I used to think Thanksgiving Day was the worst day of the year to try and diet because of the truckloads of food that are part of many Thanksgiving Day meals.  There wasn’t a square inch of spare space on my dining room table after cramming over a dozen bowls and platters on it and I literally had to strategically stack food in the fridge to make it all fit (and usually had to use some of the space in our downstairs beverage refrigerator as well).  Yeah, it was always food in overwhelming excess at my house. 

Then, after starting Weight Watchers last year I realized that I didn’t have to overstuff everyone in my family to have a great Thanksgiving because:

A – because none of use are so skinny that we need fattening up

B – Thanksgiving Day here in the United States is supposed to be (in my opinion) about being thankful for everything we have and to enjoy time spent with family and friends  

I also realized most of my favorite Thanksgiving foods aren’t minefields of calories and fat.  It was just that I was eating 3 or 4 loaded plates of food (including one devoted solely to dessert) before throwing my hands up in surrender and collapsing on the sofa while reaching for some Tums to calm my upset stomach (and also trying to discreetly pass gas to help relieve the discomfort – okay, maybe not so discreetly but I was always smart enough to pretend it was someone else who had done the stinky deed!).   

This is how I now get through the day without “blowing” my weight loss efforts. 

I no longer skip breakfast and especially not on Thanksgiving day or I won’t have any control when I sit down to eat my main meal because I’ll be starving and wanting to eat everything in sight at lightning speed.  Breakfast for me these days is almost always either a nonfat latte and a piece of fruit (usually a banana); or 1 whole egg with 2 eggs whites and a slice of whole grain toast. 

Our main meal of the day is around 12:30 pm. 

It starts with salad.  It helps fill me up so I’m not so likely to overdo it on everything else. 

It includes either turkey which is naturally lean and low in calories so I never worry about how much of it I eat and since I only like the white meat; or our family’s new favorite main course (my Dad is not a fan of turkey); lean boneless center cut pork chops in mushroom gravy.  It’s super easy to make.  Season pork chops with freshly cracked black pepper; brown in a little olive oil; place in electric skillet or in covered pan on stove over very low heat; open a couple cans of the nearly fat free cream of mushroom soup; add an equal number of cans of water or chicken broth.  Simmer for an  hour or two and serve.  The pork chops are healthy because they are so lean and the gravy is low calorie and super delicious. 

Mashed potatoes no longer contain a pint of heavy cream and 2 sticks of butter (yes I really did used to do that).  Now they are cooked in chicken broth; mashed with some of the reserved cooking liquid; and have a splash of regular milk; black pepper and 2 tablespoons of butter added for extra flavor and a silky mouth feel.   

If we decide on sweet potatoes instead of regular white potatoes; they get baked and then dotted with a little butter and sprinkled with a little brown sugar instead of my old way of preparing them (cooking and then mashing with copious amounts of butter and brown sugar; then plopping in a baking dish; smothering with marshmallows and baking).  

Stuffing - okay this one is still pretty high calorie but I do now use turkey sausage instead of pork sausage in it; use whole grain bread; and add an extra apple to bulk it up without adding a ton of extra calories.  But since it’s still calorie dense I either have just one 1 small serving or have as much as I want and skip dessert (yes, I love stuffing enough to skip the dessert). 

Green bean casserole gets so many of its calories from the canned fried onions the recipe calls for.  I’m not a fan of green bean casseole so it doesn’t tempt me; but to make it more calorie friendly for the rest of my family I double the amount of beans without increasing any of the other ingredients and only use half the recommended amount of fried onions on top.  And instead of putting fried onions in the casserole I use fresh onion that I sweated in a pan to soften.  They like the lightened up version better than the original.   

My vegetable of choice at Thanksgiving is glazed carrots.  I slice and cook a bunch of carrots (several pounds of them for 8 people because we love them so much).  Adding just a little brown sugar and butter (just a little for a huge pan) along with a generous amount of salt to intensify the flavor makes them super delicious. 

A raw vegetable tray is a must on the table for me.  It’s what I keep nearby after we finish eating and are just talking.  Since I know I’m going to pick at something still on the table I make sure it’s the raw vegetable tray. 

Dessert – pumpkin pie is the traditional choice and if I liked pumpkin pie I would have a slice without guilt; but only one slice.  I used to make 3-4 desserts every Thanksgiving so everyone would have at least 2 choices they liked (and always made at least 2 of the pumpkin pies so there would leftovers to tempt everyone later on).  Now I make 2 desserts – the pumpkin pie and an angel food cake.  Angel food cake has been my favorite dessert since I was a kid and requested it as my birthday dessert every year.  The only difference is that the cake I make these days isn’t covered in the canned cherry frosting I used to love.  Now it gets served naked (poor thing) along with very lightly sweetened freshly whipped cream and my version of raspberry sauce which is just frozen raspberries that have been thawed and cooked on the stove with a little cornstach to thicken them and a tablespoon of sugar for extra sweetness.  A slice of that cake with a spoon full of berries and a dollop of whipped cream is truly my idea of the perfect dessert. 

The biggest difference in my eating on Thanksgiving Day though is the amount I eat.  It’s no longer 3-4 platefuls of meat and potatoes and dessert.  It’s one plate along with a salad and 1 small piece of dessert.   

I wish I could say I’m not hungry at all the rest of the day; but now that I don’t overstuff myself I do get hungry later in the day.  I load up on more salad; raw veggies and dip; a little more turkey or part of a pork chop; and make sure an evening walk is part of the family festivities. 

It’s how getting on the scale the day after Thanksgiving is no longer my own personal ”Black Friday” (as in “bleak and depressing” Friday).