To me it isn't a "deserve it" situation, it is a special occasion kind of thing. My mom doesn't make turkey and dressing every month of the year, maybe twice and I am not there but on Thanksgiving for it. I don't plan on eating bread at all. We are having sweet potato casserole(way too much sugar, so will take only a few very small bites). These are just foods that are not something I would eat daily, weekly or monthly, but we make them only on Thanksgiving, so deserve it,hmmm, want, yes and is part of the holiday aura.

When I was LCing back in '03 I dealt with TG the best I could. I was lucky in that our 'normal' TG dinner was fairly LC to begin with. We would have Turkey and Ham, green beans, deviled eggs, baked sweet potatoes (minus the brown sugar) and, in loo of pies, fruit salad w/whipped cream and jell-o. We actually cook the same thing for Xmas too :-)

I know if you're dining w/family it's a lot harder to control the menu. Have you talked to them about it? I know my mom is always excited to try something LC. I guess it's a novelty to her. Another option would be to offer to bring side dishes that just happen to be LC.


Tiffany
REAL goal: get off BP meds, control hypoglycemia -- and start working out!
Positive side effect: Losing weight!

I don't need to cheat on Thanksgiving cause there are always great things on the table that I can eat.
I make a lowcarb pumpkin pie, I eat turkey and brussel sprouts.
If you have been doing lowcarb, your tummy might not take kindly to a high carb meal.

>>If I do decide to cheat,>>

Maybe you need to stop thinking of it as "cheating"... there's a whole lot of mental baggage that goes with that.

Please read Chapter 22 in your copy of 2002 DANDR on this topic, "Eating in the Real World".

It might not be "cheating" so much as "eating from the edge of the carb ladder".

And... having some food that's not 100% "on plan" isn't the same as going off the deep end and scarfing up everything in sight.

While on vacation, I ate a perfectly legal omelet, and some of the grits that came with it.

Do I eat grits ever day? Nope. I've had them 3 times since starting Atkins.

Same with holidays.

This is also a good opportunity to make "new traditions" with food.

And the bottom line is... it's about the people, not the food.

I've been on Atkins since 2004. I do not eat any differently on holidays or my birthday as I do any other day of the year. I will be at my brother's for Thanksgiving eating turkey, no gravy and green beans. On Christmas, since they make lasagna, I bring my own LC dinner. Comments have been made & everyone has their own opinion and that is fine....I am the one sitting there that has lost over 100 lbs and I don't back down for anyone or anything!

My sister is vegetarian, and she often makes something for herself at the holidays. No one thinks anything of it, because we understand she has strong feelings about her WOE and we wouldn't DREAM of asking her to compromise her principles. If someone just wants an excuse to eat what they want, well that's one thing, but for me, no excuses. There's LOTS of great food on the table that I can indulge in! Delicious gravy can be made with Xanthan gum for the thickener. I eat turkey with gravy and lots of green veg (whatever is served). No one thinks twice, because they know this is important to me, and they love me and want what's best for me. They are my family and they love and understand -- that's what family does!

I always allow for off-plan eating during holidays, but since I'm actually planning for it, then it isn't really off-plan.

Is Thanksgiving about eating? I think it was originally intended as a day of giving thanks to God and enjoying community.

You can choose what the purpose of the day is. It doesn't have to be a tribute to stuffing, gravy, pumpkin pie, etc.

Connie,

I agree with you wholeheartedly...however, my problem is not with MY family (they are very supportive!)...my problem is with my brother's in laws. Seriously speaking, it is a jealousy issue...they liked it better when I was fat. I just chalk it up this way...they aren't my family...THANK GOD!!!!

I just do LC versions to go with the HC stuff, I make a bit of stuffing with LC bread and stuff it in the neck of the bird for DD, BF who are diabetic, and I and stuff the rest in the birds bottom for everyone else. I have lc cranberry sauce from jokin als i ordered from netrition, its great, I used it last year. they get corn, we like summer squash. I make a pumpkin custard for us, pie for them, it works out well and we all enjoy being together.

I am canadian and we already had our thanksgiving this year. I didn't "cheat" at all. All the dishes were sugar free and gluten free which are the main concerns for me. Some things I ate were a little higher carb but not to much more than I do some days normally anyway now that I am on maintenance.

Last Thanksgiving I was not on Atkins.
This Thanksgiving I will be in maintenance.
I will choose to have some of the foods that I don't eat on a daily basis like my Mom's lovely turkey and dressing.
Moderation and portion control will be the key for me.

The cook at my thanksgiving dinner is diabetic. While I'm sure he will make something sweet, I'm sure he won't partake, and most likely if I brought a low carb desert, he would really appreciate it.

I might have a bit of potatoes and stuffing, but I'm going to bring my carb blocking pills along.

I wish I were cooking the meal this year because I would try making a whole grain stuffing with flax meal and whole wheat bread.

Maybe I'll see if I can make the dinner next year.

I'm hoping to be pretty close to my goal weight by Thanksgiving, I would personally hate to blow it at that point. The point of this diet is to learn a new way of eating, and maybe that means changing to foods on the table for holidays. Afterall, I want my kids to learn to eat this way, not the old way.

We're having an off-plan Thanksgiving here as well! My family is coming in from across the country and Mom is going to cook, woohoo!

I'm very excited about it! I have been cheat free since I started in June and I'm very much looking forward to the holiday!

I think the mindset one has when choosing to have an off plan meal is the key. If you know that you can eat off plan once and get right back on without sabotaging yourself, that's great! I've said before that I never tell myself I cannot have (pick a carby food) ever again.. I tell myself that I can't have it right now.. but someday I'll have it if I really want it.

For me (and this is just MY experience!), saying that I will never ever have something again is a surefire way to ensure that I will want it big time.. lol.

I thought about this a lot around my birthday, and decided not to eat off plan. Birthday cake is great, but it wasn't worth redoing the induction stuff for a week, so I chose not to have it.

Thanksgiving with family (we live spread out across the country and overseas) is a very rare event and food is part of the "ceremony" of the holiday.

I know many disagree, but for me every once in awhile there is something special enough that makes an off plan meal well worth it. Nothing has been that special yet, but Thanksgiving will be it for me

However, I have planned ahead already to make sure that going back on plan won't be challenging. We're only making enough for the meal to limit leftovers and what's left will be thrown away (as those visiting don't live close enough to bring leftovers home, lol). I'm also going to shop a day or two before to be sure that I have all the great LC foods that I love on hand so I won't be left wanting the next day!

Oof, this is too long already, sorry! lol

I plan to have a Thanksgiving "Indulgence," as Dana Carpender calls it. But I'm going to limit it to one meal and I'm not going to have anything that I don't really want. So no gorging on potatoes and corn just because they're there. Most likely, I'll end up eating stuffing and a few slices of my mom's famous pumpkin pie, along with healthy portions of turkey and salad. I'm also going to be extremely LC for breakfast and lunch, and follow up with 1-2 days m/e to chase away any unwanted cravings. I had a great deal of success with this formula the first time I went LC, and I was able to have Indulgences for a couple of parties and weddings, as well as my birthday without backsliding afterwards. But the keys were 1) focus and 2) limiting myself to one meal.

However, I also know what NOT to do. Last year, I restarted LC on Oct 30 and stayed on plan through the day before Thanksgiving. Then I used the holiday as an excuse to eat EVERYTHING I could think of. I even went on one of my old pre-binge shopping trips and raided the candy aisle, though Milk Duds aren't exactly a traditional Thanksgiving food! And guess what? As I was throwing back all that sugar, I somehow managed to convince myself that eating off plan for the "holidays" made sense, and that I'd easily be able to maintain my loss and restart Jan 1. HA! It took me until Sept 19 of this year to reign myself in - after I'd already gained 30 lbs.

So an intentional, all-out, "hey it's Thanksgiving!" binge is my kiss of death. But a slice or two of pie and a serving of stuffing? Not going to kill me. Especially since the lesson I learned last year is still fresh in my mind.