Approaching Thanksgiving like a vegetarian vampire (think Twilight)

Turkey day is less than 48 hours away. I'd be fine if it really was all about the turkey, but as there will be stuffing, cranberry sauce, rolls, pies and other carbilicious foods, I've been dreading its approach.

But just this morning I happened upon a thought that just may be the key to getting through the day without gorging myself on carbs. I just have to put myself in Twilight mode.

I just finished reading the final book in Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series. They're about a girl who moves to Forks, Washington and falls in love with a vampire. But it's okay because he and his family are "vegetarian" vampires, meaning they don't drink human blood, just that of wild beasts in the nearby forests.

Anyway, back to how this applies to Thanksgiving. You see, I am a recovering carb-addicted human, facing one of the biggest carb-fests on the calendar. I figure that it's like when Edward first got that heady sniff of Bella's aroma. Just like Bella was Edward's ultimate temptation as a vampire, the carb-filled traditional fare on Thanksgiving really calls my name. "Christie," it says, "we're delicious. Can you smell the rolls that just came out of the oven? Aren't you grateful for them? And look at those pies! Cranberries are healthy. They're a fruit. You can eat us. We won't hurt you. Don't make your mother feel bad. She's spent a lot of time and effort on this meal."

(Note: I'm so sensitive to carbs that at church on Sunday when they uncovered the sacrament bread to bless it, I could smell it. I was at least four rows back from the sacrament table. Its smell affected me until it had been passed to the congregation.)

If Edward can resist drinking Bella's blood, I can resist eating carb-filled food on Thanksgiving. I told Charlie Hill, of terrific blog fame, that I'm going to lose weight this week. Over the Thanksgiving holiday. To make that happen, I've got to ignore the siren call of rolls, pies, cranberry sauce and stuffing.

Look at my weighloss ticker in the top of the left-hand column. As of Monday I've gained back all the weight I've lost since the end of August. Six pounds! That is NOT okay.

I am stronger than my carbohydrate cravings. Like Stephenie Meyer, I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Also known as Mormons or LDS. We're raised to exercise control over our physical impulses. In fact, I wonder if Stephenie's plot of "vegetarian" vampires who are family-centric can be traced back to her LDS roots. And why do you think that Edward is so insistent that he and Bella be married before engaging in sexual relations? Ding, ding, ding. Chastity is a core belief in our faith. (Note: Edward and Bella's conduct doesn't all sit well with me. I'll be fine if my daughter doesn't read these books until she's older. Married maybe.)

So if I remained chaste until I was married, if I had my first child while still in college and stayed in school to graduate as one of the top 3 English graduates, if I've been able to stay at home raising my kids despite the tugs and pulls of the workplace, I CAN DO THIS.

I can be thankful that I can eat turkey, olives, green bean casserole and nuts on Thanksgiving. I'll also be thankful for the support and encouragement I get from reading other low-carb blogs. In fact, Greta and Kiki of Does This Blog Make Us Look Fat, have reminded me of what my special vegetarian vampire skill is -- a sense of humor. Read their yoga class post and be sure to click on their zumba class link. Too funny! The Hunger Kiki writes about is like that vampire lust for blood. Only we relate to it as a lust for food. I'm going to laugh in the face of The Hunger.

We're all in this together.