Brace yourself, the holidays are upon us. In-laws, immediate family, friends, festivities, and heaps of delicious food are all part of the season, but with all that can come something no one wants: holiday weight gain. It can seem unavoidable at times, gaining five, ten, or even fifteen pounds, but by following a few simple tips you can guarantee yourself a headstart on your New Year’s resolutions. These tips apply especially to Thanksgiving, but the principles are useful for other holidays as well.
There is a lot you can do that has nothing to with what you are eating –
These tips are especially great for those who aren’t cooking and will have to deal with whatever is served up. An obvious one is portion control. By getting reasonably sized portions and extra helpings of vegetables (if available), you can dramatically cut down on calories. Avoiding getting a second plate cuts your calories in half!
Another great tip is to stay active. Many families play football or other sports on Thanksgiving and participating can be a great way to burn calories preemptively. Studies show that exercise (even mild exercise) not only burns calories but gives your metabolism a boost the rest of the day. It is a good idea to talk a walk after you eat too, if you feel like you are too full/tired to take a short walk you probably indulged too much.
Don’t wait all day to eat. A common mistake many make is skipping breakfast on Thanksgiving to “save up” for the big meal. This tactic seems smart on paper, but in practice works out poorly. Avoiding eating will slow your metabolism down, and your body will encourage you to overindulge when the time comes. Eating a light healthy breakfast with protein and fiber will make it much easier to resist the second helping of Grandma’s loaded sweet potato casserole later.
Cooking healthy can be easy –
Use less of unhealthy ingredients. You would be surprised with how many recipes you can get away with using only half the butter and third less of sugar. You would be even more surprised at how often people can’t tell the difference. By modifying recipes you can cut down significantly on what is making your meal unhealthy.
We all enjoy turkey. The best part about it is that it is one of the healthier meats you can eat and it is delicious. But if you are looking to scrimp even more fat and calories out of your meal, then choose to eat white meat over dark. White meat has two-thirds the calories of dark meat and significantly less fat.
The best way to assure a healthy Thanksgiving meal is to emphasize dishes that are healthy from the get go. There are many recipes that can make vegetables delicious, and the extra color it adds to your table will make your presentation all the more pleasant
At the end of the day –
All in all, most Thanksgiving dishes aren’t that bad, they only need to be modified. Sweet potatoes are full of nutrients and green beans are already low calorie. Between that and avoiding overeating you will have a lean Thanksgiving.
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