Plan your celebration strategy.

I love Thanksgiving. I have great memories of the days of preparation and celebration that started with shelling pecans with my Great Aunt Leta for the cranberries and pie and culminated in hours of eating, when many a male member of my family headed back to the buffet for third and forth helpings.

But, things are a bit different now. Almost no body ends up with thirds on their plate. And for those of us with dietary concerns or diet-related health issues, enjoying the gluttony is a bit more complicated than a food coma. While pre-pregnancy, I would be fine with hitting a blood sugar of 300 on Thanksgiving, I'm not comfortable seeing numbers that big with a fetus in tow.

Finding a strategy to help you through the day while still allowing yourself to join in the epicurean fun is important. So here's what I'm going to do:

I'm planning to try to avoid unhealthful snacking during the day, sticking with fruit, yogurt and protein so I'm not starving, but not full. At dinner, I'll try everything, then go big with my one, true Thanksgiving love--Grandma Falk's Party Mashed Potatoes.

After that, before pie time, I'm going to strap on my tennis shoes and take a walk when my blood sugars are peaking. This is a strategy I use almost every day. I find that moderate exercise really helps my insulin 'kick in' so I come down from post-meal highs faster. And, if I get to it while those sugar levels are peaking, I don't end up with a low blood sugar like I do if insulin is already bringing me down.

Dessert comes after the exercise. This is also a good strategy for me. My body isn't too friendly with meals containing more than about 80 grams of carbohydrate, and it's not just me. Insulin to carbohydrate ratios can stop working when you get to levels this big. So, taking some time between dinner and dessert is an easy way for me to let my body deal with one cycle of eating before I start another.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!