What do you think: Is it rude to bring your own low-cal food to Thanksgiving?

Vitamin G, Glamour Magazine

It's hard enough maintaining your weight loss during normal times of the year, but then come the holidays, and it's like we all need body armor to ward off temptations. So, it could seem like a good idea to bring some healthy meal option to grandma's house for Thanksgiving, right? The logic: If you fill up on your own healthy meal, whatever it may be, maybe you'll avoid the buttery mashed potatoes. But, really, is it rude?

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FitSugar posted something on the topic recently: "If you're invited somewhere for Thanksgiving, you know there's going to be a lot unhealthy dishes on the table that are loaded with butter, heavy cream, salt, and sugar. So bring along a dish that you know is healthy."

It sounded like a good idea to me, but I wondered what an etiquette expert would say, so I had a conversation with Anna Post, the great-great granddaughter of the grand mum of etiquette, Emily Post, and a spokesperson for The Emily Post Institute. Her answer? Tread cautiously--especially if you're thinking about bringing a spread just for yourself and only with your diet in mind. "You shouldn't bring a low-calorie soup and be slurping that while everyone is enjoying the traditional dinner," she says.

Instead, she says, "do the best you can with the foods provided"--so as not to offend the host. Or, offer (in advance), she says, to bring a healthy side dish.

(Random side note: Someone once brought their own "organic" beverages to a party my mom and I put on, and you know what? It kind of offended us. The woman refused to drink the beverages we were serving and made a big to-do about her "organic diet." Yeah, we're over it now, but it was kind of rude!) [Are you suffering from "organic fatigue" like we are?]

Want more healthy eating tips? Check this Vitamin G post with some brilliant ideas about how not to overdo it, and the must-read Glamour holiday eating survival guide.

What do you think? Rude or not to bring your own food to Thanksgiving at someone's house?

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