Thanksgiving. Ugh. Anyone got any thoughts on how they're going to get through it? Anyone have experience or advice?

My bariatric practice is really practical about this sort of thing. They say that the holiday is a special day and that we should give ourselves a break. That being said, I know myself. A break for Thursday will last the entire holiday weekend. And if I'm lucky I'll crawl back on the wagon on Monday. That's a big IF. So, I'm starting my Thursday with participating in a Turkey Trot 5K.

I've had a few times when I've eaten too fast/too much and the feeling is so awful I really don't want to do that. So, what's everyone planning?

CJ

"So, I'm starting my Thursday with participating in a Turkey Trot 5K."

That is awesome!!! Good for you!!!

I am cooking for just us 4, so I'm keeping it really simple. Turkey, stuffing, mashed cauliflower, cran sauce, and some type of veggie. I getting the family pie, but I don't really like pie anyway. One of our traditions is that we go around the table expressing things we are most thankful for. He said he was going to say how much of a change he sees in me since I started this WLS journey. I am focusing on that and my own thoughts on thankfulness, hopefully it will keep me on track.

I put my plan into practice last night at our church's family dinner.

I used a small plate. I got turkey, a tablespoon of stuffing, a tablespoon of green Beans, and a tablespoon of something special (it turned out to be fruit salad). When it came to desert I had a very small piece of pumpkin pie.

I recorded everything in MyFitnessPal.

We did have communion but I didn't record that (a tiny piece of bread and a thimbleful of grape juice).

The company and fellowship was great.

@@CJ Porter

It's nice that its hard for me to over eat on Thanksgiving. Small plate. I eat protein/turkey first. I eat what ever I want for the meal. Socializing makes me slow down as I eat. Enjoying the people around me and knowing how blessed I am. Is all I need for the holidays.

In the morning I'm doing the turkey day 5K. Its my second one since surgery. It is now my new Thanksgiving tradition. This race is my way to be thankful for all things that have changed in my life.

I find since surgery when I have something that is "off plan" it is easy to go right back to normal. Prior, if I had a "cheat" meal, I would have a cheat day, week, month.

Right now I am doing mostly liquids Protein and pure protein (fish) this week, to prep myself for thanksgiving. The next day I will be on liquids all day. I also won't have left over thanksgiving food sitting around all weekend. I have been thinking about this for a month and I realize with the exception of turkey, almost everything at a typical thanksgiving meal is a slider food. So I am going to be really careful about measuring my food.

My plan is to eat as much turkey as I can take and then only get one bite of mashed potatoes and gravy, one bite of stuffing and one bite of pecan pie. If I can I'll try one bite of cranberry sauce. Sweet potatoes aren't a problem for me as I think they are disgusting. lol

Considering our stomachs are much much smaller than normal, we can only eat so much before getting sick. So I'm eating my 1 or 2 oz of dark meat turkey a spoon of homemade noodles a spoon of mashed potatoes and a bite of pumpkin pie.

My doc emphasizes that it's a holiDAY - not a holi-WEEK! Just keep that in mind always. Friday is no different than Wednesday. Starting the day with a 5K is amazing! Also a suggestion from my doc. The extra movement will help offset the choices you make the rest of the day.

My husband, daughter & I will be doing a bridge walk - it's about 5K as well. It's not an event, we're just doing it on our own. I'm looking forward to that.

Kinda my plan too. Except it will be my first day of pureed foods. So I plan to puree about 2 ozs of turkey and gravy so it will be soft enough and find enough to go down . Then hopefully I won't have to puree the dressing and puree some collards greens. So I'm guessing about an ounce of dressing with gravy and an ounce of collard greens. And pray it all goes down well.

Only thing is I think it will be a bit of drag having to drag my little blender with me and slip into the kitchen to puree my dinner and come back to the table with my plate looking like it's baby food.

Hey may be a good idea to start out slow and actually buy some baby food the day before, in order to get my stomach ready for Thanksgiving.

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I plan on approaching food the way I do every day on Thanksgiving. Protein first, then veggies. Pass on the bread, stuffing, pies, etc.

I'm still on liquids here....turkey broth perhaps ????!

And let's not bash the mashed potatoes please. I know they are a carb but if you use new (little red) potatoes and smash them with the skin on there is a ton of potassium in them and they do have nutritional value. And if you use grass fed butter (such as Kerrygold that you can get at Walmart) and Fairlife high protein milk that you can get at target, then yum yum and good for you. This is especially good because it is naturally a soft/puréed food.

I'll take a balanced approach to the food. I love turkey, so, no problem with going for the Protein first. A tablespoon of stuffing, perhaps a tablespoon of green bean casserole. Definitely a tiny bit of cranberries. And I think I'll be good. My therapist and I talked about strategies when I started feeling deprived or frustrated which I intend to utilize. Going to focus on all my senses, not just taste. Enjoy the people, play some games, go for a walk, watch Harry Potter, etc. I also want to try to make some intentional decisions - I don't get things like stuffing and cranberries year round. If I want mashed potatoes, I can do that any time. So, going to go for the truly special stuff.

And I know this group will be here if I need to vent.

CJ

Edited to add: THANKS to everyone who responded. I'm feeling far more positive about the holiday now. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Edited November 24, 201510 yr by CJ Porter