A Pound of Cure:Dress Rehersal for Turkey Day

It has been four weeks since I returned to Weight Watchers. In that amount of time, I have dropped 11.2 pounds-two of that this week-even with my waywardness at T's 21st birthday! I have lost an inch off my arms, two inches off my waist, half and inch off my hips and an inch off my thighs. I am down one entire shirt and pant size. This week we focused on making a plan for the Thanksgiving holiday but basically the same tactics that you can use for any special occaision or social outing. First we took a look at a list of the most common Thanksgiving dishes and how much of each constitues a serving and how many points are in that serving. Next, we talked about strategies to keep our weight loss on track without sacrificing the foods we love at this time of year. We all agreed that starving ourselves until the big meal wasn't a good idea. That only sets a person up for overeating when the meal is ready. Instead, have a substantial breakfast. If BLT's(bites, licks, and tastes) are an issue, try to do the non-food related tasks such as cleaning the house, setting the table or chew gum and drink water while you're cooking. Other strategies include prioritizing which foods are the most important to you and limiting yourself to reasonable portions of those and skip the other items that don't mean that much to you. Another way to help yourself is to modify how food is prepared-use lower fat ingredients wherever possible. Use smaller plates. Eat slower. Drink water while you eat. Don't linger at the table after eating. Brush your teeth after you eat to prevent grazing. Have "islands of food" instead of "continents" of food on your plate-actually be able to see your plate rather than having it buried underneath food. You can save up your points/bonus points to use during the special holiday meal. Also, have a plan for after. No eating while clearing off the table and putting food away. If leftovers are too great of a temptation, package them up and send them home with your guests or freeze them immediately after the meal is over. Or plan a healthy meal for later...turkey sandwhiches would be a good choice. Skip the stuffing and mashed potato and gravy, and the pie on the second go-round. Drink more water before, during and after the meal. Exercise is also a natural appetite curber. Try to get in a walk or workout whenever possible to help burn the extra calories and supress apetite. That's the plan. Next week we will fine tune our game plan for the holidays by discussing the food pushers and sabotagers in our lives.