Someone recently posted they weren’t “Thanksgiving full”. It was the first time I heard that phrase but immediately knew what it meant. It’s the feeling we get after the Thanksgiving meal when we’re as stuffed as the turkey had been!
We all know the real value of Thanksgiving is being with loved ones; not the food. I’m not advocating forgoing favorites. I have them too! However, there’s no reason to overeat. Here are five strategies so you leave the table feeling comfortable instead of like a turkey.
Go Out for Dinner
You generally don’t have to worry about one meal no matter how high calorie. The problem is eating leftovers. I hate throwing away food so it’s hard for me to have leftovers of high calorie foods.
Going out to dinner eliminates this worry plus no one has to cook! I would select a sit-down meal instead of a buffet to ensure normal servings. We have done this when traveling and enjoyed the simplicity.
Wear Tight Clothing
My Weight Watchers leader advocates wearing a belt when eating, but really anything that is tight around your waist will work. When it starts getting too tight, it’s time to stop putting the fork in your mouth!
Reduce the Menu
Most of us have way too many items on our Thanksgiving meal menus. Do you really need two or more types of potatoes? How many salads are needed. Also, if you’re having the largest meal of the year why does anyone need appetizers?
It will be okay to just have one type of cranberry sauce and one potato dish! No one needs to have three pie options plus other desserts!
Give Away Leftovers
If you can’t cut back on the menu without your family revolting then give away leftovers. I buy disposable storage containers with holiday decor to fill up with leftovers and hand over to guests as they leave the festivities.
They’ll love it and you won’t have to fight the temptation for the next few days (or in my case eat them because I hate to throw food away!).
Plan Activities
Food doesn’t have to be the highlight of your Thanksgiving gathering. Pull everyone away from the table (and TV) and go out on a post-meal walk or see the latest feature film.
By changing the scenery, you might decide not to have a second helping or another piece of pie.
How do you avoid overeating during the holidays?
Ah if only I had found your post yesterday. I wore sweat pants while we were eating and didn’t even realize how full I was until I had finished dessert. Thanks for your post calling us to scale back on a day of excess.
Hi Jon,
I hope you had a great Thanksgiving and it wasn’t a day of excess!Thanks for visiting.
It was an excellent day and in fact I just so happened to wear my tightest fitting jeans on Thanksgiving day, and when I came back from spending time with my family my weight hadn’t fluctuated at all. Hooray for skinny jeans!
Wear tight clothing – that’s been my strategy for years! And all this time, my hubby thought I was crazy…glad I’m not the ONLY crazy one 🙂
Happy Thanksgiving to you.
Hi Sheryl,
I hope you and your family had a great Thanksgiving!
I make a plan for the meal — usually some variation of “focus on the vegetables and take tiny servings of anything else I want to try.” Two or three bites is enough for a taste. If there are many dishes to try, tiny servings are just the right amount.
Joy, that’s a great strategy. You usually don’t get any more enjoyment out of a big serving than you do the first few bites.