Thanksgiving Trial Run

In our meeting today, Flora, our very funny leader, talked about how to prepare for the big Thanksgiving meal.  It really made a lot of sense to me.  By thinking ahead of time about what I love to eat on Thanksgiving and what I can live without if the points are too high, I feel I can make better decisions when confronted with a fabulous meal.  I'll be joining friends who are gourmet cooks and meals are always a decadent treat.  I really have to watch out. And I'll have to do some extra exercise this week!

Here's some info from the Weight Watchers site about planning for the Thanksgiving meal.

Picture your Thanksgiving buffet all lined up on beautiful platters filled with what you realistically expect to have at your Thanksgiving feast. Picture the works: turkey, gravy, cranberry sauce, green beans, sweet potatoes, stuffing, dinner rolls, wine and pumpkin pie. Now picture a flag sticking out of the top of each of the dishes proclaiming their POINTS® values and whether or not they appear on the Core Food List. To make this exercise easier, here's a cheat sheet:

1 slice of turkey breast (2 oz.) = 2 POINTS value (Core food)
1 slice of turkey leg with skin (2 oz.) = 3 POINTS value
1/4 cup of cream gravy = 4 POINTS value
1/2 cup of cranberry sauce = 4 POINTS value
1 cup of green beans = 0 POINTS value (Core food)
1 sweet potato = 3 POINTS value (Core food)
1/2 cup of stuffing = 4 POINTS value
1 dinner roll = 3 POINTS value
1 serving of wine (4 oz.) = 2 POINTS value
1 slice of pumpkin pie = 9 POINTS value

Now that you've got your plate in hand and an array of Thanksgiving favorites at your disposal, how will you do on your test run? Will you fill your plate with skinless turkey and veggies, trying a few bites of only the higher-POINTS value items that you really love? If you're a pumpkin pie fanatic, will you make room for a piece in your weekly POINTS Allowance, or earn a few extra Activity POINTS values to make up for the slice you'll have? If you're in charge of preparing at least one of the dishes, will you try to substitute high-POINTS value ingredients for some that are lower in fat and calories? If you're following the Core Plan, will you try to stick with mainly Core foods? Will you keep your Comfort Zone in mind and stop eating once you're satisfied?

Now that you've enjoyed a successful faux-Thanksgiving feast, try to remember these tips, tricks and POINTS values for the real day. You'll be thankful come the day after Thanksgiving that you kept with your healthy-eating plan and still saved room for lots of Thanksgiving fun!

At your next meeting, ask those around you how they practice proper portion sizes on Thanksgiving.

Comments

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