The ‘Hell Yes!’ Test: Stop Wasting Calories on Food You Don’t Even Want

It’s 3:47 PM on Thanksgiving.

You’re sitting on the couch, physically uncomfortable. Your pants are digging into your stomach. You can feel the bloat creeping up your chest. You shift positions, trying to find relief, but there isn’t any.

Your family is laughing in the other room. Someone just suggested a board game. Your niece is asking if you want to go for a walk. But you can barely hear them over the noise in your head.

Why did I eat so much?

I wasn’t even that hungry after the second plate.

I’m going to have to start over on Monday. Again.

You replay the meal in your mind. The stuffing you grabbed because it was there. The green bean casserole you took a scoop of even though you’ve never liked it. The roll you buttered out of habit. The pie you ate because everyone else was having some.

And now you’re sitting here, miserable, already planning tomorrow’s damage control while everyone else is enjoying the holiday.

This is supposed to be a day about gratitude. About family. About rest.

Instead, you’re trapped in your own head, mentally tallying calories and cataloging regret.

If this sounds familiar, I need you to hear something: You’re not failing at Thanksgiving. You’re following a strategy that was designed to make you fail.

The Strategy No One Questions

Here’s what most people do at Thanksgiving without thinking:

They serve themselves a little bit of everything.

Mashed potatoes. Check.
Stuffing. Check.
Turkey. Check.
Cranberry sauce. Check.
Green bean casserole. Check.
Sweet potato casserole. Check.
Rolls. Check.
Gravy over all of it. Check.

Then they go back for seconds. Maybe thirds. Then pie. Maybe two slices because there are multiple options.

By the end, they’ve eaten everything—including foods they don’t even particularly enjoy—and they’re uncomfortably full, disappointed in themselves, and already dreading the scale.

Sound about right?

Here’s the problem: You just wasted hundreds of calories on food you didn’t even want.

Let me explain.

The “Hell Yes!” Realization

Think about the Thanksgiving table for a moment.

Close your eyes and picture all the dishes laid out in front of you. Now ask yourself:

Which foods make your inside voice scream, “HELL YES!”?

Maybe it’s your aunt’s mac and cheese. The one she only makes once a year. The one you dream about in October.

Maybe it’s the pecan pie your mom bakes from scratch. The one with the perfect crust that no store-bought version can touch.

Maybe it’s the crispy turkey skin. Or the homemade cranberry sauce with the orange zest. Or those buttery, flaky rolls that are still warm from the oven.

Whatever it is—you know the foods. The ones that genuinely excite you. The ones you actually look forward to.

Now ask yourself this:

Which foods are just… there?

The green bean casserole you don’t love but take anyway. The store-bought rolls that taste like cardboard. The canned cranberry sauce that’s fine but nothing special. The mashed potatoes that are honestly kind of bland.

You’re not excited about these foods. You wouldn’t miss them if they weren’t on your plate. But you take them anyway because they’re part of the spread. Because everyone else is. Because that’s what you’re supposed to do.

Here’s what I want you to understand: Every calorie you spend on the “just okay” foods is a calorie you’re not spending on the foods you actually love.

And here’s the kicker—you’re still going to eat the foods you love. So now you’re just eating more. For no reason.

The “Hell Yes!” Strategy

What if you only ate the foods that made you say, “Hell yes”?

Not the foods you felt obligated to take. Not the foods you grabbed because they were there. Not the foods you ate out of habit or politeness or because your plate looked empty without them.

Just the foods you genuinely, truly wanted.

Here’s what would happen:

You’d have more of what you love. You could go back for a second helping of that mac and cheese without guilt because you didn’t waste 400 calories on stuffing you didn’t even want.

You’d eat less overall. Because you’re not mindlessly piling on food you don’t care about just to fill the plate.

You’d feel satisfied instead of stuffed. Because you spent your calories on foods that actually delivered joy, not regret.

And here’s the part that might surprise you: You’d probably consume fewer calories than you would have otherwise—without trying, without tracking, and without feeling deprived.

Because when you eat only what you love, you stop halfway through the meal thinking, “This is perfect.” Not, “I can’t believe I ate all that.”

Why This Works (The Psychology Behind It)

Most people approach Thanksgiving like they’re at a buffet. They want to try everything because it’s all there and it’s free and they don’t know when they’ll have it again.

But here’s the truth: Availability doesn’t equal desire.

Just because something is on the table doesn’t mean you want it. But your brain tricks you into thinking you do because of a psychological principle called the scarcity effect. If it’s only here once a year, you feel like you have to take advantage.

So you load up your plate with foods you don’t even like, just because they’re part of the tradition. And then you overeat, not because you’re enjoying yourself, but because you’re trying to get your money’s worth from foods you didn’t even pay for.

The “Hell Yes!” strategy flips this script. It removes the obligation. It gives you permission to be selective. It reminds you that you don’t have to eat something just because it exists.

And when you stop eating food you don’t love, you make room for more of what you do.

But What About Guilt?

I know what you’re thinking.

“But what if someone notices I didn’t take their dish?”

“What if my aunt asks why I skipped her casserole?”

“Won’t people think I’m rude?”

Here’s the truth: Most people won’t notice. And if they do, they won’t care as much as you think.

But if someone does ask, here’s what you say:

“I’m saving room for [the dish you actually love]. I can’t wait for it.”

That’s it. You’re not rejecting their food. You’re prioritizing something else. And honestly? Most people respect that. Because they have their own “Hell Yes!” foods too.

The guilt you’re feeling isn’t about disappointing others. It’s about the story you’ve been telling yourself—that you have to eat everything, try everything, please everyone, and somehow still feel good about yourself afterward.

That’s not possible. So stop trying.

How to Use This Strategy Tomorrow

Here’s what to do at your next holiday meal:

Step 1: Survey the table before you serve yourself.
Don’t grab a plate and start loading. Walk the table first. Look at everything. Ask yourself, “Which of these foods am I genuinely excited about?”

Step 2: Identify your “Hell Yes!” foods.
These are the dishes that make your inside voice scream. The ones you’ve been thinking about all week. The ones you’d be disappointed to miss.

Step 3: Serve yourself ONLY those foods.
Skip everything else. Yes, even if it’s “traditional.” Yes, even if someone made it. Yes, even if you feel awkward leaving parts of the table untouched.

Step 4: Eat slowly and enjoy every bite.
You don’t have to rush. You don’t have to finish your plate. You’re eating foods you actually love, so savor them.

Step 5: Go back for seconds of your favorites if you want.
You have the room now. You didn’t waste calories on food you don’t care about. So if you want more of that pecan pie? Have it. Guilt-free.

What If You Still Overeat?

Maybe you follow this strategy and you still eat more than you planned. Maybe you go back for thirds of the mac and cheese. Maybe you have two slices of pie instead of one.

Here’s what I want you to understand: There’s a difference between overeating foods you love and overeating foods you don’t even want.

If you overeat on the “Hell Yes!” foods, at least you can look back and say, “That was worth it. I genuinely enjoyed that.” You’re not sitting on the couch thinking, “Why did I eat all that green bean casserole I didn’t even like?”

That said—and this is important—just because something tastes good doesn’t mean more is always better.

Even your favorite foods stop being enjoyable when you eat past the point of satisfaction. That second slice of pie might be incredible. The third one? You’re probably not even tasting it anymore. You’re just eating because it’s there.

The “Hell Yes!” strategy helps you avoid wasting calories on food you don’t care about. But it doesn’t give you a free pass to eat until you’re miserable—even if it’s food you love.

Here’s the real question to ask yourself: “Am I still enjoying this, or am I just eating because I can?”

If you’re three bites into your second helping and you realize you’re not actually savoring it anymore—you’re just going through the motions—that’s your signal to stop. Not because you’re being “good.” But because you’re no longer getting what you came for: enjoyment.

The goal isn’t to eat as much as possible of your favorite foods. It’s to eat enough of them that you feel satisfied, not stuffed. There’s a sweet spot between deprivation and discomfort. And when you only eat what you love, it becomes much easier to find it.

So yes, you might still overeat sometimes. We all do. But when it happens, it won’t be because you mindlessly filled your plate with food you didn’t want. It’ll be because you made a conscious choice to have more of something you enjoyed, and now you know for next time where that line is.

That’s not failure. That’s learning.

The Real Goal

The “Hell Yes!” strategy isn’t about eating less. It’s about eating better. Not better in a “clean eating” way. Better in a “this actually matters to me” way.

Most people spend Thanksgiving eating everything and enjoying nothing. They’re so focused on not missing out that they miss the whole point.

But when you only eat what you love, something changes. You slow down. You pay attention. You actually taste the food instead of mindlessly shoveling it in.

And when the meal is over, you’re not sitting on the couch in a shame spiral. You’re playing that board game. You’re going on that walk. You’re present with your family instead of trapped in your head.

Because you didn’t waste the day eating food you didn’t want. You spent it on what mattered.

The food you love. The people you’re with. The memories you’re making.

That’s what Thanksgiving is supposed to be about.

So next time you’re standing in front of that table, ask yourself:

“Is this a ‘Hell Yes’?”

If it’s not, leave it.

You don’t owe anyone your plate. You don’t have to earn dessert. You don’t have to eat everything just because it’s there.

Save your appetite—and your energy—for what actually matters.

~ Coach Alex

P.S. If you still feel guilty after using this strategy, ask yourself: “Would I rather feel guilty for skipping the casserole, or guilty for eating it when I didn’t even want it?” One of those regrets is worth having. The other isn’t.