Eating your turkey without the carbs is just as enjoyable on Thanksgiving
Coming up on Thursday, we will be celebrating one of the most revered holidays in American culture–Thanksgiving! Who doesn’t like having one day out of the year when you have a plentiful buffet of food followed by watching football, and giving thanks to God for another year of blessings in your life. It’s a unique time when families gather together and just enjoy being with those they love the most (remember that when your kid throws a temper tantrum while Grandma complains about not being able to find her false teeth!). Ahhhhhhhh, Thanksgiving!
When you decide to start livin’ la vida low-carb in earnest, there might be some temptation to justify going “off plan” on holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas. But let me caution you about falling into the trap of thinking this is okay. While I’m not one of those hard-nosed purists who thinks you should strictly stick to the plan and NEVER allow anything to go in your mouth that isn’t low-carb, I also realize that human nature will kick in when you give in–especially on a special occasion like Thanksgiving.
Here’s what happens: you decide to have a little stuffing which then makes you justify having just a little cranberry sauce followed by a scoop of macaroni and cheese…and since you’ve gone this far, why not go ahead and have one, no make that TWO slices of pecan and pumpkin pie for dessert. After a couple of hours of watching football, you realize you “messed up” and rationalize that you should eat whatever the heck you want for the rest of the day because of that. So you pig out on EVERYTHING the second time around only to realize the next day how guilty you feel for doing that. This is when a lot of people think they’ve done permanent damage to their low-carb lifestyle and just give up.
Sound familiar anyone? Hopefully it doesn’t happen that way for you this year as you make the wise decision to stick with your low-carb plan. Although it may seem like an impossible task to actually do that, it can and MUST be done to prevent the above scenario from playing out. My wife Christine and I recorded a YouTube video last year about how to survive the holidays by making better choices, so I encourage you to check it out!
One of my forum moderators is LindaSue and she has put together some truly fabulous low-carb Thanksgiving menu suggestions for those of you who are stuck about what to cook and eat on that day. And I’m also inviting my low-carb readers to share photos and descriptions of their low-carb Thanksgiving meal afterward so everyone can benefit from seeing what real low-carb dieters eat on this one day of the year that seems to be completely centered around eating lots of food. Whether we actually think about this fact or if it is merely in our subconscious, it is the truth that many use Thanksgiving as an excuse for being gluttonous.
It made me mad the other day when I heard my spin class instructor at the gym telling people to eat up on all the sweet potato pie casserole and desserts on Thanksgiving since they’ll be able to “work it all off” the next day during a special two-hour spin class session. UGH! What a terrible message to send to people to go ahead and give in to their gluttony so long as they “burn the calories off” the next day. If only it were that simple, I don’t think any of us would have ever gotten fat to begin with. This is why calories are not the be-all, end-all in managing weight. Managing blood sugar response which controls insulin levels is why chowing down on high-carbage on Thanksgiving is bad news for those of us who are especially carb-sensitive.
Imagine my surprise this week when I came across this Wilmington (NC) Star News story about how to keep your Thanksgiving meal low-carb. WHOA! How cool is that? Long after the supposed demise of low-carb anything (according to the brilliant health writers at most newspapers these days), here’s a story encouraging people to stick with their low-carb diet even on Thanksgiving. Kudos to Jane P. Marshall who penned this column for having the guts to recognize the benefits of low-carb living even during the holidays. She quotes from a long-time low-carb author named Fran McCullough (who I’d love to have on my podcast show sometime).
McCullough suggests in addition to the turkey having foods like cheese, olives, nuts and deviled eggs for people adhering to a low-carb lifestyle. And you can’t forget the cauliflower either!
”Cauliflower is so misunderstood,” she said. ”It’s so delicious.”
Especially if you make mashed cauliflower (a HUGE favorite in the Moore household!), it will make you forget about ever having mashed potatoes again! In the column, there are several good recipes for cranberry sauce, pumpkin casserole and more for people on a low-carb diet. It’s all a matter of making good choices for YOU and knowing your own personal limitations. Can you make it through Thanksgiving without “falling off the wagon” so to speak? SURE YOU CAN! And you MUST so that this endless cycle of obesity and declining health that has plagued you comes to an end once and for all.
Enjoy your Thanksgiving and keep it low-carb–you’ll be thankful that you did!
Jimmy, I think you’ve been peeking in my windows when I cheat on Thanksgiving! And how did you read my mind for my rationale behind it all? LOL!
Happy Thanksgiving!
I’ve been there, too, Susan! Make a difference this year and buck the trend.
–Jimmy
That’s exactly why I always have Thanksgiving at my home- I have control over the menu and choices. And even though I’m on a strict budget, it’s still gonna be a great menu and dynamite, wholesome food. Best wishes to you and yours, Jimmy & Christine.
THANKS Lisa! We’ll be in Virginia Beach with Christine’s family, so I know what you mean about the control.
Have a SUPER Thanksgiving!
–Jimmy
Sometimes it pays to work on holidays. Thanksgiving and Christmas for my husband and I are just another normal day. Our ‘holiday’ comes when family comes to visit. Our families live very far away.. very.. so holidays can be a bit lonely, but on the positive side, I don’t have my Mom’s chocolate pudding pie staring at me!
) Happy Holidays everyone!!!!!!!!!!!
Let this be a warning to anyone who thinks they can cheat a little during the holidays and then lose it later. I lost 20 lbs following Atkins for three months, kept it off for a year, then gained 30 back because I went back to eating carbs. Next time it took over a year to lose the 30 lbs, but I succeeded. Then, starting over the holidays last winter, I thought I could get away with cheating for a little while and then lose whatever I might gain. I gained 10 lbs and started trying to lose it last spring. Unfortunately, it has not come off this year, despite eating exactly like I did last year and despite the same exercise regimen. What they say about low-carb not working as well a second or a third time appears to be true for me. Please, people, if you’re losing or have lost the weight you need to, don’t blow it by cheating. It is so not worth it. If I were not better educated about low carb now, and in the know about how essential it is for good health, it would be so easy to give up and just let myself get fatter and fatter again. I’m sticking to what I know is good for me despite the long plateau. And I will not be cheating this Thanksgiving and Christmas! I’ve learned my lesson the hard way.