
DO eat a little dessert.
DON'T skip eating a little dessert. You'll just have the same result as you would from passing on your favorite things. Also, DON'T turn a little dessert into a lot of dessert. Remember, the two Ses in dessert stand for small (portions) and satisfied, not feeling shitty and stuffed. (Okay.. I just made that up. The two Ses in dessert stand for simply scrumptious and the one S in desert stands for sandy. You're welcome, that will be stuck in your head for the rest of your life and you'll never spell it wrong.)
Guys, if I can do it then you can do it. I know you had no way of knowing this but you're basically taking advice from a reformed Thanksgiving barbarian. No joke, there are a series of photos from my youth in which I'm eating Turkey Day food like my mother never taught me impeccable manners. I also have willpower smaller than my attention span when I'm off my ADD meds, so if I can say no you can too.
MOST IMPORTANTLY, remember that Thanksgiving is about being thankful for everything you have. So, if you have to screw your diet up for one day then so be it. It's much better to be with your family, safe and warm, eating unhealthy food than it is to be without any of those things.
XOXO and Gobble Gobble,
@Diet_Problems
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