Thanks giving season only comes once a year so we often have a natural tendency to let loose and indulge. Estimates for calories consumed during a Thanksgiving dinner range from 3,000 to 5,000. What most nutritionist today agree with is that the core of the meal itself is not where most of the calories are, but rather all the other goodies that come with it.
After almost a years’ worth of good habits, exercising and paying attention to our diets, now is not the time to let that hard work go by the waist side. Thanksgiving however is commonly the turning point into the weight-gaining season. With Christmas and the Holiday season soon after any chance of recovery often becomes overlooked and pro-longed.
So, let’s take a more active approach and look into a few tips that might just help you from putting on that un-wanted extra weight.
- Include fitness as part of your turkey day celebration – Family fun runs are all over the place. Take a look into joining a Turkey Trot in the morning and earn that meal to follow.
- Make sure you have breakfast– the worst thing you can do is arrive at the meal starving. People who are super hungry will tend to overeat much more during a feast than those who are not.
- Be an active participant – Volunteer to help cook, prep the side dishes, set the table, clean the house, take out the garbage, wash the dishes. These simple chores and added responsibilities will keep you busy, burn a few calories and reduce over eating.
- Remember the vegetables– load the vegetables onto your plate first, they can take up a lot of space. Leave fattening foods for whatever space is left.
- Know when you are satisfied– it is a common mistake for people to eat until they are full. Stop eating when you are no longer hungry or when you are satisfied. Don’t wait until you are unable to eat any more.
- Avoid the turkey skin– turkey skin is mainly fat and has a lot of calories.
- Lookout for hidden fats– often what seems harmless such as broccoli, mashed potatoes and some soups may be infused with butter and other fats. When cooking use natural oils instead of butter and remember that 1 tbs water will often prevent sticking and unnecessary calories.
- Second helpings– Don’t go there. If you have eaten slowly, chewed thoughtfully, drank plenty of water, you should have met your quota.
- Enjoy but don’t indulge – Be thankful for what this holiday provides, embrace it humbly.