T-day, three days and counting

[baronlaw.livejournal.com]

Okay we all know turkey is relatively healthy, usually there are veggies floating around the table too. It's the potatoes, yams, biscuits, butter and gravy that will kill your "diet".

So tell me does anyone have a strategy for dealing with the "Oh you've hardly had a bite, here have seconds, thirds, dessert and some ice cream on top of that pie!" ?

I'm already dreading the bloated feeling and the food coma that follows.

Comments

[deirdremoon.livejournal.com]

My family gatherings are always buffet-served, so nobody forces food on me. Without knowing your family members, I hope they can respect you saying, "No, thanks, I'm stuffed." OR, you can at least say during dinner, "Oh, I'm saving room for pie", and then for dessert, something like "Oh, I can get x pie anytime, pumpkin is my favorite" or some such, to narrow down your choices.

This is probably simplistic. I just don't get people who won't take "really, I'm uncomfortably full" as the signal to stop pushing. That's not family bonding, that borders on rude for not respecting one's wishes. But I know some families do that as a way of showing love...

[random-girl.livejournal.com]

David's family treats food as love. You really need to always be ready to receive love (food). Therefore, on the first pass around, take less than you'd like to eat (like maybe a quarter of what you want of everything--for things you really like, take a little more). Chew slowly. Engage in conversation. when the food comes around again, take more, but since you already have some left on your plate, you don't have to take as much. By the third time the plate comes around you can repeat as for the second or you can say that you're "saving room for dessert" or "full." I recommend saving room for dessert, too, because if food is love, dessert is "No honey, you don't look fat in that dress" but without having to say it.

To cope with realistic amounts of dessert, help clear the table. Even if they tell you not to, be chivalrous, make jokes, and help clear the table. Offer to help distribute dessert. Make sure everyone gets one, including the server, then note you need one and cut your own piece of whatever.

Enjoy. Good luck. It's a little dance I do twice a year, and I'm getting pretty good at it.

Hard to describe.

[baronlaw.livejournal.com]

Food is a substitute for love as in "I love you let me feed you".

[baronlaw.livejournal.com]

Yes exactly! Food = Love.

Good strategies!

[roseembolism.livejournal.com]

Go crawling off to the couch for a nap BEFORE you eat to much and have a food coma?

[racerxmachina.livejournal.com]

Load up on veggies first-- and if you're involved in food prep, make sure the yams aren't swimming in butter and sugar! Both of those are yummy and have a lot of fiber. Use cranberry to flavor your turkey, not gravy, and you'll do away with a lot of the fat and salt.