Your Thanksgiving Dinner Game Plan
The Bad News First
How bad can a single meal really be? Pretty bad. Think about the following meal, which isn’t really all that unrealistic.
- 6 ounces of turkey with skin: 351 calories
- ¼ cup cranberry sauce: 110 calories
- 1 cup stuffing: 260 calories
- 1 cup mashed potatoes plus gravy: 240 calories
- 1 cup candied yams: 280 calories
- 1 dinner roll with butter: 200 calories
- 1 cup green bean casserole: 200 calories
- 1 slice pumpkin pie: 530 calories
- 1 slice pecan pie: 920 calories
- 2 cups apple cider: 300 calories
That’s a total of 3,391 calories! That’s about the amount you need to gain a pound of body fat. It’s nearly three times as much as you might be eating most days on your weight loss surgery diet. And it’s probably enough to make you feel sick. But you’re not doomed to eat that much on Thanksgiving.
Enjoy the Turkey
There’s at least one lucky thing about Thanksgiving dinner. If you’re a traditionalist, your main course will be one of the best possible choices for weight loss surgery patients. That’s right: turkey. How often has your surgeon suggested that you eat turkey breast? Well, now’s your chance.
A 3-ounce portion of boneless, skinless turkey breast has 114 calories and 26 grams of protein. How’s that for a good start? Even if you have seconds, you’ll still be at 228 calories, and get in a whopping 52 grams of protein. If you can’t face white meat on Thanksgiving, go for the dark. A 3-ounce serving of dark meat only has 138 calories. Just make sure you don’t eat the skin. For a condiment, stick with deli mustard or cranberry sauce made with a calorie-free sugar substitute – just make the sauce like you would with sugar, but add sweetener instead of sugar.
Look Out for Yourself
Make sure there’s at least one dish besides turkey that’s on your weight loss surgery diet. If you’re hosting dinner, serve steamed or roasted vegetables, such as green beans or Brussels sprouts, and a large green salad with light dressing on the side. You can make and serve all of the guests’ other favorites, too – nobody says you have to eat them.
If you’re going to be a visitor at someone else’s Thanksgiving celebration, be a good guest. Don’t arrive empty-handed! Bring a festive-looking salad that everyone – especially you – can enjoy. For example, you could have a salad with:
- Mixed greens
- Sliced artichoke hearts
- Low-fat feta or goat cheese
- Sliced pears
- Balsamic vinaigrette on the side.
Portion Control to Save Yourself
You may not realize it, but there are some easy things you can do to cut back on your calories on Thanksgiving. One is to watch your portions, just like you do every day. It’s a little harder to do on this day, but you can do it. Have you ever truly tried? Focus on portions, instead of piling as much as possible on your plate. A little bit of concentration can literally save a thousand or more calories that you won’t even miss.
Stick to the Good Stuff
Whatever ends up on your plate is probably going to get eaten, so try not to put it there if you know you shouldn’t eat it. Before serving yourself or letting anyone serve you, take a good look at the table. What can you eat? Probably the following.
- Turkey without skin.
- Green salad.
- Steamed or roasted vegetables.
- Roasted sweet potatoes.
Alex Brecher
I am a native New Yorker who loves spending time with my children and working out at the gym.
I had struggled with my weight my whole life. Diets worked for me until I went off them and gained back more weight each time. Finally, a friend who used to be obese told me that he had gotten weight loss surgery. I could see how great he looked, and I got weight loss surgery in 2003. Thankfully, I can say that I have never looked back. It helped me lose more than 100 lbs. and keep the weight off since 2003.
I am the founder of BariatricPal and proud of everything that it means to the entire weight loss surgery community. Together, we can fight obesity and work toward living healthier lifestyles!
You can view The BIG Books on Weight Loss Surgery book series at the BariatricPal Store.
I made a turkey breast, mashed potatoes, gravy, steamed carrots, stuffing, cranberries and pumpkin pie.
I ate about 1.5 oz of turkey, with gravy, and about 3 steamed baby carrots, and I'm more than satisfied. I'm two weeks post-op today.
Grazed more than I planned but it's okay. Tomorrow back to normal!
I had a spoonful of sweet potatoes, a spoonful of mashed, a taste of green bean casserole and about 2 oz of dark meat turkey. Oh yeah, and a half a deviled egg! Enjoyed at immensely and ate slowly, enjoying the family. Even saved room for a sliver of pie later in the evening. Feeling in control and very satisfied.
Having thanksgiving dinner on Saturday. I'm not really planning on changing any food, but just having a bite or two of each, or until my sleeve says I'm done. Holiday weight gain doesn't happen over 2 meals...it happens over the 2 meals, left overs, parties, not exercising as much over vacation time, etc. Enjoy your one thanksgiving meal of the year, screw sugar free cranberry sauce :-P. Moderation is key, may as well learn it now.
I had RNY on Monday so Thanksgiving this year was very different for me. My mother has been here since the weekend and she started cooking last night. I really enjoyed smelling the turkey roasting but had no desire to eat any of the food I've always enjoyed. I ate some mashed pinto Beans with low-fat cheese while everyone else enjoyed their turkey dinner and unbelievably, I was completely satisfied. This just may be a prelude to something wonderful!
I ate way more than I planned. dinner was at noon so there was plenty of time to graze throughout the day and into the evening. There's also lots of leftovers. However, I am back on track today. The family can eat the leftovers and, aside from the turkey and green Beans, I will not touch them. Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels :-)
My Thanksgiving went perfectly. I had a great work out in the morning followed by a high Protein Breakfast. We usually have our meal around 1:30-2. My meal was perfect - 3 oz. of turkey breast and steamed green Beans ( I had to bring my own since the rest of the family had green bean casserole). I was fine not having any stuffing, rolls, casseroles, or cranberry salad. I didn't feel like I was missing a thing. For dessert, I brought a serving of my butterscotch Protein pudding.
I am super proud of myself. I stuck with my game plan - asked my sister in law for a small plate - just about 2-3oz of turkey, taste of mashed, taste of sweet potatoes, a little bit of cauliflower and just a little gravy. I didn't even eat everything on my plate... I felt good when I got up from the table, everyone else was so stuffed & uncomfortable. Friday morning I woke up & lost a pound! it was a great thanksgiving!
I had a tablespoon of everything, the crust off a yeast roll and about an once of turkey. I even had a small sliver of both the chocolate and pecan pie for desert. I had 2 glasses of wine. More than plenty on the food I felt very satisfied and denied myself nothing so I did not feel like I was on a diet and deprived.
I can't even image eating 3 ounces of meat at one meal let alone 6 ounces. I have a hard time with one ounce still and salads are a complete no go for me. I have a very hard time with raw veggies.
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I'm eating a little bit of everything...shrimp appetizer, deviled eggs, turkey, stuffing, potatoes, cranberry Jello, green bean casserole, wine and pumpkin pie with whipped cream. Even if it takes all day ????
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