Thanksgiving- the start of the holiday season… which means the start of the of 5 weeks of stress and gaining weight for most adults.
Good thing is, it doesn’t have to be this way!
As far as the stress goes, I can give some tips for dealing with that, but that won’t be the focus today. Today, we will focus on escaping Thanksgiving day without needing to be rolled out in a wheel barrel.
I’m going to give you five tips that can help you, but just remember.. we are not looking for perfection here. I tell people we are going to do damage control on Thursday. If you can be perfect and still enjoy yourself, congrats! You are better than me!
Here are the 5 tips:
- Start with protein and produce. When you sit down to eat, put a palm size protein on your plate. Turkey will be the choice for most of us. Try not to smother it in gravy though. Then, put 2 fist sizes of produce on your plate. Any mix of veggies and fruit will do. Eat this first. Take your time. Let your those hormones trigger your brain that you are getting full. Then, you can add the stuffing or something else.
- Choose the couple deserts you must have, then forget the rest. As I said before, you don’t have to be perfect here. When you arrive, eyeball the food and see what there is. Pick out the “not so healthy” stuff that you really look forward to. Those will be the items you eat, with no regrets (or NO REGERTS 🙂 ). Only choose a couple of these items though. This isn’t a cake testing for your wedding, you are just finding a couple things that will give you your fix, without leaving you in a food coma.
- Wait til the end of the day to have those deserts. This is a trick I use with all my nutrition clients.. and it works! It is easier to say no to the deserts if you know you are going to get them in a few hours. If you get there and hog them down right away, then you have to walk by the desert table for the rest of the day and try to use your “will power” (which doesn’t exist) to say no.
- Don’t show up starving. I am ok with eating leaner and a little less calories during the day so you can enjoy more during the big meal. However, if you show up starving, you are going to eat everything in site. Grab a banana and eat it on the drive over.
- Get exercise in and stay busy. I know these two actually make this 6 tips, but I already put 5 tips in the title, so I just combined then in one. ha! Get some movement in early. This can set the tone for the day. It shows you are a healthy person, and a healthy person will make healthier choices. Staying busy while at the dinner with family will take your mind off of eating.
Regardless of what happens on this day, you are only one meal away from being right back on track. Get up the next morning, get some exercise in, eat a good meal, and the train is back on the tracks!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Drew