7 Tips For Thanksgiving Survival

Thanksgiving. It’s the ultimate food fest holiday. The average
Thanksgiving meal contains about 3000 calories. It would literally
take you about 30 miles to walk that off. You also may have heard
that turkey contains a natural sedative called Tryptophan, and
that’s why you may feel sleepy after eating it… adding more havoc
inactivity plays on the fat-loss equation. Actually, the grogginess
you are experiencing is more often a result of having to digest all
that food you are over-consuming!  

Thanksgiving is no doubt a difficult situation to handle when you
are trying not to gain weight, especially when your host liberally
uses every form of saturated fat ingredient available. Weight
gain does not have to be a given and with a little focus you can
survive this holiday.

First of all, Thanksgiving is day to enjoy your family and friends,
and be grateful for all you have. Remember, it is a day… you do not
have to over-indulge the whole week. Allow yourself to enjoy the
holiday for that one meal, however you do not have to gorge
yourself silly on all the calorie-laden foods. Focus with the
mindset on maintaining the weight you are right now and eat the
meal sensibly. Trying to follow a strict diet may leave you feeling
deprived and eventually you will want to overeat or binge.
Celebrate a lack of weight gain rather than stressing out over not
staying on a diet because it’s Thanksgiving. Resume your healthy
eating habits the very next day.

Perhaps you have been doing great on your nutrition or are actually
working on my 12 weeks to 2009 goal that started in mid October.
If your past has not been as perfect as you would have liked it,
forgive yourself and recommit. Now we are going to focus on what we
do have control over… the present.

Here are 7 tips to help you through the day:

1) Even the most elite athletes have “cheat meals”. It is a common
practice in the fitness world used to reward a specific period of
time where adherence to both exercise and nutrition had been
consistently followed. The two benefits to this are it allows
someone to de-stress and indulge their craving and learn to handle
it in a responsible way (not eating the whole carton of ice cream,
just one serving) and it is motivational because it sets a goal
with a reward at the end.
Now, how does all this figure in for you? Use the next 10 days to
really focus on how many times you are going to exercise, to what
degree of intensity are you gong to workout, and what are you going
to eat or not eat.
Enjoy your Thanksgiving meal responsibly, and on Friday, resume
your healthy lifestyle. By the way, you can do this for any holiday
or event coming up that will present a challenge for you.

2) Do not arrive to the Thanksgiving table starving. By starving
yourself for the big meal to come, you are much more likely
over-eat because you are so ravenous. No matter what day of the
year it is, start with a good healthy breakfast that includes whole
grain like oatmeal and a lean protein. By eating a proper breakfast
you will better control your appetite throughout the day because
you are satiated. Have lunch and a small snack of veggies or salad
before the meal. This will curb your appetite for all the high
caloric hors d’oeuvres and side dishes that will be coming your way.

3) Create a greater calorie deficit that day. Many cities have
Thanksgiving 5K’s or similar events like Dallas’ Turkey Trot. Even
if you are not a runner you can walk these races. At the very
least, it’s a great day to hit the gym (or the night before if your
gym is closed that day) and do a little extra cardio or strength
training. Better yet, increase your amount of training for that
whole week.

4) Avoid drinking anything but water. The calories in alcohol add
up quickly and will stimulate your appetite. Worse, you may be less
“level-headed” and more likely to not mind both portion control and
the desserts. Other holiday caloric drinks include eggnog, which is
loaded in fat and sugar, and cider, which is loaded in sugar. If
you must drink, choose one, and then switch to water.

5) Look at all the selections and then make smart choices.  Figure
out what is filling and highly caloric (creamy, cheesy casseroles,
gravy, stuffing, sweet potatoes laden with sugar and marshmallows)
and keep your portions of those foods small, but enjoy them and
don’t feel guilty about eating the foods you look forward to with
the holiday… just eat them sensibly. Pass on the rolls and butter
and save yourself another 100+ calories. Mind the portion size on
the desserts as well. On a good note, turkey is a healthy source of
lean protein when eaten without the skin or gravy.

6) Slow down your eating. Savor each bite, and sip your water
frequently. Wait before going back for seconds. It takes time for
your brain to signal your stomach that you are full. Avoid that
overstuffed feeling of eating too much too fast.

7) Avoid hanging out too long at the table. Put the food away as
soon as possible. If you are a guest offer to help. Moving about
will serve you well. The more you sit around the table the more
likely you are to go back for more or pick at the food even though
you are full.

Holidays are a rough time of year for anyone to avoid temptations
especially if you have a lot of social events to get through. It
does not mean you have to deprive yourself of having fun. If you
want a personalized program just for you that will really make a
difference, schedule your free body transformation consultation here.
http://www.yourpartnerforchange.com/Lauren/About_Coaching.html

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