Time to Plan

We're having 20 people for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow, so I will spend most of today in the kitchen, cooking and baking in preparation for my family.  Tomorrow will be busy with a house full of people, and our four young grandchildren (7, almost 6, and 4-year old twins) will add their own level of energy to the mix :-). 

It will be a traditional Thanksgiving dinner and I will enjoy small portions of everything but won't overdo it because I don't like that over-full, stuffed feeling.  I remember eating until I couldn't eat another bite, then feeling pretty uncomfortable and sluggish.  Of course, that didn't stop me from eating all the desserts (we usually have two or three different desserts) a short time later. 

Three years ago, when I was on Take Shape for Life/Medifast 5&1, I made the decision to stay on plan (I've shared about this before so won't go into the details).  We still had a house full of people (26 that year) and I still had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day with my family, even though my total calories for the day were right around 900 (5 Medifast meals and my lean & green).  Thanksgiving is about so much more than the food!

Many of you have made the decision to stay on plan tomorrow, and I want to encourage you to stay with that plan - you won't regret it!  However, I know that there are others who have made the decision to go off plan.  I want to encourage you, too, and, if I may, offer a couple of suggestions.

If you've made the decision to go off plan tomorrow, I really encourage you to still eat your 5 Medifast meals.  First of all, continuing to eat small meals throughout the day will keep your blood sugar stable so that you won't sit down to your holiday meal famished.  If you're over-hungry, you will not only be more likely to overeat, but the big meal will trigger an insulin surge to help metabolize the meal, and the insulin surge will be followed by a blood sugar drop which triggers cravings.

Plan now exactly what you're going to eat at your Thanksgiving meal, and think about the choices you'll make.  If you really love stuffing, then have a small spoonful and think about skipping the rolls.  If you really look forward to your relative's award-winning pumpkin pie, consider limiting some of the side dishes so you can enjoy a small piece.  I am encouraging you to decide now which foods are your "must haves," then have a small portion of those things and skip the other, focusing on making most of your meal as close to a lean & green as possible.

If you have a plan, this will be a controlled step off plan instead of a free-for-all.  If you sit down for dinner with stable blood sugar because you've been eating small meals every 2-1/2 or 3 hours and you have a plan for what you're going to eat, you will stay in control of your eating. 

Lastly, make sure that you end your day with a Medifast meal.  By doing so, you will have ended your day back on plan.  Instead of feeling like you cheated or "blew it," you will know that you were on plan for most of the day, had a planned off-program meal, then got right back on.  Then get right back on program Friday morning!

I'm sharing this because I've talked to too many people who didn't plan for Thanksgiving and ended up gorging themselves.  They felt guilty and frustrated with themselves and then had difficulty getting back on plan.  I've talked to people who ended up eating their way through the holidays as a result and, no surprise, putting 10-15 pounds back on.  I know that none of you want to do that!

Again, the best choice tomorrow is to stay on plan, but if you choose to not do that, putting together a plan will make all of the difference.  Decide today what you're going to do, and choose wisely :-)