More on how to prepare for the Holidays.

Here is my advise about dealing with the holidays. I know I am eating a lot less than before but I am looking forward to going to the Thanksgiving dinner that my in-law is going to prepare.
I want to enjoy the food but I don't want to gain weight.  It is so easy for us to gain weight during the holidays.

There are a few reasons for that:

We get stressful when it gets closer to Christmas.  There are so much to do and prepare and we will tend to sleep less.  When we sleep less, we will probably eat more to stay awake. And for some people to make it worse, they will try to drink a lot of Starbucks specialty drinks to keep themselves awake and alert for the entire day.  Some of those drinks can be really high in calories.  Like my favorite Grande Chai Latte, it has about 250 Calories!
We have to get more sleep during our holidays!  If you need naps, go take some naps instead of eating and drinking.  Don't pamper yourself too much.

One thing that we have to focus on is "PLAN" ahead of time.  I cannot stress enough about "Planning".
Rehearse the Thanksgiving dinner in your head.  Try to find out what are going to be served during the Thanksgiving dinner. Make a plan of what you are going to eat.  Image you are eating the Thanksgiving dinner now, how many pieces of Turkey are you going to eat? How much gravy are you going to put on the Turkey?  Are you going to eat a big piece of cake after the dinner? Try to eat about 1/3 of what you will usually put on your plate.  You can always ask to pack some leftover home.  Limit the plates your are going to eat.  Ask yourself, "What is my favorite dish?"  If you are going to eat more of your favorite dish, you will need to eat less of the other dishes or you will even have to scarify and not eat some of the dishes on the table.
Try to drink a lot of water or hot tea (no sugar in the tea) before your meal that will help filling you up. Also try to wear something tight.  Like a tight cute top. Please don't wear those big old sweat shirts or T-shirts that can hide your tummy.  You need to wear something elegant.  You want to show off your body.
Imagine if you eat a lot and your tummy is all big and ugly?  How long will it take for you to lose your weight back to your ideal weight? If you gain 5 pounds on this thanksgiving dinner, you will gain another 5 pounds in the coming weeks.  You will give up and then keep eating yourself to depression.  Imagine how awful you will feel after this big Thanksgiving meal? Thanksgiving is a religious holiday. We want to thank God for giving us all that we have, however; it is not a time to have a big feast and kill yourself!  God wants us to take good care of our bodies.  Just remember this point and you will stop eating! Just remember, you will be eating those Turkey leftover for another week anyway, so take it easy.  Try to balance your diet out! Don't let your friends and family drag you into a diet twilight zone!

Here is part of the article that I read from the Web MD.  I think it really agrees with what I am talking here.
Here are some great tips about how can you refuse food during the dinner:  

The easiest way out?  Just say "no" -- over and over and over, the experts say.

"We call this the broken record technique," says Huberman. "If you continue to politely refuse the food pusher, eventually they will stop pushing you. You don't have to be rude, but you do have to be firm."

Beck adds that we should feel entitled to do what is good for us.

"If you were refusing food because of an allergy or for religious reasons, you wouldn't think twice about saying 'no' and sticking to it," Beck says. "So give yourself that same sense of entitlement when you say 'no' to something because you are protecting your good health."

There's no need for lots of explanation about why you don't want to eat something. You don't even have to mention the word "diet."

"It's really OK to just say 'No, thank you -- it smells divine, but I'm really full.' You don't have to offer more explanation than that," says Huberman.

If you simply can't get away without accepting something fattening on your plate, Muller says, accept it. Then, just walk into the next room and dump it. (this is the part that I don't really like to do because I don't like to waste food)

"Just because it's on your plate or in your hand," she says, "doesn't mean you have to eat it."

So again, good luck with your Thanksgiving dinner and I will follow up with you all soon. Stay strong!

I am going to put this blog on my cell phone when I go for my dinner.  If I feel weak, I will read this blog. I will remind myself, I really do not need to over stuff myself on this Thanksgiving day!