Why Planning for Thanksgiving Will Help Your Weight Loss
It was Thanksgiving here in Canada this week. We decided sort of last minute that we would do a Thanksgiving dinner and make a day of it. It was our first Thanksgiving, so we didn't go all out.
In fact, it was one of the most peaceful and enjoyable holidays we've had. It was also a good holiday for weight loss, although it would initially seem impossible. This was because of some careful planning and being sensible with portion sizes.
The first part of keeping this Thanksgiving on track for weight loss was keeping it all simple. We didn't go all out with fancy trimmings and extravagant starters or desserts.
We just opted for a simple turkey with the usual garlic butter beneath the skin, homemade roast potatoes, mashed potatoes and cauliflower cheese. Oh and the veg. But that's it. We didn't bother with cranberry sauce, stuffing, and all the rest.
And you know what? It was all great. There was no feeling of anything being missed. The girls loved it and we enjoyed a healthy meal.
We'd even kept the turkey size to a minimum. I picked up one of the smallest turkeys I could find because there were only four of us. Even that gave us two days of left over turkey for the four of us to enjoy.
We still had dessert but we opted for a more sensible option to help with the weight loss. Rather than a big pie or two, which would have been two big for three of us to eat (the youngest one is still too small for a lot of food), we opted for four individual sized pies.
Why four? Well it was one of each filling and getting the four cost us less than it would have done for a big one.
The four pies were split in three, so we each enjoy a bit of all four. There was no ice cream or other side with the pies. There was no need for it. I got to taste the fillings and feel like I could enjoy a dessert without feeling like I'd completely blown it on the weight loss efforts.
We'd actually forgotten about the snacks but found that we didn't really miss them. Usually at Christmas we'd have a box of sweets to share or a bag of crisps. Most of the time they've been munched on for the sake of it or out of boredom.
Instead, we were able to sit back and enjoy a day with the family, without anything to ruin our waistlines. And you know what? Again, we didn't miss anything.
Overall it was a peaceful Thanksgiving dinner that helped our weight loss efforts. This was all because of some planning ahead and focusing on a healthy family dinner.
Keeping the Meal Simple
The first part of keeping this Thanksgiving on track for weight loss was keeping it all simple. We didn't go all out with fancy trimmings and extravagant starters or desserts.
We just opted for a simple turkey with the usual garlic butter beneath the skin, homemade roast potatoes, mashed potatoes and cauliflower cheese. Oh and the veg. But that's it. We didn't bother with cranberry sauce, stuffing, and all the rest.
And you know what? It was all great. There was no feeling of anything being missed. The girls loved it and we enjoyed a healthy meal.
We'd even kept the turkey size to a minimum. I picked up one of the smallest turkeys I could find because there were only four of us. Even that gave us two days of left over turkey for the four of us to enjoy.
Four Small Pies
We still had dessert but we opted for a more sensible option to help with the weight loss. Rather than a big pie or two, which would have been two big for three of us to eat (the youngest one is still too small for a lot of food), we opted for four individual sized pies.
Why four? Well it was one of each filling and getting the four cost us less than it would have done for a big one.
The four pies were split in three, so we each enjoy a bit of all four. There was no ice cream or other side with the pies. There was no need for it. I got to taste the fillings and feel like I could enjoy a dessert without feeling like I'd completely blown it on the weight loss efforts.
No Snacks in the House
We'd actually forgotten about the snacks but found that we didn't really miss them. Usually at Christmas we'd have a box of sweets to share or a bag of crisps. Most of the time they've been munched on for the sake of it or out of boredom.
Instead, we were able to sit back and enjoy a day with the family, without anything to ruin our waistlines. And you know what? Again, we didn't miss anything.
Overall it was a peaceful Thanksgiving dinner that helped our weight loss efforts. This was all because of some planning ahead and focusing on a healthy family dinner.
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