How to Stick to a Diet on Thanksgiving

Fat turkey

Dieting on Thanksgiving may seem impossible. It’s not. With the variety of food available at most Thanksgiving feasts, you are sure to find enough to fill you up without breaking your waistline. With the right choices and a few strategic steps, you’ll be able to stick to a diet on Thanksgiving. You might get so good at it that perhaps no one will realize you are dieting.

Difficulty:

Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Low calorie food choices
• Sweetened coffee or tea for dessert

1. Go for plain white turkey meat. Go ahead, take a hulking slab of turkey breast, as long as it doesn’t hulk above 6 oz. or so. Remove any turkey skin and forgo the heavy, greasy gravy.

2. Indulge in salads and veggies. Fill up the rest of your plate with vegetable choices that don’t appear steeped in heavy cream, gravy or coated with those crispy French fried onion strips. If none of the choices fit this description, ask your host for an apple, raw carrots or other fruit and vegetables that have not been cooked and infused with calories.

3. Skip dessert and drastically fattening side dishes. Sorry, this means no sweet potatoes drenched with miniature marshmallows, no green bean casserole and no pumpkin pie drenched in wicked whipped topping. If you must quench your sweet tooth, ask your host for a flavored coffee or tea with a dab of sugar.

4. Take small portions. Keep in mind your empty stomach is only as big as your fist. That teeny amount of food should be enough to sate you. If you must have a second helping, make it half the size or less than the first and stick to the low-calorie choices.

5. Nibble. Eating slowly will help you realize when you are full so you can stop eating. Just because everyone else is scarfing down their food doesn’t mean you have to follow suit. Nibbling will also allow you to sit around the table and chat with food still on your plate so you don’t feel obligated to keep filling it.

Tips & Warnings

• Eating an apple, tomato or another juicy fruit with the white meat turkey will make it less bland and give it some juice if it’s dry.

• Sit at the far end of the table, away from the food items so you don't have an easy reach.

• Engage in plenty of conversation. This will take your mind off the sweet potato marshmallows and pass the time quickly without feeling like you have to keep your mouth full of food.

• Drink lots of water. This helps fill your stomach so you feel full. Have a sip or two between every bite.

• Beware of bread and dinner rolls. They are often packed with lots of sugar and calories, especially if you pile on the butter.

• Don't sit and stare longingly at everyone else's plate. Instead, think of all the calories they are consuming.