Weighty Wednesday -- The Power of Three's

Last Sunday I was reading--okay, skimming--the Parade section of the paper. It was an article about the TV show, THE CHEW. Each host was asked about their favorite tip for the holiday and each one shared a recipe.

For some reason, I never got into watching the show. I've seen it a time or two, but never made a point of watching it. Anyway, I was skimming their comments and recipes until I came to Daphne Oz--and I had to look her up, because all I could remember about her was that she was the blonde woman. I'm terrible with names, yanno--I believe she is their health consultant and one comment resonated with me.

I had to go to Parade online and pull the question and her comment:

Help! How can people avoid a holiday weight gain?
 

Remember that [your calorie intake] balances out over three days. So don't eat a ton the day before and don't eat a ton the day after, and enjoy your full [Thanksgiving] meal. I definitely have pie!

 

I felt his comment about balancing out over three days to be so true.

You don't gain weight by one wayward meal, instead you gain by making a bunch of poor meal choices clumped together. Many times, the weekend is killer for my weight challenges because we actually eat together and often dine out. Eating three consecutive meals out, and not the best choices, provide a challenge to come back from, which is why weight gained on two weeks on vacation took me three months to lose.

Many times when I've allowed the family to bring ice cream in the house, we tend to eat it EVERY NIGHT until it's gone--I've learned that we fare better with eating a small Custard King custard instead satisfies our ice cream cravings without the steady intake. Or the lemon crunch bundt cake from Sam's Club, we intend to freeze half of it, but that never happens, so we eat it until it's gone.--Sorry, not tip about the Lemon Crunch cake, we just eat it until it's gone. Yes, it's that good!

The damage is done by eating the same poor choices day after day. One thin slice of pecan pie won't make you gain weight, but if you eat it every day for days on end, then you might have an unpleasant surprise at your next weigh-in. Which brings me to . . .

Thanksgiving is only eight days away.

My Weight Watcher leader Julie points out that it's only one day, but that doesn't take into account the food preparation (and subsequent eating) or the day after with all the nummy leftovers because you don't want to go short on the day of Thanksgiving so you cook too much food!

Plus I have the added food stress of my kidlet's birthday on Nov. 21. This year puts her birthday the day before Thanksgiving. Luckily, she's having her party at Incredible Pizza--no muss, no fuss, and no pizza leftovers!

This particular hint doesn't really work for me, but Julie did say something this last week's meeting that really struck a cord with me, paraphrased of course because my memory is a sieve.

Thanksgiving is all about tradition. We tend to make the same things each and every Thanksgiving, sometimes this is the only time you actually eat these various dishes. So if you know what it being served, then you can PLAN for the meal.

You don't have to wonder what Aunt Sally is going to bring, because she brings the same food every year. You know there will be turkey, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce (I'll post my mom's recipe on Friday), some form of green bean casserole, and potatoes (white or sweet).

• Refresh your mind with portion sizes the day before. Measure/weigh various products.
• Take less than you normally would eat. Remember you can always go back if you are really hungry, but sometimes all you want is a taste of something, not a serving.
• It's okay to leave food on your plate
• If you don't like it, don't eat it
• Share dessert with your significant other. It's romantic and it's less food.

 Remember what Daphne Oz said, ". . . your intake balances out over three days." So don't eat like a fiend. Think healthy choices on the day before and the day after. Eat more Power foods. Eat less refined flour and sugar products.

And remember, if you are eating your third poor meal choice, then realize it might come to haunt you later during weigh-in. Switch it up the next few days with conscientious choices and see how well you do.

Later, Peeps!