Let’s Prepare For Thanksgiving

Well, you do, because thanks goodness, this is a holiday I don’t have to worry about here in France.

Alright, in all seriousness, this little article published on WebMD Health about avoiding Thanksgiving weight gain is just as valuable for Christmas and any other time of feasting. It hands out advice not only for when the meals themselves are placed on the table, but also about what to do to prepare, including not arriving starving at the feast (which is something I, and many other people I know, unfortunately tend to do, since we “want to be ready to enjoy everything”. Gee).

Here’s an excerpt, in the shape of the list of what to do regarding the food itself:

• Scan the buffet and carefully choose the foods you love. If they are high in calories like the gravy, just take a smaller portion. Take larger portions of the simply prepared foods such as baked sweet potatoes, steamed vegetables, and skinless white meat of turkey.
• Limit yourself to one plate of food, no second helpings.
• Eat slowly and savor every bite. Give the food a chance to let you feel the satisfying feeling of fullness.
• Eat what you like, just eat a little less of it.

Everybody together now: “But this is evident!” Yes. Yes, it is, that’s why I never do it, unless I pin such lists on my hands and on my plate before it gets filled with food. Hence, I guess it’s not so useless to review such an article a few times before going. It’s just so easy to just “forget” to watch what we eat, when all the family is gathered around the table and the food itself is already richer than what we eat on regular days.

Now, I hope for your sake that your family isn’t like mine, with their “but you’ll take some more of it, right, it’s Christmas/somebody’s birthday/your birthday/Easter/blah-de-blah”. Ah, I forgot, this is the part of my family I don’t see anymore. Phew. One less thing to worry about regarding peer pressure to gorge myself with food.