Conference rocks::weight_control

I hate to sound like a broken record,
I hate to sound like a broken record, :-)

but the newest Weight Watchers magazine (no I don't get a commission :-))
has a bunch of interesting recipes for Thanksgiving, as well as their yearly
tips for dealing with the holidays.

(should we start our own "Just Say No" campaign?)

Jill

    re .1:
    
    You beat me to it...to it...to it...to it....  :-)
    
    In addition, you might also reread the WW "Holidays" Personal Choice
    Booklet as well.  (If you're past week 4, and you haven't received
    one yet, ASK for it.)
           
    
    PY 

    I usually have the entire family up to my house for Thanksgiving.
    This year I am seriously considering not doing this.  I just know
    that if I am around all that food for the entire time it takes to
    get dinner ready - a day or better - I will be so worn down and
    tempted that I'll goof.  It's not a negative attitude, I just know
    myself that well.  I have to ask myself this question.  Which desire
    is stronger - the desire to please my family and not upset the routine
    and tradition that we have held since my parents died, or my desire
    to be a slim trim bride come March.  It's that simple.  I know the
    answer.  I deserve to be thin on my special day.  I am going to
    tell my family that I want to have Thanksgiving with Gerry's family
    this year and that we can get back to "normal" next year.  I don't
    think they are going to like that arrangment very much because I
    am the only one in the entire family that can cook worth a lick,
    but they'll just have to settle.  I have worked way too hard to
    get where I am to blow it at this late date.
    
    Marion

    I'm thinking of going out to eat at the turkey farm, just so I don't
    have that refrigerator full of pies and stuffing and gravy around.
    The turkey itself I can handle - it freezes well in portion sized
    packs and is really good high quality low cholesterol protein. 
    Last year we had friends at our house, and I ended up with leftover
    chocolate cheesecake, which is part of the reason I was up to 179
    1/2 lbs by Jan 1!
    
    --Louise

    Thanksgiving is my favoriate holiday meal, and I don't plan on missing
    out!  I am on Weight Watchers and have all the booklets full of
    tips for eating on holidays.  However, I plan to be *extra* careful
    the week before and after Thanksgiving, and stay exactly on program.
    On the holiday, I will not drink ANY alcohol, drink EXTRA water,
    have a mere sliver of pumpkin pie, and eat what I want for dinner
    *without* stuffing myself.
    
    BUT...
    
    If I cheat at all the week before, the above is off and I will have
    to take my licks and weigh my portions.
    
    Of course, the above may not work for everyone.  But I feel that
    once in a blue moon, the diet can be forgotten.
    
    Any comments?
    

    re .5
    
    I agree with you completely, if we ALWAYS, ALWAYS deprive ourselves
    whenever there is a celebration, we can really become frustrated
    and get to the stage where we'd rather chuck everything than keep
    on depriving ourselves systematically! 
    
    One thing we can do, is deliberately choose a couple of celebrations
    where we will eat normally of whatever edible is offered to us.
    By telling ourselves in advance that we will allow ourselves some
    freedom in such circumstances, we free ourselves from anxiety before
    and guilt afterwards...
    
    Joana

    A few tips I have heard for cutting calories is not buttering the
    turkey while it is cooking and don't cook the stuffing inside the
    turkey.  (stuffing soaks up fat inside turkey)
    
    Also don't buy a humongo turkey so you end up with leftovers for
    the rest of the year.  And cook only what you think you and your
    family will eat that very day!  My mom always cooks for the next
    five or six.  Have fresh steamed veggies instead of vegetable casserole
    stuffed with calories.  Don't use three scoops of butter while mashing
    your potatoes.  Gravy is an absolute waste of a waist!  All it is
    is flowery grease!  (I love it!) 
    
    Serve a vegetable platter while waiting for dinner to cook.  While
    munching on the celery and drinking plenty of water you will
    accidentally fill yourself up and possibly eat less when the turkey
    hits the table.
                                     
    As far as the pumpkin pie goes,  I say have a piece if you want,
    but moderate the size and toss the whip cream!  There is only one
    time of the year that I have pumpkin pie and I will make every little
    bite last.
    
    If you sit back and look at all the fat that you can trim from your
    meal it is really incredible.  And the more fat trimmed the more
    calories saved!  
    
                                          - Sue

    Remember that WW considers pumpkin  a vegetable-- shouldn't be too
    hard to come up with a pumpkin pudding or pumpking mousse to take
    the place of the high-calorie pie crust!
    
    I ate at a friend's last year, and she must have served 6 different
    vegetables! Easy to stay away from the high-cal stuff with such
    a terrific selection. Be sure to go for a stroll afterwards, too.
    
    

    Another suggestion, cook to your hearts content, and when the meal is
    over and all your guests are headed home, give them each a doggy
    bag that will "keep them from having to cook for the next few days".
    
    Boy, are we nice to treat our friends so well??  Little do they
    know that it may be the only saving grace for us, so that we don't
    eat it all.

    1) remove most of the skin from the turkey before cooking it.  You
    may want to leave that thin skin on the top, but take off the thick
    stuff from the bottom and sides.  You can leave a bit to cover the
    stuffing if you are stuffing the bird.  Also, take out all the
    fat that's below the bird's skin, and the fat in and around the
    body cavety.
    2) Here's two ways to lower the calories in the gravy.  1- boil
    up the giblets/neck etc while you're preparing the turkey for the
    oven.  While the turkey is cooking, strain the broth off into a
    bowl.  Refrigerate it or stick it in the freezer for a half hour
    or so.  Take off the hardened fat.  2- about half-way through
    the turkey cooking, remove drippings from the pan.  Put them in
    a dish/measuring cup and refrigerate/freeze, then skim off or
    pick off the fat.  In either case, you now have a grease-less base
    for your gravy.  If you make gravy using milk, use low-fat milk.
    And the flour is only about 25 calories per Tbsp. so the gravy
    need not be very high calorie.  I like to add a pinch of sage and
    a pinch of another herb like rosemary or thyme to gravies for poultry
    just to make up for the loss of the flavor the fat gives.
    
    --Louise

    WE INTERRUPT THIS WEIGHTLOSS FILE FOR A SPORTS UPDATE:
    
    Paul Yankowskas has just submitted an entry form for the annual
    Jordan Marsh 5 mile Thanksgiving Day road race.  This race will
    start at 9 AM at Downtown Crossing in Boston on Thanksgiving morning,
    November 26th.
    
    Further details forthcoming...
                                                            
    
    PY

Thanksgiving with my family works out pretty well as far as "the diet" goes.

My grandmother always has zillions of cut up veggies to munch on until
dinner is ready (you just have to avoid the chips, dip, and crackers and
you're all set!)

Her stuffing is some kind of baked pan stuffing (don't remember how she
does it, my sister watched her last year and told me).  It has a lot less
fat than the other stuffings I've had.  It's also a lot chewier, so it takes
more time and energy to chew it (and it's shaped like brownies :-))

Taking walks before dinner, between dinner and dessert, and after dessert are
all frequent occurrences; sure feels better than sitting around like a stuffed
lump in a smoke-filled room...sigh...that's the only bad part!

Oh, and they usually have some kind of fruit in the fridge if I decide to
go light for dessert. :-)

I usually take my grandmother up on her offer to give me leftovers--the raw
veggies!! :-)  And maybe some turkey...

Last year I was worried that I would have to deal with 2 extra hard times;
we were scheduled to visit more relatives for dinner on Friday, and my high
school reunion (including dinner) was Saturday.  Turns out we left my parents'
house (in New Jersey) around 3:45am Friday morning because, back here in MA,
my friend's baby decided Thanksgiving was a better time to be born than
Christmas!!  We got to the hospital around the same time she did (around 8:20am)
and spent the day waiting...at least we had some turkey pieces and raw veggies
to munch on. :-) :-)  I hope this Thanksgiving is a little less hectic, but
at least we didn't hit any traffic going home!!

Jill

    This year will be the first time in ten years I will be with my
    family.  I hope I can follow one of the previous notes that said
    he would be very good the week before and days after etc.  This
    is my plan also.  Sometimes I do get caught up in the excitment
    of being home and just say "oh the hell with it"  but I am starting
    now to pyche myself up to not over doing it on Thansgiving.
    Wish me luck, I think I'll need it!
    
    

    That baked pan stuffing sounds like a good idea - any chance you
    could get the recipe and post it here?  I would like to try it
    myself.
    
    --Louise

I called my grandmother and asked her how she made her stuffing.  She
apologized that she couldn't give me a recipe as such, but she was able to
give me some idea of how she makes it.  I'm sure we can find ways to make
it even lower in calories.  Note there are no quantities listed; I'm sure
anything will turn out fine, though.  It always turns out good (and
different!)

Brown some celery and onions, grate some carrot.

Cut up unsliced bread into 2-3 inch cubes (chunks?).  Soak these in water and
squeeze out the extra water.  Add some crushed saltine crackers, soaked if
mixture will be too dry otherwise.  Add some matzoh meal (coarse, sort of the
consistency of corn meal).  Add the celery and onions, grated raw carrot,
salt, pepper, and a packet of G. Washington broth (can probably substitute
something else here, too, for flavoring).  Bake (at whatever temp you're
baking the turkey at) until "done", basting with turkey gravy (or some other
flavoring/moistening substance, like broth).

Sorry this isn't very comprehensive, but I'm sure you can get the general
idea and work from there.  I'd probably experiment with a tiny bit first :-)

Jill

    Hey, if I use the LESS wheat buns (hamburger buns), I should be
    able to reduce the cals in the bread part at least!
    
    --L

    
    Do others have any recipes for stuffing?  It won't
    be long now and we will be sitting down eatting our
    turkey's and what ever we serve.. 
    Not everyone has turkey. What do you have instead?
    Some people have ham,turkey and all kinds of pies
    and you name it...
    
    Alot of people go out to eat.. How many of you stay home or go out?
    
    
    My family loves to eat at home...
    
    
    Good luck to you...
    
    Ann
    
    

    Funny you should ask about stuffing....I meant to bring in the Nov
    issue of Redbook magazine - it has 5 recipes for stuffing, ranging
    in calories from 88 to 213 per half-cup. 
    I'll try to type the lower calorie one in tonight or tomorrow.
    
    Sue
    

    
    Sounds good to me Sue..  It's fun to try differnt ones.
    I'll see if I can come up with a few..
    
    How about a dessert that we could enjoy and still stay
    with the program..
    
    Ann
    
    

         For a low calorie dessert, how about trying the low-calorie
    jello with nutrasweet and mix some fresh cut-up fruit into it and
    prepare in jello mold. This is really good, and it satisfies your
    cravings for something sweet.
    
     Chris...

    	Instead of worrying ourselves into total dispair over Thanksgiving,
    let's look at it from a different perspective.
        WATER, WATER, WATER, BEFORE THE MEAL!!!!!!!!
    	WALK, WALK, WALK, WALK, WALK, AFTER THE MEAL!!!!!!!
    
    There, now we know how we can eat what's there without being totally
    stupid, have a bit of everything we WANT, then go out and walk it
    off. If one doesn't intend on doing the walking, then one must suffer
    the consequences. 
    
    I'm going to eat everything I want and then I'm going to walk,
    regardless of the weather (I'll be in Maine) for at least two miles
    but no less than 30 minutes. I'll also be be drinking a good amount
    of water until lunch.
    
    Ken
   

    re. 21:
    
    You make a very good point Ken.  I think we often make too big a
    deal out of special occasions and holidays, and possibly "psyche
    ourselves out" in the process.  If you keep saying "Oh no, it's
    Thanksgiving, I'll never be able to handle it" often enough, you'll
    believe yourself!  Think positive!
    
    
    My training for my Thanksgiving morning road race (which I mentioned
    about 10 or 11 replies back) continues to go well.  I'm now running
    in excess of 20 miles a week; I hope to break my personal best for
    five miles of 36 minutes, 53 seconds.  As long as I continue what
    I've been doing and avoid injury or illness, I think I've got a
    good shot.
    
    
    Paul

 	As promised, a relatively low-cal stuffing recipe. I personally
    plan to use sage and thyme instead of tarragon, and whole wheat
    bread instead of white.
    
    
    			Michigan Mushroom Stuffing
(reprinted without permission from Jane and Michael Stern's Real American
Food, i think, Recipe from and article in Redbook, Nov,1987 )

1/2 cup butter or margarine
4 cups chopped fresh mushrooms, about 1 pound
6 large scallions, chopped, about 1 1/2 cups
1 large onion, chopped, about 1 cup
1 tsp dried tarragon
3 1-pound loaves firm-textured white bread, cut
  into 1/2 inch cubes, about 12 cups
1 cup chopped fresh parsely
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 egg, lightly beaten.

In 12-inch skillet over medium heat, melt butter; add scallions, onion,
and tarragon; cook about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until vegetables
are tender. Remove from heat, place mixture in a large bowl. Add bread cubes,
parsely, salt and pepper, toss to mix well. Pour egg over stuffing, toss
to blend. Cool completely before stuffing turkey. Makes about 12 cups

Per 1/2 cup serving: 85 calories, 2 grams protein. 5 grams fat, 9 grams
carbohydrate.

Note: Dressing may be placed in covered dish and baked for 45 minutes 
at turkey-cooking temperature. 
    

    The previous recipe does NOT look like it includes calories from
    the fat in the turkey, which drip into the stuffing giving it that
    delicious flavor.  It may be 85 calories per serving when it goes
    INTO the turkey but it will NOT be just that many when it comes
    OUT.  Be aware of this.
    
    To avoid the extra fat you could bake the stuffing in a separate
    bowl.  What I usually do with stuffing is use the broth from boiling
    up the gizzard and neck etc, skimmed of fat, for making the stuffing.
    With enough broth mixed in and basted onto the stuffing while it
    is baking, it should not dry out and should have that turkey taste
    to it without too many added calories.  It's also better for you
    to throw away that cholesterol-laden fat from the turkey -
    remember, dark meat poultry does have a fairly large amount of
    cholesterol in it.
    
    --louise
    

    Re .-1 , Yup, thanks for pointing that out. I also think that
    you can use much less than 1/2 cup of butter - say maybe 1/4 cup
    plus 1/4 cup broth or apple juice. 

    
    It won't belong now and we will be sitting at our tables
    stuffing ourselves.
    Does anyone have any good recipes to use Pumkin in other
    then Pie?
    What kind of a dessert will you have ?  
    
    I have never eaten out at Thanksgiving,  what happens when
    everyone leaves,  who gets the leftovers?
    
    BY the look of the stores it's like they forget about 
    Thanksgiving and go right into Christmas.
    
    How do you handle leftovers?
    
    
    Keep Smiling
    
    
    Ann
    
    

    re leftovers:
    
    The best way to minimize leftovers is to, as my WW leader said last
    night, "not cook for the whole street".  Don't make a 30 pound turkey
    for two people, or bake five different deserts.  Figure on how many
    people will be there, cook accordingly, and you'll minimize the
    number of leftovers.  You could also send your guests home with
    a "doggie bag" as well.
    
    
    PY

    It is much harder for me to justify going into the freezer and 
    picking at what I've packed up for future meals, than to go into
    the fridge and pick at the carcass, the bowl of stuffing, and then,
    well, might as well get a plate out and heat this up with some
    gravy, and then, well, now that I've eaten the turkey, stuffing,
    cranberries, potatoes, and gravy, might as well have a slab of
    pie and some eggnog to wash it down...
    
    I freeze leftovers as quickly as I can, weighed out into meal-size
    portions.  It really works!
    
    --Louise
    
    (and the pies can go to other folks - they probably brought them
    anyhow.)

    
    It won't be long now and we will be sitting down with our family
    and friends for that nice Thanksgiving Meal...
    It seems like this year just started and now it's almost over.
    
    What kind of a stuffing will you use this year?  There are all
    kinds...
    My relatves in the South seem to have Corn bread stuffing.
    Some people like Chestnut stuffing..
    
    Does anyone have a recipe for punkin squares or another dish 
    to us pumkin?
    
    Has anyone eaten pumkin like squash and how does it taste?
    
    Have fun planning
    
    
    Ann
    
    
    

                             Pumpkin Apple Bread

                 ( from 'Eat to Succeed' by Dr. Robert Haas )

1 1/2  cups whole wheat flour			1/2 cup evap.skim milk
3/4 cup sugar					1 1/2 cups raisins,plumped
1 tsp each baking soda,baking powder		1 cup peeled and shredded
1 tsp cinnamon						apples
1/2 tsp allspice 				1 1/2 cups pumpkin
3 egg whites, well beaten

1) Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9x5 loaf pan with Pam.
2) Combine flour,sugar, baking soda,baking powder, cinnamon
and allspice in a large bowl. Combine egg whites ,milk and
pumpkin in another bowl - Add to dry ingredients. Mix well.
3) Add raisins and apple. Blend well. Pour into loaf pan.
4) Bake 5-60 minutes or until wooden pick inserted into middle
of pan comes out clean. Cool 20 minutes on wire rack.

Per 1/2 inch slice:
Calories: 92
Protein:  3 g.
Sodium:  64mg.
Carbo: 21.3 g.
Fat	0.4 gm.
Cholesterol 0+ mg.


    

    Time is going fast now.  By the stores it just looks like Christmas
    is coming and no Thanksgiving in between..
    At my house it will just be my parents and myself so just the
    three of us..  So we will have leftovers. We are going to get
    a small turkey.. Turkey is good for you anyways so the turkey
    won't be the problem.  It will be the pumkin pie but I am sure
    I will do just fine.. I am happy with a small slice..
    If it was cake it would be a different story..
    
    
    
    I hope all is going well with you..
    
    
    Is anyone having anything besides turkey ?
    
    
    Ann
    
    

    RE .31
    
    Just remember even turkey can be a 'bad' food if over eaten.  I
    mention this from experience.  I love turkey and stuffing and
    make most of my turkey meals from those two items, often failing
    to heed the red light that should stop me.
    
    The pumpkin pie brings to mind another suggestion, several years
    ago my mother made some pumpkin pie filling and cooked it up without
    any crust.  Sort of a custard.  It was great and didn't have the
    extra calories of the crust.  That allowed the room for a slice
    of mince meat pie, made with homemade mince meat featuring fresh
    venison.  
    
    I am not worried about types of food for the holidays tempting me
    this year.  Half of the great variety disappeard years ago when
    my grandmother stopped cooking, the other half is now missing since
    my mother died this year.  Last year she was in the hospital and
    Thanksgiving was no real problem.  I guess you can't over eat memories,
    no matter how pleasant they are.  All I have to handle is the eating
    to mask/allieviate emotions, and I seem to be handling this.
    
    My main reason for writting this was to suggest the crustless pie,
    I really enjoyed it.  Unfortunately mom just cooked, she never had
    any recipes so I can't offer them.
    
    -Joe
    

    re .32
    
           Joe, the crustless pie sound something like what my
         Mother used to make. But instead of using pumpkin, she 
         would use sweet potatoes (yams). She would whip it up
         and top with whipped cream and called it "sweet potato fluff".
    
            Yum,yum,yum!!!!!!!!!!!
    
    
         Chris
    

    Another trick on the pies, is when you make a fruit pie make it
    deep dish with a lattice top crust and no bottom crust.  It ends
    up like a fruit pudding, especially if you use tapioca for a thickener.
    It's delicious!
    
    Also, there's a recipe in the COOKS notesfile for a piecrust made
    with oil instead of shortening.  It says the crust can be rolled
    much thinner than a standard crust, which means it would have fewer
    calories per piece of pie.
    
    Tricks and more tricks!
    
    Another trick is using a graham cracker crust, with a minimal amount
    of shortening in it.  Don't sweeten the filling as much if you use
    this one, since the crust will be very sweet.  However, sugar is
    less fattening than fat, gram by gram.
    
    --Louise

    
    Good Luck to you all it is three days until Thanksgiving.
    Alot of us will be doing alot of baking.. So I hope
    you all enjoy it..
    
    How are we all doing?
    
    
    

    re .35:
    
    Those who are baking may want to keep the "don't cook for the whole
    street" phrase my WW leader says in mind when figuring how much to
    bake...
           
    
    I'm looking forward to a welcome four days off; should be a good time.
    As stated in an earlier reply, I'll be running in the Jordan Marsh 5
    mile road race in downtown Boston at 9 AM Thanksgiving morning. My
    preparations for this race have gone well; over the last five weeks,
    I've averaged over 25 miles of running per week and feel that I have an
    excellent chance of running a personal best time. (Last extended
    forecast I heard called for possible showers and temperatures in the
    50s on Thursday -- perfect running weather!). 
    
    My wife and I will be having our noon meal at her family's house in
    Medford, and then we'll be visiting my family at my sister's house in
    Sterling later in the day.  Yes, I'm planning for a nice Thanksgiving
    dinner, including desert.  But, I'm not going to overstuff myself, and
    I'll be taking things easy foodwise the 1-2 days before and after, so I
    should be fine.  (Thanksgiving is just one day; frankly, I don't feel
    it's much cause for alarm.) 
    
    
    Happy thanksgiving to all,
    Paul

    
    
    I hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving.  Good luck traveling
    and have fun..
    
    Just think one more month from today is Christmas!!
    
    Have a good one
    
    Ann
    
    

    
    
    I had a nice Thanksgiving.   I enjoyed myself but I didn't eat more
    then any other time. I enjoy watching the parades on TV so I wasn't
    thinking of eating.  
    I also did all the dishes this way I wouldn't be eating.  Things
    don't taste too good with soap all over your hands.
    
    I did have pumkin pie and a small piece or Apple with Cream on
    it...
    
    I even had a slice for Breakfast the next day.  I worked it off
    buy shopping all day Friday.. It was good and I didn't even stop
    for lunch.  
    
    How did you all do?
    
    Ann
    
    
    
    

    Howdy!
    
    Had a very enjoyable Thanksgiving weekend, starting with receiving
    my lifetime membership key at Wednesday's Weight Watcher meeting.
    (I will use it as my keychain, to give me a constant reminder about
    maintaining my weight).
    
    The Jordan Marsh race in Boston that I ran in Thanksgiving morning was
    quite an experience.  Over 3,000 runners were registered; I don't know
    how many actually ran.  With that many people running and the start on
    a narrow street (Washington Street), it took me a minute just to get to
    the starting line, and a good quarter of a mile before I had any kind
    of running room.  But, I still managed to complete the five miles in 37
    minutes, 4 seconds, and placed 636th.  (Among the runners finishing in
    back of me was Boston mayor Ray Flynn.)  To give you an idea of
    the progress I've made as far as my physical conditioning, I ran the
    last four miles of the race a full two minutes faster than I ran
    my four mile race in Salisbury, MA on September 12th.
    
    Enjoyed a nice noontime meal at my wife's parents' house, and visited
    my family later in the day.  Yes, I enjoyed a piece of my wife's
    cheesecake for desert, but otherwise stayed within program.  Since
    we were visiting and not hosting, we had no leftovers to worry about.
                                                      
    Oh well, back to reality...
                                                    
    
    Paul

    This was a very enjoyable holiday.  I visited with my sister and
    her family and then went to my fiance's Auntie Hellen's home for
    dinner.  She is nearly a world renound cook and had run her own
    catering business for many years.  As a result there were nearly
    twenty dishes to choose from.  Therefore, I found it very easy to
    select dishes that are good *and* good for you.  For example, she
    made this dish that was mashed butternut squash with diced apples 
    in it, VERY tasety!
    
    Well, guys, this is it.  The last mad dash for thinness before the
    wedding (March 19th).  I plan to step up my walking program and
    increase the amount of raw veggies in my diet.  That should do it!
    
    Marion
          

    
    How did you all do at Thanksgiving? I hope if you did not so
    well,  That you don't dwell on it.. Forget about it and do
    good from now on..  You can do it you've lost it before.
    
    I better do the same..
    
    Forward March> there is nothing we can do about what we ate 
    but we can go right back on program so smile..  (-:
    
    I'll do the same>>>>>>>
    
    
    Ann
    
    

    Ann,
    
    I like your attitude!  You're a credit to your ... (race?  no, that's
    not right ... to your chosen food plan?  Naaah! ... to your ...
    uh ...  I'VE GOT IT!)  You are a credit to us all !!!
    
    (yeah, that's the ticket!)
    
    Marion

    
    
      Hi I haven't been writing in here for along time but Guess what
    Thanksgiving is next week. Are we all ready ?  It sure is a fun
    time with family and all. I know myself I think Food :-) but
    I will think this year on how can I make it good and good for me
    as well. 
    
      I love Turkey and veggies and a salad..I will plan for a small
    piece of pie..but if I am not hungry I may skip it :-)
    
      I plan in using a smaller plate this year..I think that will
    help me.
    
      Have a good time and enjoy it....
    
       What are you fixing that we may all be able to try ?
    
    Any good recipes ?
    
       Ann
    

         Well, Thanksgiving is over and we have a little time to recover
    before the Christmas assault.
    
         I gained 1.5 pounds over the holiday weekend.  I expect to have
    it off by the end of the week but twice I noticed some very bad habits
    creeping back in to my meal.  I figured I'd eat well on Thanksgiving
    but I looked around me and noticed that I had the largest plate of the
    meal.  I was drifting into that habit of eating as much as I can
    because I won't ever have that stuff again.  I know it's not true but
    it never stopped me before.  A couple of times through the weekend, I
    over indulged in leftovers.  Today, back to the right way to eat.  This
    weekend was a painful reminder that the old tendencies are still there
    and I must continue to fight to control them.
    
    Anyone else have any problems or triumphs over the holiday?
    
    Denise
    

    Yup, I saw some bad habits over the holiday (of mine).  I did fairly
    well taking small portions, but then some how that second helping
    just seemed to jump on my plate.  At least I didn't have much of
    a second helping.  I nibbled some too though while helping to clean
    up.  ;-(  Back to the grind now though...Maybe I can do better on
    Xmas.  I'm having the meal so I can at least better control what
    goes into it!
    
    Barb

    Yep, another triumph.  Although I didn't stick to the WW plac exactly,
    and didn't really keep track of getting in all the exchanges exactly,
    I paid a LOT of attention to portion size.  We went to my in-laws for
    the weekend, and I was really afraid to get back on the scale when I
    got home because I thought I really blew it (I LOVE breads and thought
    I went overboard on that).  But, when I got back on the scale when we
    returned on Monday I was very pleased by a
    
                        2 POUND LOSS!!!!
    
    I guess I'm learning to control my eating after all.
    
    					Mair
    

    Its one year later............