Ten Keys to Making it through Thanksgiving without Feeling More Stuffed than the Turkey

Thanksgiving is a great holiday to get together with family and friends and remember all of the great things and people we have in our lives. Unfortunately, it also has a reputation of offering way more food than anyone could possibly eat without exploding. Survive the multitude of heavy sides, savory entrees, and mouth-watering desserts by following the following tips.


1. Don’t eat in courses or stages, eat all of your food at the same time (Have your salad with the rest of your dinner, not beforehand).

2. Use a normal-sized dinner plate (or even a slightly smaller plate).

3. Put all your food, including your salad and bread, on your dinner plate. Only one plate. Once the plate is “full,” stop putting food on it. This is not a challenge to pile your food as high as you can. When you run out of space on your plate, stop.

4. Serve your own food (don’t have someone else put food on your plate for you). You know how hungry you are, you know how large of portions you typically eat, and you know what else you’re planning to eat during the meal. You’re the best person to decide how much food you want to put onto your plate (and you’ll potentially reduce food waste by serving yourself, too!).

5. Fight the temptation to get generous servings of everything. The food will still be there if you’re still hungry later! In fact, I’m willing to bet you’ll end up with leftovers. If you want a large helping of one or two specific food items, put those food items on your plate first (just leave room on your plate for food types [fruit, veggies] that aren’t in these food items so you're still eating a balanced meal).

6. Don’t shovel food into your mouth. This isn’t a competition to see how much food you can get into your mouth or how many different kinds of food you can get into your mouth. Take smaller bites and chew your food entirely before you swallow (chewing completely will reduce stomach upset and acid reflux, too).  When you eat quickly, your brain may want to continue to taste the flavor of your food after you’re done eating it, which often compels us to eat more of it (sometimes, this leads to overeating). Taking longer to eat allows you more time to fully savor your food without needing extra calories to satisfy your brain’s craving.

7. Pay attention while you are eating: to the flavors, to your bites, to the speed with which you’re eating. If you’re distracted while you eat, you won’t be able to make sure that you’re following all of the rules listed here. Of course, this doesn’t mean that you should ignore your family and friends, but be mindful of your food choices and actions.

8. Eat all of the food on your plate before getting second-helpings of anything. Including bread.

9. Wait a few minutes after clearing off the dinner plate before getting more food. Including dessert. Only get more food if you feel like you would like to eat more food. If you are getting more food simply because you usually do, everyone else is, the food tastes and looks really good, or it’s something to do, then don’t get more food. You don’t need it.

And now, for the no-brainer:

10. If you truly are not hungry, don’t eat!  If you feel full, stop eating (and don’t get extras or dessert)!



This year, enjoy your Thanksgiving meal without overeating. Remember, if you don’t eat too much at dinner, you can enjoy a small dessert! (many of the concepts outlined above can help keep you from overindulging on desserts, too!)