"How will I ever get through Thanksgiving without blowing the diet?"

Being the host (or even a guest) of a Thanksgiving feast is hard enough, but doing it while staying faithful to your Low Carb way of life can be an especially challenging task! There are the three most probable scenarios to fit your situation:

1. You're hosting a family feast (or a small family dinner) and the entire meal can be low-carb.
   
   
2. You're the host, but you have to fix meal choices to fit both traditional eaters and those keeping their low-carb diets in check (even if it's only you!)
   
   
3. You are a guest at someone else's meal and fear there will be no choices for you to keep your carbs to a minimum.
   

We'll try to cover all three scenarios in this guide because every year we get letters from low-carbers who grow more worried as the holidays approach. We'll concentrate on the low-carb challenges of cooking the meal since that will be the hardest.

First, some comments about staying on plan: We know there are those who believe "diets" don't belong on holiday occasions and that surely "taking a day off" can't do much harm. For some of you, that may be true –– but keep these things in mind when you make your decision:

  This is not a "diet" in the traditional sense. It's a way of life, and the food choices you make every day for the rest of your life should be healthy smart ones that promote your lower carbohydrate lifestyle and the new-found health you enjoy.

  A day of high-carbing means three to four days to get back into ketosis (if you are doing the ketogenic version of low carb.) It also means as much as a 5-pound weight gain from a single day's indulgence. Are you sure that mound of mashed potatoes are worth it?

  It will be much harder than you are telling yourself to get back on the diet the day after Thanksgiving. You'll realize you have all those great "leftovers" and you can't let them go to waste.

Before you know it, Christmas will be nearly here, and the holiday sugary treats will be coming at you left and right. You'll have no defense at all if your reserves are down from a Thanksgiving slide. Most of us take a "why bother?" approach at that point, opting to wait till the holidays are over to get back to dieting. Many of us lose all the success we've achieved to this holiday mentality.

  Returning to high-carb eating means our immuno response becomes much weaker, at a time when holiday stress already has our reserves down. Add to that the extra opportunities to be around those with colds or other viruses at get-togethers and parties, and you really raise your odds of becoming ill.

Please consider these issues as you make your decision. Now, let us show you how you can enjoy your Thanksgiving with family and friends, have fabulous foods, and remain true to your low carb plan! This may just be the best Thanksgiving you've ever had!