How do you eat Thanksgiving dinner without becoming a butterball?

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays.  Besides seeing my family, it usually gives me the opportunity to get into the kitchen and cook on a grand scale.  I love making both the tried and true dishes, such as Waldorf Salad that my Mama insists on, as well as trying out new recipes.  This year I might try a roasted red cabbage salad:  http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-roasted-cabbage-slaw-with-hazelnuts-lemon-recipes-from-the-kitchn-178256 (thanks to Jessica C. for sharing the recipe!).  Even though Mama's menu is set, I think I can get her to add one more salad if we have time to make it....

With all that food comes a little apprehension about whether my clothes will fit the next day.  Most of us don't eat the way we used to, and I certainly don't serve that much food on a nightly basis in my home.  In addition, my metabolism isn't what it used to be, and I know I can't allow myself to eat everything in sight, unlike the good old days of skinniness.  So, what to do?

This year I am going to try planning ahead.  I suppose you can call it eating in moderation.  I have made a few boundaries for myself to get maximum enjoyment with a minimum (notice I didn't say small or tiny) amount of calories.

1.  Pre-dinner:  Slim down my recipes.  Since I get to help cook, I'll try to use low fat ingredients instead of full fat, as long as the flavor is still there.  That Waldorf salad is definitely going to have low fat mayo.  Our all natural turkey will be grilled instead of slathered with butter and baked.

2.  At dinner:  I am only going to taste the food that I really enjoy, look forward to, or want to try.  It is even easier if the food is served from a buffet instead at the table.  At all the Thanksgivings that I attend, there is so much food that there isn't enough room on my plate to try each dish, even with small helpings.  So, since I don't really like a particular dish that is always served, I'll skip it.  There is no need to get additional calories from something I don't even want to eat.

3.  Avoid the bread.  I love bread, but unless it is homemade bread that I really love or that was made especially for me, I'm going to try and skip it.  I can eat bread any time I want, so I'm not going to fill up on those calories on Turkey Day.  By the way, dressing is not considered bread in my book.

4.  Get small portions.  Just in case that casserole I've been dreaming of didn't really turn out well this year, I don't have a huge amount on my plate to eat.

5.  Drink water instead of sweet tea.  This is for others, I'm going for the tea with real sugar.  It's a treat.

6.  Don't eat a big breakfast.  I'm saving my calories for the special meal later on.

7.  Pick a favorite dessert and only eat one slice.  I'm not sure I can only eat pumpkin pie if there is also a pecan pie staring at me, but I'll give this idea a shot.

8.  Go for a walk.  I hope to be able to get outside after dinner and move around a little bit, so that I won't feel so guilty about leftovers later that night.  Perhaps chasing my 2 year old will also do the trick?

9.  There's always leftovers!  I can get to try something again at home on another day, so no need to overload myself at that one meal.

If you have any tried and true techniques to get the most satisfaction during your Thanksgiving Day with less fattening results, please share them!

(This is one of several buffets we had one Thanksgiving; there wasn't enough room on this enormous sideboard for all the food.)