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Diet Thanksgiving Overload, Calculating the Damage
Me Oh My, You Gobbled Too Much on Thanksgiving Day. What is Your Diet Damage? And Most Importantly, Did Your Diet Plan Just Fall Off the Diet Wagon?
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8:00 AM, Thanksgiving Day - The Diet Journal
You started Thanksgiving Day on a very positive note, successfully resisting those high calorie desserts and the lump-free gravy that you made to tote to Grandma's house today. Well, you didn't make the gravy because lump-free gravy only comes from a jar or can. Nonetheless, you were so proud of yourself for resisting those non-friendly diet goodies, and rightfully so! You were probably the only person on the planet who was being so Diet-Good.
9:00 AM, Arrive at Grandma's House
Grandma has one of those very large tables that seats 12 comfortably. And it was bowed in the middle, even at this early hour. You thought, 'That chocolate pie would serve nicely as a breakfast treat,' and so you enjoyed a slice. It was so good that you enjoyed two.
10:00 AM, The Punch Line
Grandma had mixed up her famous recipe for eggnog using real whiskey (as opposed to fake whiskey). Nonetheless, you found your feet waltzing to the punchbowl as Perry Como bellowed out White Christmas in the distance from Grandma's ancient stereo.
11:00 AM, Aunt Betty makes harbor.
Aunt Betty arrived with a basket of bourbon bon-bons. You enjoyed 5 and decided to turn on the Christmas tree lights. Grandma's house is always such fun!
You started feeling a bit giddy and wasn't quite certain if it was due to 'Christmas Spirit' or 'Other Spirits'. When you tried to blow out the candles that were a bit too close to the tree, the flames belched back. To test your theory, you drifted towards Cousin Rowena's rum cake which you discovered was cut into large chunks. Since no one was looking, you took a large slice that you enjoyed with yet another cup of eggnog.
Me Oh My, You Gobbled Too Much on Thanksgiving Day. What is Your Diet Damage? And Most Importantly, Did Your Diet Plan Just Fall Off the Diet Wagon???
12:00 PM, Grandma Announces Lunch
Yum! Double Yum with a capital 'Y'...which causes you to ask yourself, 'Y am I eating so much? Hum, what a rotten little thought. It's going to spoil my Thanksgiving Day, so I'll be like Tara - or whatever that chick's name was in that Wind-Movie, and think about all of that tomorrow. Now, one more helping of candied sweet potatoes please!'
1:30 PM, Grandma hands you the fizzy tablets that you requested and a glass of water.
2:00 PM, Football Game Begins
Grandma fixed hot buttered popcorn and turkey nachos to enjoy during the game, but you opted for another slice of mincemeat pie with whipped cream on top. But after it was eaten and the saucer licked clean, you had a 'sweet taste' in your mouth that needed deleted. Perhaps more eggnog? It wasn't nearly as sweet as the desserts. Oh yes! There's always room for eggnog!
4:00 PM, Dizzy & Whizzy
The room was suddenly very spindly and you felt a bit over-whizzy. Yes, dizzy and whizzy - probably from all of the spirits. Thank goodness Grandma's house has two bathrooms.
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5:00 PM, Thanksgiving Dinner
Dinner was even tastier than lunch! You enjoyed 2 helpings of everything. Even that second hunk of rum cake was more tastier! Perhaps it was due to being covered with Grandma's special creme sauce made with just a tab more rum. "Oh, rum pa pum pum! Rum is fun," you thought.
6:30 PM, Homecoming
You arrived home feeling 50 months pregnant, and you aren't even female. You spent the next hour on the toilet, swearing that you'd never in your entire life eat that much food again. You felt so sick that you were certain you wouldn't be able to go to work come Monday. Why did you eat so much? Your diet probably went right now the......
S - T - O - P!!!
Assessing Diet Damage
Okay, so you were a bad boy (or girl as the case may be). For argument's sake, let's assume that you ate 7,000 calories ABOVE the amount that you would normally eat during the day - and that's a lot of extra calories! It takes 3,500 calories to generate a pound - so now we see that we are dealing with 2 pounds (3,500 plus 3,500 equals 7,000 calories).
Odds are, you probably didn't consume that many extra calories, though the full blown turkey dinner does tend to be very pricey in calories. With cranberry sauce weighing in at 600 calories a can (and who can't eat 1/2 a can?) and gravy at about 50 calories per Tablespoon, it adds up very quickly. Eggnog with spirits is practically 'out of this calorie world'! In fact, we'd probably be better off switching to Mexican food for our celebration as far as calories go!
Nonetheless, even if you did go way overboard, don't panic! Your weight scales may show a weight gain the following morning, but much can be attributed to the amount of food that you ate (that 3-pound fruitcake is going to weigh 3 pounds in your tummy, as well as out of your tummy)(however, you will NOT gain three pounds unless that 3 pounds of fruitcake contained 10,500 calories).
The sodium in holiday foods also will make those numbers on your scales spike. The 'butter injection' that most Turkey Manufacturers blow into your holiday turkey is packed with more real sodium than real butter. Salt adds savor to the flavor - and the more you eat, the more you crave. Unfortunately, the true taste of the food is masked. Nonetheless, give your body a couple of days to adjust and simply resume your normal diet, cutting off your eating after dinner time over the following week.
Generally, one day of 'celebration' isn't going to be enough to blow your diet. The key to success is to immediately resume your healthy diet plan and remain focused.
Thanksgiving comes but once a year, and it's certainly an occasion that calls for celebration. To fill your head with thoughts of guilt serves no positive purpose for you, or for your diet. What's done is done, and even a bad experience allows us to gain useful knowledge. The more we learn about our 'Diet Selves', the more effective our 'Diet Plan' can be! Therefore, ABSOLUTELY NO GUILT TRIPS ARE ALLOWED! Being the very special person that you are, you are certainly entitled to a day of leisure and happiness without having to count every single item that passes your lips. So put those concerns aside and move forward.
A Little Diet Tip for 'Next Time': To help avoid another pitfall for overeating and to eliminate possible weight gain, plan ahead for the Christmas holiday dinner/celebrations. About one week before the event, carefully meter what you eat so you can better enjoy the day without guilt. Happy Holidays from Diet Bites!
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