Many people think of Thanksgiving as a day to overindulge, overeat and have zero restraint.
In fact, the average American consumes up to 5,000 calories on Thanksgiving day alone.
But rest assure, that one day will not ruin your diet.
Being able to enjoy Thanksgiving and all the food that comes with it is part of a healthy, balanced lifestyle.
But to keep your day in check, follow these 10 Tips to Avoid Thanksgiving Weight Gain:
1. Exercise
Starting your day with exercise is always a great idea. Exercise prevents health problems, builds strength and boosts energy. Perhaps even more importantly on Thanksgiving specifically, is that exercise can reduce stress, curb your appetite and burn calories. Most towns and cities offer some sort of community exercise, such as a family football game or a “Turkey Trot” run/walk. These are fun activities and a great way to start your Thanksgiving day.
After dinner, consider a nice family walk or outdoor sports game. This is a great way to get extra exercise, stay healthy and enjoy the holiday together.
2. Eat breakfast
Many people think that they should skip breakfast to save up calories for Thanksgiving dinner. But several studies show that people who skip breakfast only end up eating more later in the day. Eat a healthy breakfast with ample protein, such as an egg white omelet or low-fat yogurt with fruit or a protein shake with a little peanut butter. If you are eating Thanksgiving dinner much later, be sure to have a healthy snack or meal beforehand. This will prevent you from going into dinner starving, which will undoubtedly lead to overeating and not making the best choices.
3. Skip the caloric drinks
Rather than fill up on high calorie drinks or cocktails, stick with water or calorie free options like seltzer. If you must have a cocktail, stick to wine, wine spritzers or light beer. You will be eating plenty of calories with dinner so try not to drink them as well. Also, keep in mind, that after a few alcoholic beverages most people tend to lose their inhibitions and make poor food choices.
4. Offer to Bring a healthy dish or two
By offering to bring a healthy dish you at least know that there will be a few lower calorie options available. When looking to cut fat and calories from a dish, try these simple substitutions:
Use fat-free chicken broth to baste the turkey and make gravy.
Reduce oil and butter wherever you can (just because a recipe calls for it, doesn’t mean you have to use it all).
Try plain yogurt or fat-free sour cream in creamy dips, mashed potatoes, and casseroles.
Stick to baked and broiled instead of fried.
Choose low-fat cheese, rather than the full fat versions.
Eat vegetables as close to their natural form, rather than in heavy cream sauces.
Check out my favorite Thanksgiving recipes such as Butternut squash soup (a perfect low calorie appetizer), mashed sweet potatoes, green beans almondine, acorn stuffed squash and low-fat vegan apple cake (you’ll never know it is missing dairy!).
These dishes are all delicious and you won’t miss the fat and calories.
5. Fill up on white turkey meat
Not only is turkey the centerpiece of Thanksgiving dinner, it is also one of the healthiest choices! Turkey is a great source of lean protein, so long as you choose the white meat. A medium drumstick with skin has 416 calories and 21 grams of fat. Compare that to a 3-ounce portion of skinless roasted turkey breast, which has only 125 calories and less than 2 grams of total fat. Choosing the leaner meat saves calories and still tastes great.
6. Scan the food options
Before mindlessly loading up your plate, survey all of the food options. Which are your favorites that you don’t want to miss? Take a minute and decide what you want most, and choose to not waste your calories on foods that you can have all year long or that aren’t your favorites. Fill your plate with small portions of all of your favorites that only come around once a year, so you can really enjoy them.
7. Eat slowly and only have one plate
Too often we inhale our food and then mindlessly go back for seconds because everything tastes so good. But rather than jump up for seconds, sit and relax to determine if you are truly hungry. Odds are you are not. It takes the brain 30 minutes to signal the stomach that it is full so if you eat too quickly you might actually eat more food before the signal has been received. This leads to that uncomfortable overfull feeling. Instead, stick with one plate…..the second never tastes as good as the first anyway because you are likely already getting full. Pack a to-go plate so you can enjoy the leftovers on a day when you are hungry and can fully enjoy them again.
8 Savor every bite
Thanksgiving (and some of the foods) only come once a year so be sure it is a meal to remember and not something you inhale and hardly even realized you ate. Also, eating more slowly and relishing each bite actually helps people to eat less. Chew slowly, take deep breathes, put your fork down between bites and drink water between every bite. This will make you more mindful, make your food more enjoyable and help you to eat less.
9. Make conscious choices
Be sure to “cheat well”. While I don’t actually believe we are cheating when we eat dessert or other treats, I love this term. “Cheating well” simply means to choose wisely and make sure that when you do choose something decadent like desert, you are not eating it to just eat it, but rather you are choosing your absolute favorite, must have dessert. If you don’t love pumpkin pie, for example, don’t eat it. Don’t eat a dessert simply because it is there. Look for your absolute favorites and then have a small slice and enjoy it, savor every bite and don’t feel an ounce of guilt.
10. Get right back on track
Too often we have an “off” day of eating and feel like we blew it. So we decide to throw in the towel, finish the weekend strong and start over on Monday. it is not the one day of Thanksgiving that causes us to gain weight. It is this all or nothing mindset that leads to going off track and staying there. Remember, it i aoub progress, not perfection. So, wake up the day after Thanksgiving and get right back on track.
It is important to remember that just as one salad won’t make you healthy, one Thanksgiving dinner won’t make you unhealthy.
While food is what is typically highlighted on Thanksgiving, it truly is a day for gratitude, love, family and friends. Try to focus more on that than the food. Enjoy the company and the day and simply get back on track tomorrow.
For more delicious, healthy and lower calorie recipes, click here.
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